Cat is hissing and growling at me when it is feeding time.

[captainjackbowr]

Hello all, 

My cat Captain Jack Bower is hissing at me when I am going to feed him. I have two cats, and the one who is hissing is historically the more reactive of the two. He generally gravitates towards me more than my wife, which is why it is very strange he hissed at me. 

Last night we came home and he ran to his spot near the food bin like he always does. He normally lets me pet him a little before I get the food. When I went to pet him he hissed and ran away from me. I tried to speak to him calmly but he ran under our bed and started hissing and growling when I walked into the room. That said, I did pet my sisters cat hours earlier, so I chalked it up to that, and blew it off. He wouldn't even be in the same room with me. 

This morning, I woke up and he jumped up to the spot he likes to sit at while I scoop out the food. Thinking everything was fine this morning and since I washed my hands thoroughly a few times I reached out to pet him, and the same thing happened. I will see what happens tonight when I feed them since now I have showered. Perhaps, the other cats smell was all over me. The weird thing to me is that usually food is the ultimate kitty tamer for both of our cats. He seems terrified of me now, and even his food is not a motivating factor. Usually, they are tripping over each other to get to their bowls. Any suggestions?

 

[talkingpeanut]

Hello!  Sorry that it's taken a few days to get a response.  

How old are your cats?  Are they spayed/neutered?  

It does sound like something spooked him, and I think your guess is a good one.  I hope things have calmed down by now!

 

[catlover73]

I think this issue is related to you smelling different.  I have seen this reaction in my cat when one of them comes home from the vet.  The last time this happened I wiped down the cat that came home with a dirty t-shirt and the hissing stopped.  One of my friends had a problem with her cat hissing at her when she came home from a family member's house that has other cats.  Even after she showered her cat hissed at her.  She gave her cat a few hours to calm down.  Since she was going to be spending the day at home alone with just her cat she put on some dirty clothes for a few hours.  Her cat came out of hiding and started sniffing her. After that things went back to normal.

 

[achl]

Hi the same thing happens to when I play with my neighbor's cat,rocky my fur baby doesn't come around me until I change clothes