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 NATIONAL ADOPT A DOG MONTH! How will you spend your celebration? Wait, your dog didn’t tell you? Well, for Shadow, it’s “dog week” every week of the year, but the “official” celebration takes place the 4th week of September every year — and has been celebrated since the first event in 1928. But October celebrates dog adoptions all month long. Check out my most popular dog-centric blogs in this post.
Have you thought about dog bite Halloween safety? and I’m not talking about vampires, either. Many dogs enjoy the howl-idays. But dogs biting kids happens more often at this time of year than any other.
This is a timely subject so I try to revisit the information every year. I write about this every year because it’s so darned important. With Halloween in the offing, this is the perfect time to brush up on dog safety issues and protect your kids, too.
To give equal time, there are many kitty-centric Halloween myth-teries you’ll find fascinating, especially about black cats.
While nonstop doorbell rings and visitors showering attention may be doggy bliss for your pet, even friendly laid back pooches get their tails in a twist over the disruption to routine. That can be dangerous for the pet—and for the human. Learn more about dog bites and kid safety here…
August 17 is Black Cat Appreciation Day to counter the Halloween black cat negative myths. Of course, those folks who share their lives (and pillows!) with a special black cat know better. Sadly, too many black cats remain in shelters rather than being adopted.
In fact, some evidence supports the notion that black cats (one of the first “mutations” of wild coat color), enhanced what I call the feline friendly factor. Black cats often seem to be much more agreeable and love spending time with their chosen human. Maybe that’s why so many of the so-called witches were associated with black kitties.
People have more difficulty picking cats because they assume all felines are the same. And because usually, cats pick us.
Halloween pet safety is needed every year. Halloween at its best is a night of mystery, fun, and thrills for human children and many adults. It’s important to keep your human kiddoes safe with these tips, but no less important for the pets. I write about Halloween pets safety every year because it can be a nightmare for your furry kids.
Do you enjoy dressing up the house—and yourself—for the holidays? If you want to include Halloween pet costumes, start now to get them used to the notion. Most of the costumes don’t fit Bravo-Dawg, and I’ve not yet tried Shadow-Pup. I’ll share pictures if/when that happens.
Meanwhile, be sure to keep pets safe over Halloween, though. Dogs and cats aren’t always fans of wearing Halloween costumes, but with these tips, you can help pets accept the notion.
Halloween Pet Costumes
Some pets enjoy dressing up, particularly the small dogs already used to wearing coats and sweaters in cool weather. There are many pet costumes available from pet products stores, from fancy to plain. If your outgoing, confident pet is willing, you can have great fun with costumes. But if your pets don’t care for dress up, don’t press it. Many pets may bite over Halloween out of fear of change.
Even reluctant pets may be persuaded to wear a fancy collar or bandana or painted toenails.
Every year, I write about our old cat needs. While Karma-Kat has just reached middle age, cats age at different rates. When do you consider your cat old? Is your old cat a senior kitty by age 8, or 13, or…when? For cats, what is old? Here’s how the experts define ‘old age’ in cats…
Can we take a minute to talk about something almost every pet parent deals with?
Although pet hair and odors are a small price to pay to have our furry ones at home with us, the fuzz and funky smells can sometimes seem overwhelming!
Visit Amy's Website
Amy Shojai CACB is an award winning author. You can find all her publications and book her to speak via her website.
AmyShojai.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com http://amazon.com/.
0 Comments