Expert: Dear Tabbi - 10/26/2008

Question
We had 3 little boys in our house, Ashes 10, Frisky 8, & Patches 2. We have recently rescued a little cutie which we named Leo. Now 6 months old. When we first brought him home he stayed in the utility room until we were sure that the feline leukemia/aids test was negative. Once that was complete Patches would come in & they would play. No problems. Now he has been neutered & Patches has turned bi-polar. They will play & groom each other for awhile but then all of a sudden Patch will start to hiss at Leo & then leave the area. He does not get physical, but he just keeps going from 1 extreme to the other. Patches seems lost at those times & Leo does not know what to expect. "can I go in the room or not?"
I understand that Patches was out baby for the past 2 yrs & if it was just constant hissing, well then I could understand. But this up & down is making all of us nuts.
He recently started hissing at Frisky. So far there has been no problem with patch & ashes, but I wonder if that will be next.
Oh Patches & Frisky are grey tabbies, Ashes is solid grey & white, & Leo is solid black & white. If that makes any difference.


Answer
Patty & Rich,

That is perfectly normal and typical behavior....and don't worry, Patches is not bi-polar (smile), he's just confused.

Cats go by smell and not by sight in recognizing other cats (with humans, they go by voice...not by sight). Your neutered cat brought home MANY different smells from the vet: anesthetic, medicinal smells, and smells of other cats...all clinging to his fur. Patches probably thinks Leo is another cat!

You can keep Leo separated until he absorbs the normal smells of home again if you like. When he grooms himself he will be replacing his regular scent. You can also rub Patches with a towel, then rub Leo with the same towel to transfer familiar smells but do not do it the opposite way because you will then be transfering the vet's office smells to the other cats! A trick that I've heard a lot of people use in that situation (though I have never tried it) is to put a drop of vanilla on each cats forehead so they smell the same.

Things will settle down in a few days when the smells are gone from Leo and he smells like he used to.

Hope this helped. And that is great that you are being a responsible pet owner and getting your cats fixed!

Tabbi