Expert: Tina - 1/14/2010

Question
my eight year old fixed female has suddenly started hissing and fighting bad with her two year old not fixed son.  Before this they were always together and play fight a little.  He has been trying to mate with her and she has been aggravated, but a couple of days ago, they started fighting really bad and now she hisses and chrages him whenever she sees him.  He's been trying to roll over on his back and be friendly with her, but she's not having any part of it.  It's been going on now for three days.  What can we do and if it's get him fixed too, will it change his personality?

Answer
Hi Julie,

Your male cat is sexually maturing and your female cat is doing what nature intends - trying to keep her own sexually mature son away so he can't mate with her (she doesn't know she is spayed).

You need to make an appointment to have him neutered right away - cats as young as 12 weeks are routinely neutered in fact younger kittens heal faster from the surgery. Keep him separated from his mother for 2 weeks, so that the hormone levels have time to go down. Then, re-introduce them and chances are she will accept him once he is no longer giving off the smell of a tom cat!

Neutering will not change your cat's personality at all. He may act a bit dopey the first day from the pain drugs they usually send home.