hissing

[9357m]

Can someone please explain the reason(s) for hissing? Obviously it's not a sweetheart gesture, but it seems to be used across a wide level of anger, so to speak.
Example: I would rough house the stray male cats in our building and some would look forward to it daily. They scratched me good, bite at my hands, although not hard, and never once would hiss. Let another stray walk in and a hiss then a growl then a serious fight would break out. And this is not a play fight, trust me.
My 2 sisters that I brought home from there 2 yrs ago also like me to play rough sometimes, but they will hiss very soon in the game, so to speak. They are not anti-social or mean, just regular fun little cats. They are usually purring during the playing around - right before the hiss that is.
Do females dislike getting their buttons pushed more than males or is this just personality or what?
Thanks,

 

[carolina]

In my house I only see hissing as a warning: "Stay away or else!"

 

[bluerexbear]

Chloe hisses at Bear when he plays too rough with her. I don't think hissing is ever "friendly" in a cat. It is their warning to other cats and humans alike that they have had "enough."

 

[ducman69]

I'm no behaviorist, but what I have learned is that cats live in the moment and act more on emotion and instinct than really thinking about their actions. So the mood can change quickly or instinct can kick in from another stimulus, and direction tends to be poor... touched somewhere kitty didn't like, heard a loud noise elsewhere, another cat comes in, etc.

The hiss itself from what I gather is a level 2 "back off or else", one level past body language.

Even mommy cats will hiss at their own kittens that are misbehaving.

Hissing can be minimized though w/ lots of socialization. Have only heard one hiss to date from these two, and it was a real short one when Wesley pounced on Buttercup who was sound asleep. The body language level 1 has been more often though, if one knocks something over making a loud noise or they surprise each other and poof up and stare down for a bit. Regarding males vs females, in general its said that females can be a bit more moody at times.

 

[9357m]

Thanks. Come to think of it, I have never seen my 2 hiss at each other even though they fight every now and then. They seldom if ever fight like they're actually mad at each other. And the more I think about it the cats at work will hiss without it turning into a major fight. Usually arguing over a spot around a food bowl. Or they seem to "invade" each others space somewhat. This makes more sense now.

 

[planetx]

one of my cats does little gentle hisses quite a lot, usually when he's playing, especially when he's about to pounce on something. He's a very vocal cat anyway though.