Plastic bag incident - cats to no longer like each other

by Deb
(Rosemount, MN)

One or both of our cats where stuck inside a plastic bag. By the time I figured out the issue, I located one cat free of the bag and the other sitting upright still with bag on its butt, where he had urinated all over himself with fear, I am certain. Now, the other cat (female) will not have anything to do with the male cat and she screams, hisses and growls at him. How can we get them to get along? Will they use the same liter-box? Male cat either runs and hides or sits with his ears pulled back in fear of female.

They are both 17 months old. Are not siblings, but have always been house mates.

How do we get them to get along again?

Help,
Deb

Answer by Kate
This is a classic case if aggression trauma and is quite common when a cat gets a fright. It will subside but can take some time and so it is recommended that you seperate the cats for a while and introduce them back to each other slowly over a period of days. It helps to rebuild their confidence again and is the best way to ensure that they get over the truama and stop blaming each other and therefore behaving aggressivily. See my page under cat training about introducing cats to each other.

cats should always have separate litter trays. No cat likes to use somewhere that smells of another cats urine as this is a strong scent marker and is designed to warn cats off of the area. So seperate trays is the best anser. :)