Expert: Norman Auspitz - 7/2/2010

Question
Hi Norm,
Thanks, first of all, for taking the time to help all of us helpless cat lovers.

My husband and I have a brother and sister from the same litter, brought up and bottle fed together since they were 2 weeks old. They are now 2 years old. We moved last April, and though they were decidedly stressed for the first week, we kept them together in one room until they could acclimate and they got treats and toys for their efforts to explore. It seemed all was well for about 2 months. Now, they are siblings, and I understand siblings fight, and yes, Simba does pick on Nala a bit, but usually she just gives him a good swat, tells him what for and it resolves itself. Lately, he has been up to his usual shenanigans but she won't have any of it. She is hissing and spitting and coughing at him. Ears back full claws out will not tolerate him looking at her the wrong way. Her noises sounds much more severe and horrible than normal, and I don't know what is causing her to be so anxious. It definitely seems like a change on her part, rather than more picking on by Simba. We've not really tried too many things to stop it, but we have tried to give her a little space for like 5 minutes when this happens. Any ideas what could be causing her to be so irritable? I thought it was the hot weather at first, but the last 2 days have been nice and cool. Would getting the plug in pheromone stuff be useful to calm her down? By the way, both cats had the early spay/neuter at 2 pounds. Thanks in advance for your help.
Amy

Answer
Amy,

When cats move to a new territory, it turns their world upside down and they have to re-establish all their inter-relationships.  My guess is that coupled with going to a new home, there may be strange cats in the neighborhood that they see which keep things riled up.  Yes, you can try a  Feliway diffuser, which may or may not help.  If you notice there are strange cats hanging around, this may explain quite a bit. Usually, in time, these situations resolve themselves, although they may not have the same relationship with each other they had before the move.

My feeling is that the best thinbg to do with this type of situation is nothing.  It may take many more weeks to resolve or never totally resolve, you just have to wait and see.  It sometimes takes cats a long, long time to (re)establish a relationship with each other.

Pleaase be patient and wait a couple more months and see what happens.

Best regards... Norm.