my parents' cat hisses at me

[thalberg]

I'm home for vacation.  Every time I walk by my parents' cat, she hisses at me.  She even hisses when I say her name.  I get so angry.  My parents tell me to  ignore it, but I just can't.  Anyone have any advice?  I've thought about putting antifreeze in her water dish, or feeding her chocolate, or throwing salmon in the garbage disposal and then turning it on, but those just don't seem like good solutions to  me.

[gorbee natcase]

they sound like excelent sollutions to me

[Derek]

Try behaving towards it differently, walk towards it expecting it to purr and rub against your leg. It'll sense that and like you more (possibly)  Try combining that with offering it some kitty treats and allowing it to come to you to receive them. It'll warm up to you really fast.

[Ziggy]

Maybe Dazzer could marry it - then it would be happy 

[Torp]

Cats usually hiss when they feel threatened.  Go find some non-threatening place to sit or lay down and let the cat come to you.  Cat treats help in this process.

If that doesn't work, just hiss back

[Siberian Husky]

look..cats arevery territorial creatures...you are posing a threat to the cats environment because you represent a "change"..simply because your visiting...when the cat hisses at you..dont do anything back..dont even make eye contact..or hiss back..or try n kick the cat...ANY kind of reaction is rewarding the cat..and re-enforcing his behavior...even when you yell at the cat..the eye contact or verbal communication alone is letting the cat know he has caught your attention with the hissing...this will encourage his behavior...the best thing to do..is straight up ignore it...eventually the cat will stop and realize his efforts are useless...then this is when you intervene...start rewarding the cat when the cat is being docile..or even sleeping...this will replace his bad behavior with a conditioned behavior...everyone wants praise over punishment..even a stubborn cat...if you have any question..let me know...

[TheHammer]

Good post by Siberian Husky. One thing, though... As I have a rather shy and stubborn cat myself, I know from experience that disturbing it while sleeping may not be a good idea. Wherever they put themselves to sleep, they want this place to be respected as their (secure) resort, so they want nobody to get their. Normally, they get annoyed and run away, or might, in your case, become even more aggressive (not always though, when they feel really comfortable and dozy you might stroke them and they will appreciate it very much. If they are in their alerted state though, you will get some other reactions). Better to stay completely neutral and to give her some rewards (e.g. food) when she is awake and in control of her situation (another mistake: never surprise a cat. And don't even think of punching, beating, kicking it. Here is a story about someone I know who owned a cat as well. When the cat was quite young she used to run to the lake they were living at. One day, the guy I am talking about decided to test if the cat could swim and (softly) kicked her into the lake (b*stard). However, the cat could swim of course. But from that day on, every time it would hear the guy coming up the stairs or entering the room it would instantly try to get out or jump under the table. The cat was truly traumatized for more than 3 years! And even today I think it has a sort of animosity against this guy...)

[00range]

Bribe it, cats love food.

[Siberian Husky]

yeah..TheHammer's post really proves the good old saying "take any advice with a grain of salt"..and this is true..his cat may be very firm about his sleeping quarters and habbits..but my cat Velcrow..she loves being picked up and handled during a nap...so i guess its relaly up to the personality of the cat..

gas prices are going down guys..lets celebrate

[Dazzer]

Maybe Dazzer could marry it - then it would be happy 

ooh that was harsh that hurt me... it did

Try some catnip.

[llamaman]

You could feed it some treats everytime you pass it. Do you have another pet where you live? It may be the scent of another pet that makes it mad. My cat likes music. She will on on the piano and meow until someone plays it.

[squinchy]

Find a viola/violin case. Cats love those--they're curved, squishy, and warm when under the sun. Identify yourself with the case and the cat might love you nearly as much as it loves the case.

(Or just give it some food everytime you walk by.)

[mikeyg]

eat the cat.  kitties are a delicasy.  might I recommend garlic on it?

[thalberg]

Thanks for all your advice, guys.  Honestly, I've tried so many things with this cat.  I've given her salmon, roast beef, catnip, cat treats.  I tried to make her think of me as the "treat" guy.  The one who always gives her good food.  I would do this at least four times a day.  But you wouldn't believe it--I'm honestly telling the truth!!!--she would sometimes eat the treats right out of my hand, and hiss at me as soon as she finished!!! 

Basically, I've come to the conclusion that the cat wins.  I see her as furry and cute and I want to interact with her.  She does NOT want to interact.  She wins.  And I have to listen to her hiss.

My parents are not good about this.  The cat belonged to my brother, but when he brought it home for the summer, my mom fell in love with it and manipulated my brother into leaving it here.  ("How can you make the cat live in that apartment?  Leave her here to enjoy the big house.  It's in the cat's best interest.") 

My parents totally could have gotten a friendly cat.  Why they needed this one is beyond me.  Seriously, if the cat is walking through the room, and I say "hi, Ruby" she turns and hisses and continues walking. 

I've offered to take her to the pound and exchange her for a similar-looking animal, but my parents won't let me.  I told my parents that millions of cats (this is true!) are euthanized every year in this country though they are perfectly healthy.  Why shouldn't Ruby trade places with one of the friendlier ones?

[mikeyg]

I think a little thing called sentimental value may prevent your parents from just trading cats...

[Dazzer]

i did watch a documentary once on animal behaviour. A small segment of it was on eye contact. Something about how humans interact with each other using their eyes give different impressions to a cat.

[Siberian Husky]

eye contact can be threatening to MANY animals..cats..dogs..apes and monkeys of all kinds especially..from small capuccins to gorillas...

my dog can play etudes..and yours cant..jealous?