Mommy Nina and kitty fall out

Hello all,

It has been a very long time since I have visited this site and again here I am as I would really make use of your expertise.
After Lulu's passing we got this time 2 cats Nina a young mother and her daughter Zahira. It was heart melting to see them all the time together grooming each other and sleeping. This time round I thought I would not neuter them the soonest possible. I have the impression that once neutered they loose their joie de vivre, they sleep a lot more and become a couch potato. This lasted 2 years, until Nina, the mother went into heat last November and remained all the way till March. She drove us on the brink of insanity with a cat on heat for that long, so we neutered them both at one go. Now after the operation Nina (the mother) cannot see eye to eye with her daughter. They are fighting like 2 strangers, growling and hissing at each other. So much so that we had to separate them. The little one Zahira is incredibly upset about this. I'm so scared that this feeling will settle in. Had to take Zahira twice to the vet after the operation as she was throwing up right after feeding and was not using the litter, because she is so scared of her mother.

My vet is saying that they are smelling the clinic smells on each other that is why they are behaving this way. Did anyone experience this before?

That's so sad and upsetting! The vet is right about the smell of the clinic on each other. You should get another litter, two is better for now. That's all I got, I'm sure others have more advice, I believe they will calm down eventually, hang in there darling. It would be such a joy if they returned to loving and grooming one another as before. Best wishes!

The vet is right about the clinic smells, but they should have worn off by now.
I think your best bet is to start from scratch, and to pretend those two kitties are strangers to each other. This means that you will have to do a slow introduction like you would do when introducing a new cat to the household.
Keep them separate for now. Get some Feliway diffusers (synthetic cat pheromones) throughout the house. Only let them hear each other, and let them sniff clothing with each other's scent on it.
It may take a few weeks, be patient with them. Surgery is a great stressor for cats.
Good luck, and keep us updated.

Thank you for your replies. Yes, I did indeed get a new litter and keeping them separate all the time now, as I was feeding them together after the op. thinking they can associate the good feeling of food with being together, but was not working well for Zahira as she was gulping up all the food and then throwing up immediately.

Nina (the mother) is a feral cat, a lady got her in her house so she can give birth to her babies. She never got very used to us either, as she gets spooked very easily. One moment she is letting you stroke her on the next stroke she runs away as if you're beating her up. I never encountered a cat so afraid and unstable as her. If the door bell rings, she will pee straight away on the floor. Zahira though is the Mojito cat of the house, she chills with everyone and comes to Nina's rescue all the time when she gets spooked. If she is sleeping on the bed and I stop by to stroke her or just talk to her and she's on guard, Zahira hurries by, starts to groom her and calms her so that even I can stroke her then. Zahira is Nina's chill pill. Now things have changed drastically, they seem to compete on who takes our attention, who ownes the bed and sleeps with us. Nina seems to be competing for everything with Zahira and not letting her close to calm her, she is a loose cannon at the moment. Zahira is so stressed she is now grooming my hands every evening and morning as if I was Nina, until it burns.

Hope this is a transition though as it is so stressful for all of us.