re-introducing my cats

Question
I own two cats.  They have lived together for 4 years now.  Last night I gave my male cat a badly needed bath.  He behaved very well.  As soon as he was bathed, my other cat, Hazel (a very timid female) ran away from him and has stayed as far away as possible now.  She will not go hear him.  Did my male cat lose his scent now? How can I get my Hazel to be friends again and not be afraid.

Answer
Nora,

As long as you are completely sure that Hazel's behavior didn't show any little changes that could indicate illness or injury prior to seeing her brother after his bath you can try treating this on a behavioral level. I do think that it would be wise to watch Hazel closely for any sign of illness or injury and to make sure she's eating, drinking, urinating, defecating, playing and otherwise acting normally for her during the time that you're treating her behavioral reaction to her brother's bath because it's possible that she may be ill with behavioral changes happening. I'm also wondering if you know much about Hazel's history prior to her coming to live with you. If Hazel came from an animal shelter it's quite possible that she was abused before she came to live with you. Abused animals can be more sensitive to change and different things happening in their environment. Of course it's also possible that Hazel wasn't abused she may have been neglected or she may have been rescued from a hoarder. Hoarding is a psychological condition where a person is compelled to accumulate items or animals even when it's clearly affecting the health and safety of people and pets involved. Often times animal cruelty officers are forced to seize these animals and try to rehabilitate them. Unfortunately animals that have been improperly socialized or abused are more likely to be fearful and anxious. If this is the case with Hazel it may take some time, patience, treats and training to get her back on track.

I haven't seen too many cases where cats have reacted this way to a well established housemate being bathed, I think that I've only seen two cases in cats that I've cared for. This is kind of an odd situation, I seriously doubt that your kitty has lost his scent, I think that Hazel might have been frightened by the way that her brother looked after his bath. After all, I'm guessing that bathing your cats isn't something that you do frequently. I think that you should try giving Hazel some time to calm down in a room by herself for a few days, obviously you'll make sure that she has the usual kitty amenities. Sometimes behavioral issues like these can result in pet parents accidentally reinforcing the behavior by providing extra attention or treats to try and encourage the cat to be more brave. I don't recommend rewarding or reinforcing overly fearful behavior because you don't want it to become a permanent part of Hazel. Reward Hazel for coming to sit with you by the door or even approaching the towel with her brother's scent on it. Try having Hazel's brother in a covered travel crate in her room after a day or two of treatment with the remedy that I've recommended below. If Hazel approaches the travel crate reward her, praise her and give her a treat. If Hazel doesn't approach the crate give her some time to come around to the idea. If Hazel's brother doesn't feel comfortable with the crate you could try having someone hold him outside the door of the room Hazel's calming down in, you could even try tacking up a sheet or towel so that Hazel can't see her brother, but she can smell him. Essentially try to approach things the same way as I recommended with the crate, ignore fearful behavior but expose her to her brother's scent and presence for increasing amounts of time each day. Be sure to reward Hazel for curious behavior or attempts to play with her brother. I would start off by exposing Hazel to her brother's presence and scent without seeing him for around 2 minutes and gradually work towards increasing her tolerance from there. You could also try feeding Hazel and her brother a favorite treat on opposite sides of a barrier that prevents them from seeing each other but allows them to smell and hear each other, this would allow Hazel to associate her brother with something positive - her favorite treat.

I also think that adding a homeopathic remedy called Bach's Rescue Remedy which is a blend of flower essences designed to calm and reassure to Hazel's water would help to calm her. Rescue Remedy is fairly commonly used worldwide by some vets and pet parents to treat fearful, anxious, traumatized pets, it's quite safe and in my experience it works quite well. I think that a dose of around 5-7 drops of Rescue Remedy in a fresh bowl of water each morning should do the trick. You may also want to rub down your newly bathed male cat with a clean hand towel, then go in and rub Hazel down with the same towel. This should help reassure Hazel that nothing's changed, her brother's scent is still the same as it was, he's just cleaner and the scent of kitty shampoo is mixed with his usual scent. I think that giving Hazel some time to sort herself out, making sure that she is exposed to the scent of her brother a few times a day and trying not to make too big of a deal out of her anxiety should help. If you're finding that Hazel is still acting fearful and she really isn't showing any signs of improvement you can rub Rescue Remedy onto the skin on her ears and the thinly furred area in front of her ears, this will allow your little girl to get a dose of Rescue Remedy directly. If you're still finding that Hazel doesn't show any improvement in her anxiety you can dose her directly with the Rescue Remedy, I don't usually recommend that because cats don't typically like the smell or taste of Rescue Remedy because the flower essences are preserved in a grape alcohol solution. You can give Hazel a dropper full of Rescue Remedy by mouth and see how she's feeling after a day or two. If none of this seems to be working I would strongly recommend that Hazel sees a veterinarian just to rule out any potential medical issues.

If the vet gives Hazel a clean bill of health then I would recommend that you consider checking with a holistic veterinarian to see what natural treatments are available to help Hazel with her anxiety. A holistic veterinarian is trained in both conventional medicine as well as one or more alternative therapies such as acupuncture, homeopathy or even massage. It's certainly preferable to treat Hazel with more natural medicines rather than deciding to give her powerful psychotropic drugs. Cats are commonly treated with small doses of human anti-anxiety/anti-depressant drugs, however these treatments aren't without risk or side effects. If Hazel needs such treatment because other treatments aren't effective then I would urge you to take the time and do your research, don't be afraid to ask questions because it's ultimately about Hazel's health and her best interests. Hopefully this little girl will respond well to more natural treatments and go back to being the kitty she was prior to her brother's bath. If the vet gives Hazel a clean bill of health and her anxiety doesn't decrease you could also ask your vet for a referral to an animal behaviorist specializing in cat behavior. A behaviorist would be able to do an assessment in person and make recommendations based on your unique situation which hopefully results in Hazel improving. I'm quite interested in hearing how Hazel's doing with her rehabilitation. I'm also more than willing to try and help you get Hazel back on track, so if the initial suggestions don't work I have more to offer that just might help turn things around.