We just got our new female kitten fixed at the vets.  Since her return the older cat smells her and starts hissing and won't have anything to do with her.  No fighting that I've seen and nothing other than growling and hissing.  How soon will this pass?  She's on antibiotics, so is that changing her scent to him?

The kitten still approaches him but a quick growl or hiss and she separates.

Probobly just the smell of the vets. Smells like something your cat hates.  

Yup, smells different. It should pass.

Smells different than before. Take a hand towel and wipe each cat like you are drying them. Concentrate on the mouth...get some cat spit on. Use the same towel without washing between. Let me know!

If it doesn't pass or persists, you might want to ask your vet about a product called Feliway.

We have 2 cats and they have been in the home for 3 years.   One day the younger (a real affectionate male) began hissing and attacking the older cat and us humans viciously.  We tried everything and finally the vet recommended the Feliway.  It is a "glade plug in" that mimics the cat "happy" hormone and puts nervous cats at ease.  I think the product was originally put out to stop spraying.  We had brought a dog into the house to dogsit about a week before and fugured that stressed the cat out.

It works like a charm.  Prozac for cats.  Good luck.

NorCal
(not gay)

Think it is the smell of the vets office that has infiltrated the cats fur. My cats would hiss at other cats returning from the vets for that very reason. It passed, cats chilled out after a day or so.

Quoted: We just got our new female kitten fixed at the vets.  Since her return the older cat smells her and starts hissing and won't have anything to do with her.  No fighting that I've seen and nothing other than growling and hissing.  How soon will this pass?  She's on antibiotics, so is that changing her scent to him? The kitten still approaches him but a quick growl or hiss and she separates.

You should bathe her, theres nothing worse than a stinky pussy.

Quoted: If it doesn't pass or persists, you might want to ask your vet about a product called Feliway. We have 2 cats and they have been in the home for 3 years.   One day the younger (a real affectionate male) began hissing and attacking the older cat and us humans viciously.  We tried everything and finally the vet recommended the Feliway.  It is a "glade plug in" that mimics the cat "happy" hormone and puts nervous cats at ease.  I think the product was originally put out to stop spraying.  We had brought a dog into the house to dogsit about a week before and fugured that stressed the cat out. It works like a charm.  Prozac for cats.  Good luck. NorCal (not gay)

I checked on this and the one version they had was a spray, which would work in a limited space like a carrier (sprayed on a towel or something).  I'll check on the plug-in version at another place.

Thanks.

When one of our cats gets a bath, the one that didn't get a bath attacks it. They are very smell driven/oriented. Thats why they rub on you. they have scent glands in their cheeks, foreheads and by their tails, and they are marking you as theirs. Your cat doesn't recognize the smell of the other cat after the vet visit because of antiseptics/antibiotic ointments etc. Give it a few days and everybody should be friends again.

Quoted: Probobly just the smell of the vets. Smells like something your cat hates.

Bingo.

Quoted: Quoted: Probobly just the smell of the vets. Smells like something your cat hates.   Bingo.

A possibility.  The last time we left the older cat at the vet's was for a weekend.  He was supposed to get his shots, a bath, and his nails clipped.  We go to pick him up Monday morning and the bill is very low, about $25.  We ask what's up?  They said he didn't "want" a bath, a nail trim or his shots.....hehehe..oh well no vets for him anymore.