162 Chapter 11in the same household. The reason for this could be due to any or all of the
following:
● The cat may be in pain or discomfort following injury or surgical procedures.
● The cat may still be in a heightened state of stress and arousal following the stay
in hospital and the journey home.
● The returning cat will now smell of ‘the vets’, which could cause a disruption to
its relationship with other cats in two possible ways:
● If the other cat(s) have themselves had bad experiences at the vets, they may
associate the scent that is now on the returning cat with potential threat.
● The returning cat will no longer smell familiar and so might be considered as
a stranger and as an intruder to the core territory.
● The relationship between the cats before they were separated may have already been
one of resigned tolerance rather than close bonding. Any sense of rivalry and competi-
tion for resources that existed previously is likely to increase after a period of separation.
Reducing the possibility of problems following hospitalization
● Ensure that the cat has been prescribed correct and sufficient analgesia and other
medications to limit pain and discomfort. Also ensure that the owners know how
to, and are capable of, administering the medication (see Appendix 13).
● Try to limit stress during hospitalization and educate the clients on how they may
limit stress associated with travelling for the cat (see Appendix 12).
● If the cat’s carrier is not needed at the surgery while the cat is hospitalized, it can
be better if it is stored at home so that it retains the familiar home scent.
● On arrival home the returning cat may need to be housed in a separate room
away from other household pets for a short while (this may also be necessary for
medical reasons) and then re-introduced gradually as you would a new cat to the
household (see Appendix 5).
● Installing a synthetic feline pheromone diffuser might help the cat to settle. An F3
synthetic facial pheromone diffuser would be most suitable to help a single cat
settle back home, whereas the addition of a cat-appeasing pheromone diffuser
might help to facilitate reintegration into a multi-cat household (see Pheromon-
atherapy in Chapter 11b).
● Care should also be taken to limit rivalry and competition for resources between
the cats as issues relating to this might not become evident until after they have
been separated for a while and are then reunited (see Appendix 3).
International Cat Care has produced some excellent videos on interacting and han-
dling cats in the veterinary clinic, which can be accessed via the following link: http://www.
icatcare.org/cat-handling-videos
References
Cannon, M. and Rodan, I. (2016a) The cat in the veterinary practice. In: Rodan, I. and Heath,
S. (eds) Feline Behavioural Health and Welfare. Elsevier, St Louis, Missouri, USA,
pp. 101–111.