Stray Cat Inconsistent Behavior?

[Sammiches]

I have a stray cat that I see every other day and comes over meowing when I call them over. I give him/her(for the sake of it, let's go with she/her) food as well but it's only about half the time the food is taken. Almost every time though she meows when she sees me and runs towards me but she starts hissing when I get near her. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to deal with this kind of behavior? She seems happy to see me but most of the time I end up getting scratched when I pet her. Very seldom do I get to pet her without being scratched. Maybe 2 out of 5 times I don't lol.

 

[Espalia]

If she is truly a stray she is probably not well socialized. Does this cat frequent the area around your home? Are you trying to adopt her? How much and what kind of food are you giving? How do you present it to her?

Whenever I meet a cat I don’t know I always crouch down so I don’t look as big and move slowly as I get close to them. I hold out my hand so that they can sniff it. Usually if the cat is amendable to pets it will sniff my hand then start rubbing their head against it. Once they do this, I know it’s okay to pet them. If the cat doesn’t come to sniff my hand or sniffs and then backs away/makes an unhappy sound I do not try to touch them because they are uncomfortable. If this happens to you and you want to become friends with this cat then I suggest “introducing yourself” by crouching down and letting them sniff your hand and then giving the food and not forcing pets unless they accept the touch by rubbing against your hand or legs. Over time she will probably warm up to you and accept more touch.

Also, many cats have places they don’t like to be petted even if they are very friendly. You should generally avoid their stomachs and sides, and even the base if the tail area can be sensitive. Stick to the face, neck, and upper back area until you know what the cat likes.

 

[Sammiches]

I do crouch down and sometimes she can be rubbing her head on my knees to all of a sudden growling, hissing, then a quick swipe. I sat down a few times even and what she does is stay with a hunched back and just growl and hisses for a good 5 minutes before doing something else.

The food I give her is a mix between cat treats and canned cat food which she gladly eats about half the time. Sometimes she just looks at it, growls, hisses, then casually walks away and shows up another day.

I only ever tried to pet her on the head/mid back, I'm aware the tail area is more sensitive so I avoid that unless she walks my hand towards it. Sometimes a pet to the head can lead to a scratch instead though. Like I said, very inconsistent behavior lol.

 

[susanm9006]

Poor girl, probably due to last experience she is both drawn to humans and fearful of them at the same time. It doesn’t take much, a hand reaching out, a hand lingering too long, or even an extra delicious treat to trigger fear and a hiss or more. While it all seems inconsistent it is actually very consistent behavior with a semi feral cat. Don’t react to the hisses and growls, continue to offer affection when she will receive it and don’t give up. Hopefully over time she will come to realize that you do not mean to harm or capture her.

 

[Sammiches]

Thanks for the response guys! I'll keep on feeding her, I haven't done anything threatening to my knowledge so she should be coming back at some point again. This is her btw when she does decide that she's okay with me.

I really hope she didn't have a terrible case of bad owners or something in the past. She can be sweet but also bittersweet quick.

 

[danteshuman]

In that video I see a nervous / wary cat. She licks her lip, moves away from you & swishes her tail. All of that is the equivalent of human hugging themselves, moving away and clenching their fists ready to fight. When she moves away, freeze. Don't touch her unless she head buts you or rubs against you. Avoid eye contact or do the slow blink or close your eyes (it is universal cat for 'hey man I trust you, won't hurt you & love you.') If she twitches her tail stop petting her. I would suggest putting the same kind of food down at the same time every day (wet food twice a day) then moving away from the food & sitting down (I would read for a half hour then take the food leftovers/dish inside with me.) I would also try leaving my door open for an hour after I go in, to encourage her to join me inside. If she enters, I would ignore her until she approaches. Good luck I'm sure you will be petting her in no time.

 

[Sammiches]

In that video I see a nervous / wary cat. She licks her lip, moves away from you & swishes her tail. All of that is the equivalent of human hugging themselves, moving away and clenching their fists ready to fight. When she moves away, freeze. Don't touch her unless she head buts you or rubs against you. Avoid eye contact or do the slow blink or close your eyes (it is universal cat for 'hey man I trust you, won't hurt you & love you.') If she twitches her tail stop petting her. I would suggest putting the same kind of food down at the same time every day (wet food twice a day) then moving away from the food & sitting down (I would read for a half hour then take the food leftovers/dish inside with me.) I would also try leaving my door open for an hour after I go in, to encourage her to join me inside. If she enters, I would ignore her until she approaches. Good luck I'm sure you will be petting her in no time.

Oh yeah the cat has tried several times to come in but since I have a cat inside, I'm afraid they'd tear each other apart. They hiss at each other through the sliding glass door lol.

An update would be the cat is still around and still eats what I leave there but still kinda hissy. Meows then hisses, I'm almost sure someone is scaring the cat in the area because there used to be trust but now it's pretty rough.