Why is my cat randomly hissing at me?

[reez79]

I had her for 6 years. She spayed and everything. I keep her in my bedroom. I let her out at night to run around until I go to bed.

 3 days ago I came back in the house in the morning and she hissed at me as I was coming back in the room. I left out the room 3 times and came back and each time she hissed at me. She also followed me out of the room one time still hissing at me. She even stood in the doorway one time and was lookin at me, as if she was daring me to come back in my own room. Later on in the day she calmed down and was her normally cuddly self.

Yesterday morning she did the same thing. Hissed at me again. She been doing it for the last 3 days but its random. I notice its only when Im walking towards her she hisses.  She sitting on my lap right now as I'm  typing this. I just dont understand what could be triggering these random hisses. I dont even feel comfortable sleeping in the same room with her anymore. She usually sleeps with me but now I feel nervous whe i wake up and see her sitting on the bed next to me. Afraid she might attack me in my sleep one night

What could be the reason she hissing at me?

 

[reez79]

She 6 years old

 

[di and bob]

Something happened that has made her nervous or afraid, she is 'warning' you not to come closer. I would not be afraid to sleep with her, she hasn't tried to actually attack you, is just warning you. I would truly doubt it will come to that.  She may have seen another cat outside, or smells something she doesn't like on you, or someone pounded on the door and scared her, there is SOMETHING she doesn't like and is afraid of. If it is in the mornings she is doing this, then something in the morning is scaring her. Maybe she wasn't used to anyone home at that time of the day and didn't realize it was you. Always talk to her when entering, cats are known to be extremely nearsighted.  If you act afraid, or yell at her, you are re-enforcing her idea that she should hiss at you. You have to get her to trust you again, the best way to do that is through play time or yummy treats. Get a string wand and try to play with her. Offer her smelly tuna or other treats she really likes and stroke her while she is eating. If she won't let you, set the treat down and let her come to it, moving closer each time you give her one. All the luck!

 

[reez79]

Yea and another thing I meant to mention is that she only hisses at me is if shes standing by the bedroom door and I'm about to leave out the bedroom or if I'm entering the bedroom and she's standing by the door. In the past she would just run away but now she hisses and I dont know what causing it. Other than that she's her normal self.

Are you saying I should offer her treats everytime she hisses at me? When I came home from work today she was by the bedroom door and I just threw her a treat before she had a chance to hiss. I dont want to overfeed her with treats but at the same time I want her to stop this hissing behavior. I feel like I may have to give her a treat everytime she's by the bedroom door lol.

She's a indoor cat so she's never encountered other cats before. She's only attempt to  scratch me one time during the hissing behavior. She swiped at my leg one time but I had on jeans to protect me from getting scratched

Another question should I stick my hand out at her while she hissing so that she can sniff it and know its me?

 

[gimli]

You don't really have to continue giving her treats after you've corrected the problem. but if you can some how turn that negative experience into a positive one, it will definitely help.

Bend down when she is hissing and give her your palm to sniff, make sure you keep your fingers and wrist loose. Also the bending down is so you can get closer to her level -- we're so big to them that they could potentially see us as a threat. Make sure you don't actively stare at her and if you do, give her kitty kisses to show her it's safe.

It definitely sounds like she might be wary or spooked or both! I was going to attribute it to your scent changing, but if its only happening when you're at the bedroom then idk what it could be.

Is her body language more aggressive, more surprised or more scared when this happens?

 

[reez79]

Yea she's never hissed at me when I'm laying down or she sitting on my lap. I think its possible it could be the movement of the door or my legs but I'm not sure.

This morning I left out the room. When I came back she was sitting on the edge of the bed. She was meowing so I started petting her. I left the room to go get her food. As I'm leaving the room she starts hissing at me, this time while she's sitting on the edge of the bed. When I came back with her food she hisssed at me and ran under the bed. I put her food in the bowl anyway. I laid down and went back to sleep and when I woke up half the food was gone and she was laying right next to me when I woke up and started rubbing up against me,letting me pet her like she do every morning.

I dont know why she had the random hissing this morning. I also tried to pick her up not too long ago and she hissed and ran away. However She let me pick her with no problem last night and we was playing.

Another thing when I leave or enter the bedroom I already know she's about to hiss by her body language. She will stop walking and  pause and wait for my next move and then she will start hissing

Do you think I should take her to the vet? I wanna give it a little more time before I do that. Like I said she's her normal self most of the time, its just these random moments she hisses, mainly when I enter and leave the bedroom. I love her and dont want to be forced to give her away cause of this

 

[MoochNNoodles]

Maybe she doesn't want to be shut in the room anymore?  Do you normally pick her up to put her in your room?  Talk to her in a low, calm voice to reassure her that it's you.  I don't know that I would offer a treat EVERY time she hisses; but enough to build your coming and going as a positive experience.  That with special playtime like Di and Bob suggested is to help build up positive experiences between the two of you.  Consider the kind of shoes you are wearing as you walk around or how heavy your footsteps are.

