Cat to cat communications meaning

[Moonlight_wolf]

So I just moved into a house that already had two cats and we’ve been doing the slow introduction process. And we’ve gotten to the point where cats are meeting now.

Key: Mia is my cat, 4 years old. Binx is a 10 year old cat and Felix is a little under 1 year.

Things I think are going pretty well but every time Felix trills at Mia she hisses and I’m not sure why. I thought that trilling was a universally positive vocalization. But it seems Mia does not like it when Felix hisses. There has been no attacking or anything. Mia will be on w counter and Felix will be below her and then he trills and Mia hisses. It’s very strange. She doesn’t do anything else, she doesn’t seem to really care that much about him. It’s almost like she is taking to him.... but in hisses

It’s strange because she has never hissed at me. I know cats communicate differently when with other cats but I’m just a little perplexed.

Does anyone know why Mia doesn’t seem to like when Felix trills?

Binx and Mia have some tension but I think I can read the body language that Binx is like ‘oh no another youngster’ and Mia is like ‘If you’re gonna look all tense so will I’

Mia seems pretty comfortable around Felix except for the hisses.

What is going on here?

 

[ArtNJ]

There are a 1000 possible meanings to every hiss so its a bit complex, but let me engage the translator and see what it comes up with for you:

***

Felix: Bored. Bored! Hey world, I'M BORED!!! ... Hey big kitty up there! You want to play right? P L A Y!!!

Mia: Bite me. Er no...meant to say I'll bite you! BEWARE MY WRATH!

***

Well, there you have it. Mia currently disdains Felix and wants him to know that so he keeps the proper deferential difference to his superior.

Translation not guarrantied, but its pretty clear she isn't inviting him for tea or tail pouncing.

 

[di and bob]

Girls are the limit setters, the manners teachers. Mia is just following millions of years of instinct. Felix is a youngster, full of boundless energy and to her, having absolutely no manners. Felix is letting her know he is friendly, he wants to be a friend and wants to play, her being a diva and the mistress of her domain, wants no part of it. She thinks he is rude and crude and socially unacceptable. Perfectly normal. It takes months for cats to accept each other, they will eventually all be a family unit, fights and all. Mia is just telling him to keep his distance if he wants a playmate go to Binx, who is older and just wants to nap.
That there are no fights that draw blood means everything is going fine. Do not force anything, do not let Mia know you don't like her taking charge of her surroundings, she would be confused and maybe get scared because she is just doing what is natural. There is a natural hierarchy in every multicat household and they just need to see where they fit in. There will be skirmishes, maybe some tussles and fur flying, but it will work out. My little girl has hissed daily for 8 years at the boys to keep them in their place, and she is their mother!

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. I take it that Mia is the 'newcomer'? That being the case, she is likely still a bit on edge and not yet entirely acclimated to her new home. This would be even more so the case if Mia was an only cat before this. I also take it that your move wasn't that long ago?

Felix will mature and be less inclined to want to bug her, and Mia will hopefully get more relaxed with her new home. Her hisses are merely telling him to 'stay away' before he gets too close. If Felix doesn't listen to her and is more physical in his pursuit of her, he probably is going to experience a few swats in addition to the hisses! Hopefully, he already learned boundaries from Binx, and he will settle for the trills!!

 

[Moonlight_wolf]

Yes Mia is the newcomer and she was originally an only cat, however she did live with Binx a couple years ago so she’s not completely foreign to cat things.

But thanks for all your guys’s advice and reassurance. It’s good to know that all I’m experiencing is normal. They have been doing pretty well other than the hissing. Mia doesn’t seem that bothered by them and Felix is only a little crestfallen by the hissing he has been subjected to

It feels more like a conversation than an aggression thing. Mia hasn’t shown any resource guarding and if either the cats use her stuff she doesn’t seem super concerned. She’s only concerned if they are in her space XD

I guess I didn’t expect my sweet baby girl to be so hissy XD

 

[Kurisunium]

She thinks he is rude and crude and socially unacceptable. Perfectly normal.