Cat Hissing at Me

My work schedule has changed and for 3 days I was home all day and was packing to go out of town. This is when the problem with my cat started. She started to hiss, growl, "yell" at me and then run under the bed. She did this for 3 days. I then went out of town for a week, and someone came in to watch her. Her behavior was normal. When I returned to town, the bad behavior towards me started again. It has now been 2 days. The strange this is that for about 5 mins in the morning, she is fine, but then all of a sudden goes "crazy". If you can help, please email me at [email protected]. Thanks.

Wow! She is really upset!

The thing that throws me is that she was "normal" while you were gone, which makes me think that it is not due to an illness, which is what we normally suspect when there is a large change in behavior like this.

Is it possible that you have changed your scent in some way? New soap, laundry detergent, shampoo, perfume....? If so, the cat may be responding to the change. Go back to your old scent and see whether that helps.

If its not your scent, it may be that she is upset about the disruption in her routine. Many cats have great difficulty with change. Perhaps you need to woo her back by giving her lots of special treats (like tuna) and playing her favorite games with her. Try sitting on the floor with a little tuna in a bowl (or whatever is her favorite treat) and talk softly to her while she tries the treat. Don't move toward her, just let her enjoy the treat and your soft voice. Do this a couple times daily (for as long as she will stay around) and see whether it helps.

I am anxious to hear what the other cat experts have to say.

I have tried everything, and she still won't come around. Does anyone know of any cat behaviorlist in the Dallas area? Any other suggestions on how to get my cat back to normal?

Clayton - could you have been around any other animals (not just cats) than may have transfered some of their scent to you? It could be that our cat is reacting to this.

Maybe your cat sense that you were going away and was unhappy about this both before you went and on your return. Is it a cry for attention?

One of my cats gets stroppy with us if it looks as if one or both of us are packing to go away. He then sulks and misbehaves when we get back.

I hope you get to the bottom of this, it's quite distressing when your own pet seems to turn against you. And a cat-shrink is not a bad idea at all. I got to the point where I took one of mine coz he was acting so wierd.

Good luck.

My vet suggested giving her a separation anxiety pill. Does anyone know anything about this?

It is probably something like Paxil or Prozac. They are using many human psychiatric drugs on dogs and cats now-a-days with pretty good success. It may be a good idea to give it a try. My bet is that once the pills calm her down and she is able to spend time with you again, she will re-learn that you are a great person. Once she remembers that she likes being with you, you will be able to stop the medication. So, I give your vet's idea a thumbs-up!

But....how will you give her the meds if she won't let you near her?

I would suggest crushing the pills and mixing them in with a small amount of extra-stinky canned food. It needs to be a small enough amount of food for her to eat the whole thing, but not so small that the pill taste is too strong. Perhaps a tablespoon of food???

Good luck with the pills, if you decide to do that.
We had to for Asim, he has anxiety and depression issues. We stopped giving him the meds because they were expensive it was virtually impossible to get him to take them, and it made him a very different cat. The meds made him weird and VERY unhappy... you think of a mental institution, people slouching around in bunny slippers and robs not talking any sense and drooling out of their mouth... that was Asim.

I have no advice to give, but good luck!