Confused..

Hello everyone!

I curious to know if anyone can help explain how my cat's behavior changed..

I have a 3 year old domestic short hair female named Abby. My fiance got her when she was 8 weeks old. For the first year of her life she lived in a college apartment with 4 guys and people always coming and going. She was so friendly to everyone. If a stranger was sitting on the couch she would come right up to them and be very playful and loving. My fiance moved when Abby was almost one and he lived alone. He noticed that Abby didn't seem as playful anymore so we got a 6 month old kitten named Neela. They have always gotten along pretty well but they don't seem "close" (if that makes sense..).

I don't know the first time that it happened but sometime after her 1st birthday she started hissing at strangers. She will come up to someone without hesitation but once she sniffs them for a minute she will hiss. It doesn't seem to be a "I'm going to attack you" hiss but just a warning. But on the other hand she falls asleep in the same room as them. She will also hiss at my fiance or I when strangers are in our home and we try to move her. When no other people are in our home she is the most loving and friendly cat- always wants to be near us and sleeping with us.

What could have brought on this change and how do I get her to not hiss at people? Thanks for any suggestions!

Some cats, more often females, become more sensitive as they mature or age. Sometimes hissing is more of a fear reaction, sometimes it is territorial, sometimes defensive. Basically in all cases it is a sign to merely give them their space, allow them to feel non threatened. Maia hisses when strangers try to touch her, she is scared. My Pandi hissed in a territorial "guard cat" way, everyone was scared to death of her! Of course she was my jelly bean!
The only way to ease the situation is to reassure them it is ok, no threat, but other wise its a natural action some cats do more then others.

Cheylink gave some good advice. Female cats are generally quite a bit more territorial than males, especially after they've had kittens. I have all male cats now, and they are all pretty laid back; but when I had female cats, they were usually more defensive than the males were. Let her have her space, and give her some extra loving to let her know she's still "#1".

~KK~