If this continues; a vet check isn't a bad idea to rule out things like developing vision problems or something along those lines.  Cats are notorious at hiding pain; so that is something to consider too.

Good luck and keep us updated!

 

[2catlady]

My cat is very sensitive to smells.  Have you been around other pets before coming into the bedroom?  Is there some new odor that you may be picking up somewhere that caused this change in behavior recently?  My cat will once in awhile hiss at me if I have been around a lot of other cats and bring that smell into the home.  He definitely hisses at his brother when his brother is back from the vet-- for like 3 days. 

But if the behavior continues and there is seemingly no explanation for it-- I would talk to the vet.

 

[gimli]

Definitely try to narrow down the cause of the hissing. You're definitely on the right track of being aware that she hisses at you when you enter or leave and only if you're standing. Ask yourself if there is a sound she doesn't like, if you're picking up new scents while out of the room, if it's your body language, etc. there is almost always a root cause, it's just a matter of pinning it down.

Like the others have suggested, take your kitty to the vet if the behavior does not clear up.

 

[simmerqueen]

Do you live alone, or are there other people living with you? If other people live there also, is there a chance someone could have stepped on her by mistake? If that had happened then she could definitely be nervous about people walking near her for a while.

 

[reez79]

I'm back. 2 days ago as I was walking pass her she hissed at me and also tried to scratch me 3 or 4 times. She was sitting on the bed when this happened. Ever since that happened she's been good for the last 2 days. No hissing or anything. She's also been a little more active too,more active then she was during those days she was hissing at me. She was sleeping alot during those days she was hissing at me randomly. My family members don't really pay her no mind so I know that can't be the reason.

She did vomit twice 3 days ago and vomitted once 2 days ago. Other than that so far she's been ok, no hissing or anything. I'm not going to say I'm out the clear yet but so far she's been ok. I'm still not sure what was triggering the hissing anyway. Its been 2 days since she stopped. I did make her a appointment for the vet at the end of this month . Should I still keep the appointment?

 

[mwallace056]

I would wait few more days to see how everything goes

 

[reez79]

She was good for about 3 days again until this morning. This morning she was meowing by her bowl because she was hungry. I put her food in the bowl. As I'm walking away from her I thought she was eating. Instead she followed me and hissed at me and started scratching my ankles and hissing at the same time. I left the room. I was shocked because she usually hiss when I walk towards her. This is the first time she hissed while I'm walkin away from her. I came back in the room 10 minutes later and she was eating her food. She looked at me and hissed and stopped eating her food and creeped towards me hissing. I panicked and picked up a sneaker to swing it at her to scare her away. She ran under the bed hissing. Another incident was last night but this time it was in the kitchen. I walked pass her and she hissed 2 times and just stood there waiting for my next month. Was not as worse as the situation this morning. I dont have the money for the vet now so thats why I'm waiting till the end of the month. I just dont understand what would make her hiss at me if I gave her what she wanted this morning. She was hungry so I fed her but she instead follows me and hisses at me

 

[anni7]

I wonder did you find what was the problem with the cat?
I think the hissing maybe trying to tell you something eg my cat bites not hard but leaves marks when he is hungry or wants to be fleaed. The reason we flea him is because both of our cats are allergic to medicines. They both can scratch our ankles if hungry as it makes them cranky. We consider it normal and dont scare or punish them. Occasionally they hiss but only when we are eg using a flea comb.. Not randomly

 

[onfiregirl]

here is the situation, lily my female who had a litter of two in may is now, not only hissing and growling at her babies but is growling at and hissing at me, she has never been a lapcat and just a few mins ago attempted to bite me after she was gone for two and half nights again. i have finally decided to find new homes for her kittens which im hoping she ll return to sleeping on my bed with me like she used to.two weeks ago a male cat chased her inside and i kept him until he escaped through my daughters bedroom window last weekend. could this fact have changed her mood towards me be the cause ? also there is another male cat that is hanging around my porch that i feed sometimes, could i just sum up this agression to jealousy ?

 

[susanm9006]

Onfiregirl, this is an old post. You might get a much better response if you repost as a new thread. but yes, the male cat probably stressed her and she hasn't recovered from it yet. And also, she may very well be in heat or even pregnant which can affect her mood. Please have her spayed as soon as possible so you don't have another litter.