Mother/Daughter Cats

Question
I have a 3 year old female/mother cat and she have a daughter that is 1 yrs old now. They were so loving in the beginning...all of a sudden about a couple of months ago the mother cat doesn't want to be around the daughter anymore. She hisses at her and she acts like she is scared of her now...she hides all the time when she see the daughter...What should i do?

Answer
Lapanza,

The expert you asked your question of is no longer available, so I am trying to answer her questions.

Is the daughter spayed? You may want to get her done if she is not already. Usually when a cat behaves like that towards another cat in the family it is because they smell different for some reason. Cats go by smell and not by sight in recognizing other cats. If the cat does not smell like she used to (like being in heat) the other cat(s) may think she is a different cat.

Cats do not have any recognition or concept of 'family'. After a cat is weaned they are no longer recognized as a daughter, mother, sister, etc.

Your daughter may have become the 'alpha' cat of the family, and dominant over the mother cat. Hissing, growing, and slapping are forms of 'kitty communication', and as long as there aren't any ears pinned back, or fur flying then they should be OK and will work it out.

Tabbi