Cat Problems - Cat Won't Stop Hissing

by Rachael

My cat problems started after I gave my male cat a bath the other day. Since then, my female cat won't stop hissing and growling at him.

I've never had a problem like this before, up until 3 days ago they were always snuggling together. How can I remedy this behaviour?


Reply from Liz (Editor): Did you use any sort of shampoo or soap to wash your male cat (including one that is specifically designed for cats?) I suspect your female cat doesn't like the smell of whatever you used to wash him with, and now her pal smells strange, she doesn't like the smell and she's scared... So her response is to hiss and growl at him.

Cats have a really strong sense of smell, and even if you can't smell anything different about your male cat, your female will be able to.

There are a couple of things you can do here. You can either just wait and let time sort it out - over time the smell will fade away and the problem will resolve itself.

However if you can't stand the thought of this going on for any length of time, it may be worth bathing your male cat again but this time just using only water - nothing else. The water should help to rinse away the smell and will hopefully accelerate the resolution of this.

Best of luck with this and thank you for your question.