Puzzling Behaviour

[shevii]

We have a neighbour's cat that pays us an irregular visit (maybe once a fortnight).  Seems a very nervous cat but not so nervous that it stops him coming through the cat flap!  He is no trouble with our (equally timid) cat although they will stand there looking at each other for ages with neither doing anything aggressive or defensive.

What I find puzzling about his behaviour is that he wags his tail the whole time (especially when getting a stroke) rather like an excited happy dog would do.  I know this is generally seen as an aggressive sign in cats but there is no sign in his behaviour that he is bothered other than being a little bit nervous, he will still rub up against you so it is not like you are in his face.  The other really odd thing he does is hiss into space- not at anyone or anything just almost like a nervous random hiss and he is never looking at you when he does it as a warning or anything and the next moment he will be rubbing up against you again.

Obviously none of this is a problem but I am fascinated as to why he has this strange behaviour.  The neighbours said he was a rescue cat so maybe he could have been mistreated in the past but, although he is cautious, he never seems to display any trait of being unhappy with anything you are doing and he always has the option to walk away so it is not like we are picking him up and giving him a cuddle.

He is a tabby but twice the size of a normal tabby which I like as you get twice the cat for your money!

Any ideas as to why he behaves like this?

 

[yayi]

You have to consider that a cat's senses are sharper than ours. His puzzling hissing could just be that he smelled or heard something unfamiliar. Your visitor is not really timid, just not sure about the surroundings. Maybe he is still making up his mind whether to include your property as part of his territory. Maybe your cat and him are having some kind of conversation about it. 

I always thought that tail wagging is more like part of a cat's "curiosity" behavior. It's like a sign that the cat found something fascinating and he must focus all his attention on it. 

 

[catfella]

I loved the description. I could picture the little fella!
 

 

[otto]

Tail wagging can mean many things, not just anger or aggression. A tail wafting lazily back and forth is more of a...thoughtful posture, or perhaps self-comforting. Tails are used for balance and propulsion, so a slow wave as he stands still could also be a way to keep himself ready for anything, should he need to bolt. But my guess is, he's considering the environment, and reassuring himself with his tail movements.

The hissing also, just another form of communication, does not necessarily mean something negative.

My biggest concern would be the cat's health/flea/parasite/vaccination status, since he is coming into your home and beginning to interact with your cat. But...if you have a cat door, I guess your cat goes out anyway so is exposed to the same things, but still..it would concern me.

 

[shevii]

Many thanks for all your replies.

Rest assured I think the neighbour's cat is up to date with vaccinations etc- he seems to have had some sort of operation as some of his fur was shaved away but growing back.

The tail wagging was not gently to and fro it was a very fast constant swishing (like I say more like a dog). The bit about wagging because he is concentrating on the environment does make some sense I guess or maybe he just thinks he's a dog!

I'm still puzzled by the hissing into space, maybe yayi has picked up on something there but it seems so random and not while he sniffing or looking at anything that I just can't see what it could be he is noticing and it never seems to be when he is facing you or you are stroking him.

We did have a small incident later on when another neighbour's cat came in who is a bit of a pain but harmless really.  This cat just wants to play or whatever and the nervous cat I am talking about hid under the table.  I was even on the point of getting the neighbours to collect the shy one as I wasn't sure if he was going to be getting stressed but he seemed chilled enough that I just put the playful cat out and let the nervous one leave in his own time which took longer because by then our cat had turned up! When he did leave he did put on a bit of a pace to get back to his home but still doing the cat safety checks as he went so obviously not panicked that much!

Some days our house is like cat city- it comes from our cat hating a collar that we could potentially use to get some magnetic thing for the cat flap and also she is not one to defend her territory, so we have to keep an eye on her not being stressed and did have to keep her in for a week once when a Tom Cat was on the prowl (found the owners and they got him neutered!).  I guess it is just a balancing act for what is best for your cat and interaction of any sort with other cats probably doesn't do any harm.

And yes- he is a gorgeous cat!