Expert: Dear Tabbi - 5/16/2008

Question
My cat was spayed a week and a half ago and has become aggressive towards the other cats in the house.  She is healing fine, no infection at the incision site, everything looks good there... Any idea what might cause this aggression or any suggestions for how to deal with it?  Is this common?



Thanks in advance for any help...

Answer
Katherine,

She just had a 'kitty hysterectomy' and she probably still hurts and is crabby. Pain causes aggression. If she continues that way I would contact the place where she was spayed and tell them how she is behaving. They may want to check her to make sure nothing inside is wrong.

Usually it is the other cats that are aggressive towards the spayed female. Cats go by smell and not by sight in recognizing other cats (with humans, they go by voice...not by sight). Your spayed cat brought home MANY different smells from the vet: anesthetic, medicinal smells, and smells of other cats...all clinging to her fur and skin. The other cats usually think the spayed cat is another cat because she doesn't smell the same!

You can try a popular cat calming spray and plug-in called Feliway, or Comfort Zone with Feliway. It is available at pet stores like PetSmart, Petco, etc., a vet's office (they use it too), or on-line. It copies relaxing pheromones that cats produce from rubbing their faces on things.

There is also another cat calming product that you can add to her food or water that reduces anxiety called Bach's Rescue Remedy. It is available on-line and in health food stores. Here is a link about it: (copy and paste, or type the whole links into your address bar)
http://www.bachflower.com/Pets.htm

I hope this helped.

Tabbi