# Help! My cat won't stop hissing and growling at us.



## heinrica (Dec 29, 2013)

A few days ago, my cat started hissing at my husband for no reason. We have a spare bedroom that is "her room," and she just hissed at him when he walked by down the hallway. Ever since then, she has been hissing and growling at us non-stop. If we even try to go near her, she will hiss at us and then growl. The weird thing is, she will come up to us after a while and cuddle, then 10 minutes later is back to hissing. She has never hissed at me in her life, and now she is snarling and growling at me constantly for no reason. We have tried just ignoring her, we have tried spoiling her by giving her attention and treats, and we have tried spraying her with water when she hisses to discourage her from doing it (but that just makes it worse). The only changes I can think of are that my husband and I got slippers for Christmas and we have been wearing them around the hardwood floors, maybe she doesn't like the noise?

My cat is almost 4 years old, and I adopted her when she was 4 months old so I am the only owner she has ever known. She is an indoor cat, she is spayed, she is eating and drinking normally, and there are no other pets in the house and no children either. Any ideas on why she is doing this or how can I stop this?


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## Jannor (Oct 26, 2013)

If she is suddenly behaving like that she is either ill, stressed or scared - spraying her with water is the worse thing you can do as it will just make her worse, giving her even more stress/fear.

If you think its the slippers stop using them for a few days, see if she stops. Has anything else happened to stress her out? More visitors than usual etc?

She needs to feel safe and secure again - so be gentle and kind with her.

Take her to vets, make sure she isn't ill. 

Think about buying a Feliway or their are herbal pills now for stress that seem to calm then down better. Someone else will remember the name of them shortly I'm sure!


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## buffie (May 31, 2010)

Jannor said:


> Think about buying a Feliway or their are herbal pills now for stress that seem to calm then down better. *Someone else will remember the name of them shortly I'm sure*!


Agree with Jannor she needs understanding and gentle handling and a trip to the vet to rule out any illness etc and of course taking off the slippers,it may be just that.
I think it will be Zylkene that Jannor mentioned............Zylkene Capsules - Priced Per Tablet - 75mg - Animed Direct

ETA just noticed that you are in the "states" so the link will be useless to you but maybe the product or similar is available there.


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## moggiemum (Mar 28, 2013)

yes i think it's probably the slippers but a vet check if that dosent work , try leaving the slippers off for a while to see if that works ,we might need pics of the offending slippers and more importantly the cat just to be sure we always need pics of lovely cats here


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## Forester (Dec 2, 2012)

It sounds to me as though she is in pain for some reason. I would take her to the vets to be checked over.

I had a similar experience just over a year ago . My cat had squealed whilst playing with me , then ran off and spat at me each time I tried to touch him. I was absolutely mortified at what had made him react that way towards me. He had previously only ever been affectionate with me. He was happy for my husband to approach him and fuss him but would not allow me anywhere near him. I called the vet out the next day as I did not want to stress him by having to put him in a carrier to take to the vets. TBH I was fearing a brain tumour or something similar as his behaviour was suddenly so out of character. He had broken the end off a canine tooth whilst playing. He had just associated me with the pain.


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## chillminx (Nov 22, 2010)

I agree with the others - it sounds as though your cat is in pain, or feeling ill. Even when cats are indoors only they do sometimes injure themselves if they land awkwardly when jumping off furniture, worktops etc. I would definitely have her checked by the vet if taking off your slippers doesn't help.

Zylkene is not available in the USA as far as I am aware. You may be able to get a food called Royal Canin Calm perhaps, which contains the same ingredient as Zylkene plus tryptophan which is an amino acid that regulates mood, appetite and sleep. But please don't even consider this treatment until you have had the all clear from the vet, as I am almost certain she is in pain or discomfort right now which needs investigating.


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