two females fighting after the baby kitten has recently been spayed

Question
I have two female cats. One 6 yrs, the other 9 mos. I adoped the stray 9
month old, Ruby, when she was 3 mos. She was very underweight, so I waited
to have her spayed until just recently-this past weekend in fact. The two cats
were good pals-slept together, play fought, cleaned each other, and now they
are having issues. My older cat was noticably bothered when the little cat was
gone, but when the little cat came back, she was disoriented from the
anesthesia and hissing when my older cat came near her. Now two days later,
my older cat, who I thought adored the little cat, is being really jealous if my
roommate or I pay attention to Ruby, and has started lots of fights, hissing
etc with little cat. I've been trying to give my older cat extra attention (which I
did when I first brought Ruby into the home) to reassure her of her territory.
Unfortunately, because of the layout of my home, seperating them is next to
impossible. Any suggestions? I really don't want anything to get to the point
where Ruby, the little cat, is injured during her healing process.
Thanks

Answer
Hi Liz and what a great kitty mom you are!  

You know when the spayed kitten came home she had that "Vet" smell on her ; -0 which would bother any other cat in the home.  Add to that when she was waking up, she began by hissing at your older one.

I found the best place to put recovering gals from spaying is in a bathroom, can you do this for just a few more days?

This way they each can smell each other under the door yet not actually fight.  Then play with the older one outside the door, using a toy to also play with the other kitten - this helps them begin pawing at the toy and each other, but under a door.  In a few days you may see your older cat pawing and playing under the door with the kitten again.  

Another is to rub your older cat down with a dish towel, then go rub this towel on your kitten to re-scent her.  

Since your little one shouldn't be using clumping litter right now (and should have her own box), also give them their own food and water setup seperately.  This will give them some "space" to re-adjust.

Most of all, time will get these two back to where they were!  But until then to keep the roar down to a minimum, the bathroom seperation is a good idea.  

Once they both get to roam the house again, schedule times to play with them together.  I found a long fabric scrap is great for "fishing for kitties" since each can have their own end, yet be able to get closer.  Peacock feathers are great too for the same reason - long enough for both to have an end, but get them both interested and in the same vicinity to begin healing their love for each other.

With 3 females ranging from 11 years old to 2 years old, and 1 boy in our home - all rescued and brought into our home at different times, we had to do all of these ideas to save our sanity, and to get them semi-friendly towards each other!  

But your right, after one goes in for spaying/neutering or even just a Vet visit - it's like bringing in a totally new cat each time!  Thank goodness it doesn't take months that it usually does when they first arrive!  But, it will take your two a few weeks and getting each other's scent on them (and yours), to get them back together.

Please let me know how it's going ok?  I'm sure in a few weeks they will become friends again and Bless you for saving Ruby!

Debbie