Cats hiss for a variety of reasons. They may be frightened, hurt, upset at something or someone or perhaps they have just 'had enough'. I'm sure we've all had days like that. A genuine hiss is when your cat draws back his lips and bares his teeth before expelling the air in his lungs through the teeth.
Normally a cat hiss is a defensive reaction. You may have moved suddenly and your cat is frightened by this so it hisses. A loud or unexpected noise will often produce a hiss. I have known cats to hiss at visitors when they came to the house. By working out what the problem was, we were able to fix it. Apparently the cat was frightened by the door bell. By 'conditioning' the cat to hearing the door bell with the door open and a familiar person standing there talking gently, he soon got over his fear. And by having the visitors get down to floor and cat level to talk to the cat and pet it, the cat no longer associated those people with the noise.
A cat may hiss at children who have played too roughly or inadvertently hurt or teased it. The hiss is a warning to stop what is being done. If the behavior continues, the cat might hiss again more loudly then strike out with claws and/or teeth. Children need to be taught the correct way to play with and pick up cats. And it is very important that they learn what a hiss means. Unfortunately it will possibly take a few scratches before some children learn.
Sometimes you may be stroking or petting your cat while it lies on your lap only to find it suddenly start hissing at you. Petting induced hissing is your cat's way of saying 'enough stroking, I just want to go to sleep now'. This will usually be a gentle hiss with no aggression attached. One of my cats will hiss and purr at the same time, which amuses my family greatly.
Cats are very intelligent creatures and if they have been mistreated, they will remember it for a very long time. If they see someone they think may have hurt them, they will hiss aggressively and back away. Sometimes they may hiss for no reason you can fathom. It could be a smell that has reminded them of an unpleasant time or person.
Some cats will hiss at strangers as they believe they are defending their territory against intruders. It is up to you and your visitors to calm the cat. Make sure your visitors don't stare at the hissing cat as this may be interpreted as aggression. By looking away from it, they are no longer threatening it.
Some cats will try to become the 'alpha' person in the home. They will hiss at you for no apparent reason other than to try to intimidate you. If this happens, just ignore your cat and walk away. If the behavior continues, try shutting the cat in the bathroom or laundry for half an hour. Then when you let him out, pet him and talk gently. If he starts hissing again, put him back in the closed room. He will eventually learn that hissing is only going to get him banished and that you, not him, is the 'alpha' person.
Cats hiss at people for so many different reasons and with different types of hisses. It is up to us to work out what the problem is and to fix it before it escalates into something more painful.
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