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Cats/Siblings Situation

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Expert: - 4/3/2011


Question
OK=We adopted two cats from the same litter. 1 boy & 1 girl. We got them fixed at about 5 mo old. The entire time they have been the best of buds. Sleeping together, cuddling, eating together and never showed any signs of anti social behavior. They are a year now and the boy got out and lost for a day. My husband found him in a tree in our back yard where our 2 big dogs are. He had to get him our of the tree with a ladder and said that the boy was scared but came to him pretty easily, the cat was traumatized for a day or so but is on the mend. The problem is the girl cat. She wont come near him now and hisses and runs away if the boy cat is in the same room. The boy cat does not act any different other than he is healing from a couple of missing claws but he is tending them and seams fine. My question is why is the girl so mad at him and what can we do to get them back to where they were?

Your help is appreciated.

Sam

Answer
Sam,

How long ago did this happen?  It does not say in your question.

Anyway, cats identify each other by scent. Now that your boy has gotten outside and was lost, he probably has so many other scents on him that he does not smell the same to the girl, so she no longer "recognizes" him.  This usually only lasts a few days and, once his scent is back to normal, the girl should recognize him.

Cats have a very involved "getting to know you" ritual and the hissing etc. is all part of it. So until she recognizes him, there may be some noise. I expect that things will settle down after a couple of days to a week and all should be as before. During this time, it is important not to intervene as any human intervention is always counter productive. Let them find their own resolution to this situation.

Please let me know what happens.

Best regards... Norm.

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Norman Auspitz

Expertise

I can answer most non-veterinary questions about cats. My particular expertise is pedigree cats, breeding and showing. However, I am versed in feline behavior, cat breeds and their characteristics, general feline husbandry, and the like.

Experience

I judged for the Canadian Cat Association from 1975 until 1982. I am currently an approved allbreed judge for the Cat Fanciers'' Association (the world''s largets cat registry), and have been judging for them since 1991. I have been breeding pedigreed cats since 1971 and have been exhibiting pedigreed cats in shows since 1970. I obtained my first pedigreed cat in 1970 and have never looked back. In 1971, I obtained my first Abyssinian which has become my primary breed. In addition, I have bred Manx and Persians. Currently, besides the Abyssinians, I am also breeding Maine Coons.


Organizations
Cat Fanciers'' Association, inc. (CFA) and the Manx, Maine Coon, and Abyssinian breed councils. I am currently Abyssinian breed council secretary.

Publications
Cat Fancy Magazine, The Abyssinian Chapter in The Cat Fanciers'' Association Complete Cat Book, and Articles for various editions of The Cat Fanciers'' Association Yearbook

Education/Credentials
I received a B.S. from Drexel University in 1968, a M.Math from University of Waterloo, in 1970, a Ph.D. from University of Waterloo in 1975, and a MBA from McMaster University in 1980. I received my approved allbreed judging status in the Cat Fanciers'' Association in 1999.

Awards and Honors
We have produced a number of Cat Fanciers'' Association (CFA) National winning Abyssinian and Maine Coons. We have produced a number of Abyssinian and Maine Coon Distinguished Merit females (an award for a top producing cat), including the first Distinguished Merit Abyssinian in the red (sorrel) color. I am the CFA Abyssinian breed council secretary and belong and/or hold office in a number of cat clubs. I am also a member of the CFA Judges Association.

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