Expert: Ali - 1/28/2010

Question
my cat had a bad time at her last vet visit,now she will not go around my wife without growling and hissing,and before the vet visit she was closer to my wife than me.is she just mad?,will she come back to her old self?.

Answer
Keith,

To be completely honest with you I haven't got nearly enough information to make a prediction in this situation. Obviously there can be a number of things that must be done for a cat in a veterinary setting that the cat would be upset by. Knowing exactly what happened at the vet's clinic, how your kitty associated your wife with whatever happened, how long you've had this kitty, what her personality is like, what her history was before you adopted her and other such factors play into what the cat's behavior is likely to be like in future. In fairness I don't believe that it's likely for this kitty to permanently discard her bond with your wife, especially if she's willing to try and make a concerted effort to regain your kitty's trust. You may also want to consider trying a homeopathic remedy called Bach's Rescue Remedy (available in most health food stores). You can gently rub several drops into the outside of your kitty's ear flaps or onto the relatively fur free portion of skin directly in front of your kitty's ears a few times a day until she begins to settle down somewhat. The flower essences in this remedy are preserved in a grape alcohol solution so I'd recommend that you avoid getting any of this remedy into your kitty's ears, eyes, etc because it could potentially sting quite a bit. If your kitty isn't likely to sit still for such treatment you could also add 7-10 drops of Rescue Remedy into a clean bowl filled with fresh water each morning until she settles down somewhat. Ultimately if your kitty doesn't seem to settle within a week or so of treating her with Rescue Remedy then it might be in your best interests to seek help from a homeopathic vet or a holistic vet trained in homeopathy since homeopathic remedies are gentle, safe ways of treating a variety of medical and behavioral issues in cats.

Some vets practicing only conventional medicine may not think much of this recommendation, but I have personal experience that proves the effectiveness of homeopathy - I've seen it work for cats who have become quite aggressive but most recently homeopathic remedies have saved my eldest cat's life - she developed acute renal failure during the Menu Foods pet food recalls of 2007 (her food didn't show up on the recall list until after this happened) and conventional treatment did little to help, in fact her kidney function deteriorated after 24 hours of conventional treatment only. Luckily our family vet is a holistic vet with extensive training and knowledge of homeopathy so she began treating MC's kidney failure and the symptoms it caused with homeopathic remedies, a couple of days later MC came home with normal kidney function, a prescription diet and a bag of IV fluids to be administered under the skin as needed. MC immediately decided that she wouldn't eat the prescription diet in cans or kibble so with our vet's recommendation we switched her onto the diet we were feeding the rest of our resident kitties. We continued to treat MC with fluids for slightly over a year and her kidney function was monitored regularly with blood tests. When we brought our fur kids in for their annual physical exam our vet surprised us by recommending that we wean MC off of her fluids which is still something that you won't read about in literature about cats with renal failure, but we trust our vet so we followed her recommendations. MC's kidney function has remained completely normal since we weaned her off of her fluids and today she's a healthy, happy, normal cat who doesn't need any special diets, supplementary fluids or other nursing care.

As you can see homeopathy is a very powerful tool in treating medical and behavioral issues if used correctly by a qualified professional. I do think it's well worth trying in this situation and starting off with Rescue Remedy is a good way to do that since it will help to calm and reassure your kitty, it's fairly effective and it's 100% safe and gentle. If you don't notice any improvement or change in your kitty's behavior there's a good chance that you may not be giving the right remedy. If this happens finding a homeopathic vet or a holistic vet trained in the use of homeopathy is a good way to go. If you live in the US and aren't able to find a homeopathic vet you may want to consider checking out the Ask A Vet portion of this site, Dr. Christine Chambreau is a homeopathic vet and anytime I've asked for advice with issues from pet parents on this site she's been fantastic. As far as I know she's willing to do phone and email consults within the US for a fee, but you'd have to discuss that with her to get more details. I wish you and your wife luck with this situation, hopefully things improve quickly and you have your kitty back sooner rather than later. If you have any further cat related questions I'd be more than happy to help you out to the best of my ability so please don't hesitate to contact me again.