I have a 5month old boy cat and everytime someone comes to visit he always spits at them and hisses is this normal behavior or is he being protective. Its kind of cute.
2006-10-06 05:15:36 · 10 answers · asked by Anonymous in Pets ➔ Cats
He is just being a cat. Some cats are like this, however, you really don't want to encourage this behavior. Once you have him neutered, he should settle down a bit.
2006-10-06 05:17:58 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Cats have personality that differs from dogs I find. But mostly what you are encountering here is a slight socializing issue. Your cat sounds a bit skittish around new people. You are at the right time to start socializing your cat. Waiting longer might not be easily reversible. Try and expose your cat to as many people as possible and have him handled by them. He will hiss and spit at first but as he noticed that people are not hurting him (do make sure of this cats remember for a very long time mistreatment as do any animal) he will get use to people and begin to actually enjoy the company of new visitors.
I have a 5 year old boy (Mica) who came to us by his own choice. Our neighbor did not care for him much and his children pretty much abused him all the time. Mica moved in 3 years ago and he is just starting to be sociable with other people. We have moved into a complex of animal lovers and he seems to finally understand that not all humans will hurt him. He is still a bit skittish around people but he now gives them a chance to prove themselves before he scratches or bites them. His biggest accomplishment has been not running in fear from a child’s voice. Recently we have a 3 year old that moved in (first kid in the complex) and when he first heard her he totally freaked out. Now he watches her from the bushes if they are both outside or looks at her from the door. But he no longer runs away. He is now curious about this little girl who pets all the other cats and dogs without hurting them. My next step was bringing in my 5 year old nephew to pet him. He’s extremely good with animals so we put the kid and the cat in the same room with nowhere for the cat to hide and my nephew just lay down on the floor and was patient and waited while trying to entice the cat to come closer. It did take a while but finally Mica’s curiosity got the best of him and he had to go inspect. My nephew did not touch him first but waited until Mica rubbed up against his hand. This is an example of how to socialize a cat. It takes a LOT of patience. Basically you have to go at the cat speed but bringing in what scares him more and more around him to get him use to it does work. Even my vet can’t believe the changes in Mica over the last 3 years. He’s more docile and more trusting and such a lovable cat. He even cuddles now. So think if I can do this with a lot of work and patience after this cat lived in 2 years of abuse your little 5 month old guy will be totally amazing and affectionate if you start socializing him.
Best of luck! Cats are for life kirks and all and remember to have him neutered the shelter are already too full! ï
2006-10-06 05:50:28 · answer #2 · answered by fierequebecoiseauusa 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Some animals are just like that. I'd recommend keeping a bowl of treats by the door. Everytime someone comes in, have them give the cat a treat. This way, he'll learn to associate the treats with strangers and may become more interested than defensive.
2006-10-06 05:58:49 · answer #3 · answered by CanineHeroTahoe 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Every feline reacts to strangers in a different way. But I agree that you should not encourage this behavior. You may think it's cute now but as he gets older his behavior can escalate (example : he may start biting and scratching). Again, I agree that he may relax after he's been fixed but you should devise a small form of punishment whenever he 'acts' up. Sometimes a small squirt gun works or you can try putting him in the bathroom (or other room he will not hurt himself in) for about 5 minutes as a "time out".
2006-10-06 06:01:22 · answer #4 · answered by BookLovr5 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think one other important thing about cat behavior is your reaction. Cats will learn to repeat behavior if it gets them any kind of attention, positive or negative. So be careful in doing seemingly reasonable things like reassuring him or saying no. If he sees that hissing at strangers means he gets extra petting and attention he may continue to do it for that reason alone.
2006-10-06 09:49:55 · answer #5 · answered by K L 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Its a mixture of both.Cats are very protective of their territory(your home),also it cats have very sensitive noses and it could be other cat or animal smells coming off your guests..
i went to visit some friends who had 3 cats of their own and when i came home and my cat who is very clingy to me..smelled my pants and all of a sudden stayed away until i took them off and took a shower......although i personally didn't handle the cats, their scent was son me which freaked my cats out..so this could be the case
2006-10-06 05:35:48 · answer #6 · answered by Starr 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
being protective, i have a girl cat and she has been doing that since she was a baby. Cats are also very protective of their owners
2006-10-06 05:23:06 · answer #7 · answered by yagurlbubblez 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
That sounds like fairly normal kitty cat behavior to me.
We had one kitty that would run up to total strangers and CLIMB UP THEIR PANT LEGS! Now that was a bit weird.
Another kitty would drag off women's purses ... that was a bit weird, too. (Of course, I did get some nice new purses that way.)
Purrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
2006-10-06 05:21:57 · answer #8 · answered by Harvie Ruth 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
he is being protective of his territory.
2006-10-06 05:24:55 · answer #9 · answered by blushlilac 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
he is being protecting of his territory (your house).
2006-10-06 05:36:44 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