# Help!! bonded cats are fighting



## zesdo (Jul 3, 2010)

Today I took one of my cats, Steward, to the vet for the first time. It was a really stressful experience for him. After 2 hours I put him back in the house in the same room as his brother(Benny) and then I went to work.

I don't know if anything happened between them while I was gone, but when I came back, Benny was acting extremely defensive against Steward. Everytime steward gets too close to sniff him, benny jumps back, hisses loudly, and his body language looks very tense. Steward is acting completely normal. 

They've been bonded cats their whole life. When I got them from the shelter, the staff told me that I can't separate them - I have to get them together or not get them at all. 

It's been a couple hours now and Benny's behavior hasn't changed. Are they ever going to be friends again?

edit: to elaborate, I've sometimes seen Steward become aggressive when stressed. At the vet, I don't think I've ever seen him more scared/stressed, so it's possible that he acted very aggressively to Benny before calming down. IF this happened, is there any chance Benny can forgive and forget?


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## marie73 (Jul 12, 2006)

This often happens after a vet visit. Steward smells different. It might take a couple days for things to return to normal.  You could try the vanilla trick - put a drop of vanilla on the back of each cat's neck. Rub a towel on Benny, rub it on Steward, then rub it on Benny again. 

It'll be okay. I know it must be hard to see them at odds right now, though. atback


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## zesdo (Jul 3, 2010)

I'm going to the vet tomorrow again, and I'm taking them both with me this time because the doctor needs to see Benny to prescribe him a dewormer. 

If smell is the issue, will taking them both to the vet cause them to smell the same and fix the problem?


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## marie73 (Jul 12, 2006)

I've never had this problem with my girls, thank goodness, but taking them both should even things out.


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## zesdo (Jul 3, 2010)

I hope so.. I've never seen one of them stay mad at the other for so long.

Why are the cats never aggressive to me or my family? We go out and sometimes pet other animals all the time so our smell changes too. But our cats always treat us the same.


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## marie73 (Jul 12, 2006)

We feed them?  

I don't know. Even when I was volunteering in the cat area at Petsmart, my cats were simply curious about the smells. But when I would visit my friend with a cat, they would sniff and then bite the socks on my feet when I came home. 8O


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## zesdo (Jul 3, 2010)

They're getting along better now, I'm happy to see that..

I didn't put vanilla extract on them, but I did put frontline on them.

They're still not as friendly as before, and when Steward gets too close, Benny still hisses sometimes, but sometimes he doesn't.. I'm about to put some vanilla extract on both of them, but I'm wondering if it's toxic to cats? I read in the back that it has 36% organic alcohol or something.. isn't alcohol very poisonous to cats?


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## marie73 (Jul 12, 2006)

One LITTLE drop seems like nothing, but their sense of smell is incredible. Perfectly safe. You may not even have to do that now.


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