Expert: Tina - 11/23/2008

Question
We adopted a brother and sister and have had them for over a year. About eight months ago, we adopted a third cat. It took a while for everyone to get comfortable, especially the original cats. Two days ago, we had the two original cats groomed (they are long haired), and was shocked at the reaction of the third cat when we brought them home. He totally freaked out! He has been in a state of panic(?) ever since. Hissing, growling, screaming, running away and hiding if either of the original cats come near him...or if he even sees them.

Is this because he doesn't recognize their smell? What can we do to help this situation? Do we just wait until the original cats get their "stink" back? I purchased some Feliway tonight and put two diffusers in the house to see if that would help calm new cat down. I hate that he seems so frightened. Next time should we take all three to be groomed and just have new cat bathed???

Answer
Hi Alisha,

Yes the sight and smell of the shaved and bathed kitties has upset the other one! You can help restore harmony by taking a towel and running it on the scared cats' cheek, then rub the towel all over the other cats. Cats have scent glands in their cheeks and this will help make the groomed cats smell like home again. You can also use old bedding - if the cats have regular places to sleep, take their used bedding and rub it on each cat.

If your cats go for regular grooming, yes it would be a good idea to take all 3 so at least the all smell like the groomer's. But you can still use the feliway and the towel trick. I actually find that the spray Feliway works better because you can spray it all over. With the diffusers you need at least one per small room and they are a bit expensive, so if you get the spray you can apply it around doorways and furniture at cat height, uses less of the product.

Good luck!