Last night his brother Noki slipped out the door while I was trying to get the dog inside. This isn’t a huge deal, he used to be a partial outdoor cat, I usually just wait and he comes back in an hour or two. Here’s the trouble though, when he came back, this one (Scooter) decided he’s never seen this cat in his life and will therefore attack and chase him viciously. I managed to wrangle Scooter into his carrying cage and get him in my bedroom. He spent the night with me with the doors closed, and when I woke up they seemed to be sniffing each other under the door and not hissing or howling, but when I opened the door all hell broke loose. Scooter will still not leave him alone if he sees him. I tried rubbing Noki with the towel from Scooters cage trying to get him to smell more familiar, but I don’t know what else to do. They’ve always gotten along really well and their play fights never involved hissing and howling. Scooter lost a whole claw in the exchange last night. Noki seems fine but is hiding in a closet and I had to bring him food because Scooter won’t let him come downstairs.
Update: Thanks to everyone for the suggestions! I kept Noki in a separate room overnight with a litter box and food/water. I fed Scooter and him treats on either side of the door. This morning I switched and put Scooter in the room and let Noki out. When I got home I fed them both treats under the door and then cracked it so they could see each other. No hissing or aggression so I let Scooter out and they finished the treats with their faces touching. After the treats were finished, Scooter gave a quick hiss and Noki walked off but there was no chase and no fighting. I think I’m on the right track! Noki is still hiding so I’m going to keep them separated and continue feeding them treats together until I feel like they are back to normal. This community is awesome, big thanks to everyone who commented♥️
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You are doing the right thing, keep the physically separated but so that they can smell each other. Try to feed them at the same time so that they can smell and later see each other while eating to associate good things with each other. But keep them physically separate for a few days.
I haven’t had cats in years but I asked my vet friend who directed me here; https://www.aspca.org/pet-care/cat-care/common-cat-behavior-issues/aggression-between-cats-your-household
It has some specific advice on cats who are familiar with each other who start to fight. I have heard the tuna juice trick before.
Thank you!
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It might be a smell thing. My friend has 2 cats, litter-mates, and they would do the same damn thing every time one came back from the vet. It would settle down after a few days when the smell dissipated. She used to have to take them both to the vet even if only one needed to go. It’s called non-recognition aggression.
Then the vet changed their brand of disinfectant and it never happened again so they never got to try the following advice the vet gave them:
What you can try is de-outside-smelling your escapee by giving them a damp-cloth bath and then rubbing them all over with your worn clothes to reapply your smell.
Also, maybe stinking up your aggressive little idiot by leaving the same clothes with outside smells around them. Pick the clothes your aggressive cat loves to snuggle the most if they’re that type of cat. If you can mix up their smells enough, it will hopefully break the association of “smell = the other cat” and your aggressive one will begin to recognise the escape artist again.
Give it a few days. It’s the smell. My guys do this if I give them a bath. They also often do it after they’ve been outside.
Are you sure it’s Noki that came back and not another similar looking cat 😂 (j/k)
I really love all the great advice you’re getting, and I hope it works, but now all I’m thinking about is if people had the same problem and couldn’t recognize each other when their smell changed. 😂
It just be like when someone changes their haircut or outfit so much you don’t recognize them at first.
Can confirm. I definitely hiss and yowl when my coworkers get a new haircut.
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Sounds likely to be a scent issue - Noki may have gotten the scent of another cat or animal on him which is confusing Scooter.
The steps you’re taking are good and might take time, I’d stay the course as if they are strangers and take the introduction slowly. In the meantime, there’s a product called Feliway (might be a different name where you are) that is a pheromone blocker, it can really help mute the stressful effects these scents can have. They use it in vet rooms a lot. Comes in a spray or diffuser, might help you.
Good luck, I hope it resolves quickly!
Had an incident where I put on cologne and my cat COULD NOT recognize me. Hissing, feral growling. I think it was some kind of uncanny valley thing where I looked the same but didn’t smell “right”.
Could be he just picked up a weird smell.
I had a cat who was best friends with a neighbour’s black cat. We went on holiday and another black cat attacked my cat there. When we came back, he kept hissing at his bestie for about a week before realizing his mistake. So sometimes it’s not the smell, sometimes cats are just a little bit dumb.
Edit: I should add my cat was orange.
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This happened to us a couple of times when one cat went to the vet and came home smelling wrong. The only way we could get the other cat to “reset” was to give the wrong-smelling one a bath.
For my cats it’s plain old jealousy. One is jealous the other got out as they are both Indoor cats. If it isn’t fighting its urinating on the escapees bed to prove a point. They are middle aged men now but still so petty. I let them fight it out and then it’s done.
hey did scooter start recognising noki?
Things are slowly getting back to normal. I had to keep them separate for almost a week and just kept giving them treats together. Currently there is still occasional hissing and if Noki doesn’t stand his ground Scooter will give chase but it’s not vicious like it was. Mostly positive interactions though with some grooming and headbutts.
it’s very strange that they stopped being nice to each other. Either way, I’m glad it’s going back to normal
Thank you! I had experienced something similar the first time Scooter went to have his teeth pulled. Noki didn’t recognize him at first but it only involved a little hissing and only lasted a day. This time I think it was a combo of him smelling like outside, Scooter being a more aggressive youngster and the fact he saw him come over the fence into the yard. They never go outside except in the catio, so he saw him as an intruder because cats in the yard are usually strangers. I’m just thankful it’s getting better. It was pretty stressful for a few days.
