# Hissing, growling & swatting please help!



## sugarlips (Jan 5, 2010)

My cat is a 6 year old female neutered indoor cat. I first started to notice her aggressive behavior before Thanksgiving when my father came to visit and brought his girlfriend. His girlfriend sat in "her" chair and at first would snuggle next to her and then after a few days started hissing & growling at her and if she got close enough to my cat she would swat at her with her claws. I was surprised that this came on all of a sudden. When they left I assumed it was just because our cat wasn't use to her or maybe smelled other cats on her. A few days later my cat was vomiting every hour and not eating. It was obvious that she was sick. I took her to the animal emergency clinic and they gave her some fluids and a shot. After a few days she stopped getting sick and was holding down food, she has been fine since. I had people over for new years eve and she hissed & growled and swatted at them. Okay so she doesnt like people anymore. Then this past weekend she is now hissing, growling, and swatting at me, her mom, that feeds her. She will hide under the bed hiss, and growl more and more as I get closer and if I get too close she will start swatting at me. Then I escaped downstairs and she follows me sitting under the end table while I sit on the couch. 5 minutes later once she calms down she starts rubbing my legs and purring like normal then jumps up next to me like all is fine. 5 minutes later I look at her and she starts hissing and growling again. I love her but I have had enough. Right now I am upstairs with my door shut trying to do some research on why she is acting this way. Just last night she was snuggled in bed with me. I dont know what is wrong with her. Is she sick? Does she have multiple personalities? I am scared that one day soon she is just going to snap and really hurt me. I already had to pay $150 for one vet visit. I can't afford much more. What options do I have? What can I do? Please help!


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## Heidi n Q (Nov 22, 2006)

Welcome to CatForum and I hope we can help.

Please do some reading about Redirected Aggression which can happen through sight, sound or odor triggers. I also wonder if your cat isn't stressed about something or in pain. Any of those things could be catalysts that are setting her off and causing her to behave in this manner. 

Things you may wish to try at home would be Feliway plug-ins. They act like air-fresheners but release a cat pheromone that (_in a hippy-ish manner_) tells the cat "all is well, be mellow". Rescue Remedy is also something you could try. Mitts & Tess also uses another product, but I cannot recall what it is. Physical things you can try, is working towards being seen by her as The Bringer of Good Things; treats, toys, positive attention. Do not look directly at her, direct looks can be interpreted as 'aggressive' and could trigger her to become defensive/offensive. Instead, blink your eyes at her, or catch her gaze briefly and then blink/slide your gaze away. 

You need to keep yourself safe, and she needs to know her aggressive behavior is unacceptable, but I also feel you need to work towards making your relationship with her be as positive as possible. When she gets into one of her moods, keep yourself safe by keeping distance between you. Clap your hands, tell her "No!" or stomp your feet. When she stops, you immediately stop and act relaxed, calming down and tell her "thank you". Try not to make a big deal out of deterring her bad behavior and reward her all you can for good behavior and encourage it with positive reinforcement.
Best or luck, I can only imagine how stressful this is for you. Just try to remember that *she* doesn't want to be all whacked-out, either. We need to find out why she is doing this and try to eliminate that precursor.
heidi =^..^=
http://www.littlebigcat.com/index.php?a ... acasestudy


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