Congratulations! Your hard work has paid off, and Kitty no longer fears the carrier and handles the car ride with almost no signs of fear, anxiety or stress. Kitty purrs and cheek-bonks the veterinary technicians and barely notices the doctor’s exam through all the petting and tasty treats. But as soon as you get home, Kitty’s former feline friends snub him, or worse. Why do cats fight after vet visits? What’s up with all the cat bashing?
Creating a fear free experience for cats doesn’t stop after the veterinary visit. Fear, stress and anxiety often develop when a cat leaves home, and then returns. That’s upsetting and hurtful to pet parents and the returning cat, as well as the whole clowder. You can reduce the chance of cat bashing, though, with these tips.
Why Cat Bashing and Cat Fights After Vet Visits Happen
Friendly cats identify each other by sharing a common communal scent. By sleeping together and grooming each other, their individual scent-ID intermingles. That familiar smell acts like a club membership that says, “I belong to the family, I’m safe.”
A long absence, or even brief handling by strangers, changes the scent identification. That can lead to cat friends acting out with aggression. All those technicians and doctor pets leave foreign smells on the fur, and medications also may change the aroma. So when the absent Kitty returns, the other cat-friends don’t recognize him and react to the weird smells as though a strange cat has trespassed into the home turf. So they do their best to chase the interloper away.
Meanwhile, the returning Kitty reacts defensively to the cat bashing. And as long as the former friends remain aggressive, they can’t get close enough to share family scent and return to normal friendly status. The stress, anxiety and fear build and become worse, the longer they’re allowed to continue. Cats being treated for illness that travel back and forth to the vet may repeat this cycle repeatedly. Here’s how to address after vet visit cat bashing.
Stop After Vet Visit Cat Fights Bashing
One easy way to reduce the chance of cat bashing is to take all your cats to the clinic at the same time. That way, they all smell the same when they return home.
If you can’t take all the cats at once, give the returning Kitty some alone time upon returning home. A half day shut in the guest bedroom gives him time to lick-lick-lick away the weird hospital smell, and lets you pet-pet-pet him to reestablish your familiar smell. A time out also lets him calm down from the excitement of the carrier/car/clinic combo, so he’s less defensive.
You can re-share the “family scent” more quickly, using a dry clean hand towel. Rub it over the other cats, especially Kitty’s best-friend companion, and pay particular attention to the cheeks. That picks up the friendly-cat pheromones, which can then be rubbed over the returning Kitty to help reestablish communal family scent.
It also may help to apply a pleasant, strong-smelling scent to all the cats in the home. That makes them smell the same and helps distract them from being aggressive or defensive. Perhaps use a bit of chicken broth or water from the tuna can. Rub it on your hands and then pet each cat’s neck. That also means they can’t reach the spot to groom it off, and need the help of other buddy-kitties to mutually groom—and refresh the communal safe scent they recognize. Find more tips in my book MY CAT HATES THE VET.
I love hearing from you, so please share comments and questions. Do you have an ASK AMY question you’d like answered? Do you have a new kitten and need answers? Stay up to date on all the latest just subscribe the blog, “like” me on Facebook, and sign up for Pet Peeves newsletter.
Stay up to date with the latest book giveaways and appearances related to my September Day pet-centric THRILLERS WITH BITE! Amy Shojai, CABC is a certified cat & dog behavior consultant, a consultant to the pet industry, and the award-winning author of 35+ pet-centric books and Thrillers with Bite! Oh, and she loves bling!
It’s that time of year here in N. Texas for storms, rain, hail and (eeek!) tornadoes. Today we’re under a weather alert with forecast for lots of rain and possible hail and wind. That could turn into a might big wind that could cause Dorothy to shake in her ruby slippers.
When I grew up in North Indiana, we also had tornadoes, and those events were exciting times for us kids. It meant camping out in the basement…with our parents! How fun is that?
Well… maybe fun for clueless kids. But don’t be clueless. Protect yourself and your pets. Here’s how.
Yikes! It’s hot-hot-hot here in Texas. Shadow-Pup is NOT happy. He misses his ZOOMIES in the back garden, but I’m afraid to let him overdo too much. It’s time for hot weather games for pets and keeping cats and dogs cool in hot weather.
Hot weather pet safety around here is a matter of life and death for cats and dogs. I live in N. Texas where it’s not unusual for weather to have everyone hot under the collar. Just imagine how pets feel with a fur coat. Older dogs have more sense and aren’t as prone to overdo. But our rescue pup Shadow acts clueless, and we have to physically confine him or he’d never stop playing even in 100-degree weather.
These tips can help you prevent problems, or even save your pet’s life.
Snakebites are common in pets, especially dogs, because dogs are often curious and try to play with moving critters. In fact, about 150,000 dogs and cats are bitten by poisonous snakes each year in the United States alone. Learn about the top villains and what to do in this post.
I adore the golden oldie pets. My Seren-Kitty lived to nearly 22 years old, my first shepherd made it to just over 13 years old, and Magical-Dawg lived large and loud until 11 years old. Seren just wouldn’t give up, despite her arthritic clawed paws click-click-clicking as she tottered along. When Karma arrived, he acted like the fountain of youth and gave her a boost. Here are some tips for fun things to do with your golden oldie…
Here’s an update on the next thriller… along with some fun podcasts, a cello experience, and a “thrilling” (NOT!) medical emergency. All is well… read on for details.
Dogs use their mouths like people use our hands. That means nearly everything goes into the puppy’s mouth as he explores the world, and teething pups chew to relieve the discomfort. Dogs never outgrow the gnawing habit, though, and that can get them in trouble.
Here’s why they target your favorite things…and what you can do to reduce the risk.
Cat and dog dehydration refers to the excessive loss of body water. Pets are prone to dehydration when the weather gets very hot, and they don’t have access to enough water. As a result, they can develop heatstroke. More often, though, dog and cat dehydration happens from vomiting and diarrhea.
Here in Texas, we’ve had weeks of triple-digit temperatures. I worry about the outside pets, but even indoor cats and dogs can suffer from dehydration. Normal water loss occurs in the pet’s bathroom deposits, through moisture exhaled with the breath, and through sweat. These fluids get replaced when the cat and dog eat and drink.
Any illness may prompt pets to stop eating and drinking, and prolonged fever increases the loss of body fluid. Specific disease conditions or injuries like diabetes or kidney disease may cause excessive urination that also causes of dehydration.
Cats evolved as desert creatures and have an amazing ability to conserve water, but cat dehydration can still kill. Even though cats seem to prefer to drink water in the weirdest places (the sink? your glass? the TOILET?!) they most often just don’t drink enough water. Here’s what you need to know.
Do you know how perform Pet Rescue Breathing and pet CPR? You can save your dog or cat’s life by knowing how to do pet CPR and how to perform rescue breathing. Pets suffer brain injury and death if oxygen is cut off for only a few minutes. When minutes count, rescue breathing can save your pet’s life.
July is National Lost Pet Prevention Month. More pets disappear over the July 4th holiday than any other time, because they get so scared about the noise. But pets get lost all the time. Both Karma-Kat and Shadow appeared as lost babies. Please bookmark this site for tips how to find lost pets.
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