# My cat is acting strange (hissing for no reason at all)



## Sophia12 (Dec 2, 2015)

Hello,
I seem to be having a problem with my youngest cat (Princess) she has been hissing at my other (Tiger) cat for 2 days now and I can't work out why? If she sees my other cat she hisses at her or goes anywhere near her she does it again, but what i find so odd about this is they have been living together for a good 2-3 years now. So I did a bit of research and I have found out that my cat may be threatened by her or Tiger cat may of picked up an unknown scent (she's an outside cat Princess is an indoor cat) that maybe making my cat feel threatened, so I stoked Tiger that is the one being hissed at and put my hand to Princess (who has been hissing) and let her smell the scent of Tiger and straight away she hissed and growled at me. I did it a few times and she kept hissing but then i put my other hand without the scent of my other cat and she rubbed her head and acted normal again. I feel that she may be scared or threatened but i don;t understand why? There both normally lovable toward each other they always sleep with eachother now Princess just hides away when tiger is around and Tiger hides under the bed away from Princess because of the way she is acting towards her. I try telling her to stop and she does but then she smells her scent and she finds her and starts growling and hissing at her again I really don't know what to do I just want my cats going back to the way they were.


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## kittih (Jan 19, 2014)

I recommend you take your cat that is doing the hissing to the vet. Behaviour changes like this can sometimes mean that the cat is feeling ill or in pain and uses hissing and growling to keep others away.

I am seeing this behaviour more in my poorly cat when the other cat approaches. If she is having a good day pain wise ( she has arthritis and kidney disease) she is all friendly with the other one. If it is not a good day she will be antisocial, hiss. growl and bite if necessary if her keep away messages are being ignored.


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## lymorelynn (Oct 4, 2008)

I agree with @kittih. First step is take her to the vet to check for any medical problem. If that can be ruled out try Beaphar calming spot on - put it on both of the cats. You could also try a plug in diffuser, (Feliway or Pet Remedy), or zylkene which is a herbal medication


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## chillminx (Nov 22, 2010)

Hi @Sophia12 and welcome 

I agree with the others, it could be that Princess is not feeling well, or is in pain.

However it sounds as though Princess is actually objecting to Tiger's scent, (e.g. on your hand) and this could be because Tiger himself is unwell, or has been injured e.g. in a fight, as he is an outdoor cat. Cats who are unwell or injured will have a subtle change in their usual scent and it will be apparent to their feline companions, but not to humans as our sense of smell is poor compared to that of a cat.

If Tiger's scent is slightly changed at present it will be an alarm signal to Princess, as she won't understand why he smells different, and so she is likely to react to him by hissing at him as a warning to stay away from her..

I am assuming both cats are neutered/spayed btw?

I'd give Tiger a good check over to see if you can spot any injuries such as a cat bite. If there is nothing obvious, then I'd take both cats to the vet to be checked over.

EDIT: another thought - as Tiger is an outdoor cat it could be that he's been going in the house of one of your neighbours, (either invited or uninvited through a cat flap). If so he is likely to have picked up scents in the house - on his paws or fur - and it could be this that Princess can smell on him which is alarming her and making her hiss a warning at him.


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