cat fighting

Question
I have 2 cats, both of whom I adopted as kittens at roughly the same time (August 2005). They are the same age.  The male cat was neutered early on and the female cat was spayed early on.  They have always gotten along, sometimes just tolerating each other's presence and other times loving and playing with each other.  Two days ago the male cat, who weighs nearly 20 lbs, stuck his head in a re-useable grocery bag. He subsequently freaked out and frantically ran around the apartment with the bag on his head, running into walls and furniture, while I tried to stop him.

I finally caught him in the kitchen, where I noticed he was urinating. The female cat, who weighs around 7.5 lbs, was also in the kitchen. As soon as the bag came off, he hissed and ran into my room to hide under the bed. I then discovered that he had urinated almost everywhere along the path that he ran with the bag. Surely he was traumatized by this bag incident.

When I went to check on him in my room, he hissed and screamed at me when I looked at him. I was so scared that I immediately left my room and closed the door.  About an hour later I placed a food and water dish in the room, along with a litterbox.  I tried to talk to him in a reassuring voice, but he was not receptive.  Finally, around 8 hours later, he came out from under the bed and began to engage with me as he usually would.  The female cat was not allowed in the bedroom at all.  However, when I opened the door for the female cat to peek in, he hissed and screamed and went under the bed again.  I closed the door and kept them separated for the night.

The next morning, I opened my bedroom door and he ventured out to where he could see the female cat. However, he hissed at her and she hissed back, causing him to scream an ungodly like scream and run after her until she hid under the couch, where he cannot fit. I put him back in the bedroom to calm down.  

I would let them settle this dispute on their own but he weighs significantly more than she does and I am afraid she could be injured.  He is fine engaging with me and coming out of the room-- as long as he does not see the other cat.

What should I do? She seems open to reconciliation as long as he does not hiss at her, but I obviously cannot reason with him.  

Does he blame her for the bag incident? Of note, while he was running around with the bag on his head, he managed to somehow urinate on or spray her. I subsequently wiped her down with baby wipes until I could no longer smell the marking. I also cleaned the carpet.  Should I just keep them separated longer? In doing so I am paying her more attention, and I feel terrible about it because I feel I am being unfair.

His scream is blood curdling... is it borne of fear or of aggression? I am at a loss as to what to do...

Answer
Christina,

I've had that happen too. Hint: if plastic bags are around make sure you tear the handle in half to avoid that happening.

Cats do not have any reasoning ability. They go by association, smell, and experience. And some cats do not handle trauma well....and that was traumatic! Two reasons why he may be aggressive towards the female...yes, he may associate her with his 'scare', but more than likely because he urinated on her she now smells different. Cats go by smell and not by sight. He may think she is now a different cat and is protecting his territory from this 'stranger' who now smells like 'another cat's urine' and also like Baby Wipes (which aren't good for the female to lick off).

I would try a warm washcloth to wipe her off and her 'different smells'. The male cat should settle down when she gets her regular smell back which she will do by licking herself and replacing her scent.

The cat may have a fear of plastic bags now. When you feel safe to do it, I would get him in a room and show him they are OK. Shake and make noise a plastic bag, which will scare him at first, then try to get him to touch it which may take awhile. He needs to learn it won't hurt him again (hopefully). Then leave the bag in the room with him to venture to, smell, hit, etc. until he realizes it's OK. That USUALLY works, but no guarantee. It will depend on the cat and what is in his mind. Then put the same bag in the kitchen, or where ever it scared him where he can touch it, so he doesn't associate the room where he was sacred with the bag.

You may want to keep them separated until he calms down and she gets her smell back. Then feed them some yummy cat treats TOGETHER, like tuna, or tinned sardines in oil. That is so he will associate the female with something pleasant and not something negative.

There is a calming aid that you can put in your cat's water that is very popular called Bach's Rescue remedy. You can get it at a health food store (people use it too) or on-line. It calms a cat using natural ingredients and people swear by it. More information can be found at these websites:
(copy and paste, or type, the whole links into your address bar)

http://www.bachflower.com/Pets.htm
http://www.nelsonbach.com/BFE_for_pets.html
http://www.petsynergy.com/flower.html
http://www.oes.org/page1/Bach-Rescue-Remedy.html

These are suggestions. I hope they help. It will take some time and patience, but he will be OK and get back to normal. I also suggest that for the cat's peace of mind...and yours, you try to keep plastic bags put away, at least for the time being. I have a feeling though, that it's not as much the plastic bag freaking the cat out as the cat in the house that 'smells different'.

Tabbi