Why is my roommate's cat hissing and following me?
Unfamiliar cats may show teeth and follow you when they feel stressed by a person they do not know well. This uncertainty prevents people who are already uncomfortable around cats from feeling safe in their own living space.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
- 1Feeding the cat
- 2Petting the cat
- 3Checking the cat's tail posture to gauge mood
- 4testing a standard cat carrier first
- 5using a pet stroller instead of a backpack
- 6leaving the cat inside to look out the window
- 7Never letting the cat outside again even with supervision
- 8Ushering the cat inside quickly
- 9Asking online community members for clarification
- 10Observing the intensity and speed of the tail movement
- 11Looking at overall cat behavior like purring and making biscuits
- 12consulting veterinarians
- 13asking online communities
- 14researching cat behavior online
- 15Waiting for the cat to decompress
- 16Giving the cat space and a box with a blanket
- 17Observing if the cat is drooling or has a hairball
- 18Saying hello back to the cat
- 19Praising the cat and acknowledging its "kill"
- 20checking for ear infections or ear mites to rule out equilibrium issues
- 21Assuming the cat is simply having a dream
- 22Accepting minor scratches and scars as part of the interaction
- 23separating them
- 24looking for signs like self grooming or tails indicating they are cool
- 25monitoring urination to check for urinary blockages
- 26accepting the behavior as a self-soothing comfort habit
- 27sending a video to the vet
- 28taking the kitten to the vet for a checkup
- 29observing context and posture
- 30closing the window
- 31Booking a veterinary appointment to check the cat
In their words
Unedited, most upvoted first, each linked to the thread it came from.
“My cat (male, less than 1 year old) has been doing this for like 5 minutes everyday where he looks somewhere random mostly the ceiling and just meows like this.”source ↗
“Is this normal or should I be concerned?”source ↗
“This kitten is doing something strange where she’s kneading into everything and I mean everything she walks and she kneads. I assume this is normal for a kitten but I never seen it before and wanted to double check.”source ↗
“I wanted to make sure she isn’t annoyed or stressed. Does anyone know what the small little tail swishes mean?”source ↗
“He always does this when he turns his head”source ↗
“He started charging toward ME and attacked the hell out of me.”source ↗
“now that he’s inside he’s still making those deep guttural meows at me and puffing his tail like I’m still a threat.”source ↗
“I’m so scared that he hates me now.”source ↗
“Ass soon as I stood back up though, he started hissing and growling at me again.”source ↗
“first time cat owners & adopted like 3 weeks ago. is he annoyed? is he chillin? is he just weird?”source ↗
“I like to piss off my cat a little bit by petting his belly and he often gets excited and grabs by hand. I was wondering if instead he wants to make me stop doing it”source ↗
“I wanted to make sure it was healthy for him and he is happy.”source ↗
“Anyone else's do.. whatever this is?”source ↗
“Have never known what it is or why he does it so thought I'd see if anyone has any insight”source ↗
“he started doing this after i introduced my kitten but as the months go on he starts to scream at me while humping me? i’m scared it’s a urinary blockage”source ↗
“Any idea what she is doing when she makes this noise with her mouth?”source ↗
“This happens randomly, idk what it is since I've never had a cat before and I've got him recently, he seemed fine, he's not behaving any different from when he didn't have it.”source ↗
“Thank you! She didn’t seem annoyed or stressed but I remember someone telling me when a cat swishes their tail it means they’re annoyed or upset. I figured this might be more like a human tapping their foot casually sorta thing, but I wanted to be sure!”source ↗
“is this him being adorable and having kitty dreams, OR is he in some kind of distress?”source ↗
“ive had her for about 5 months and shes undoubtedly happy all the time but is also always wagging like shes pissed off”source ↗
“It is my roomate's cats and it has seen me few times before though I have never played with him/her. I am usually not comfortable with cats(including this one).”source ↗
“He/She seems mad if that changes anything, teeth showing.”source ↗
“I have one that too.”source ↗
“Confused as bellies are showing and they’re willingly laying close but my older cat is growling.”source ↗
“my 3m old f kitten sometimes does this with her head when she purrs, like pulses it? is it a burp or what do you think it could be?”source ↗
“Thought it was a great idea... turns out it's just a sure fire way to make my cat vomit”source ↗
“when i asked for advice everyone said this was due to stress from the new kitten. now him and the kitten are best friends and he still does this except if it’s not on me he cries :/”source ↗
“I got one just like the one pictured, turns out both my average sized cats are a little big for it.”source ↗
“Neither of my cats tolerate a harness well, and the few times I've taken them out on my back porch, they've mostly reacted really scared like I'm about to abandon them. ☹️”source ↗
“My boy cat cries non stop whenever he goes outside, no matter what method. My girl cat is quiet, but clearly not happy.”source ↗
“My cat does this exact same "hello?!" I always say hello back.”source ↗
“My 2 siblings do this - they want to show you their "kill"”source ↗
“does he does this when hes not looking up? My cat does this looking up basically , anyway maybe hes trying to hyper focus on ur face or something”source ↗
“No idea why but she still does it all these years later.”source ↗
“He screams like that daily, usually when/after he's playing”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 30Why does my anxious cat scream and panic over closed doors?
- 7Why is my cat attacking me out of nowhere?
- 6Why is my cat suddenly attacking my other cat?
- 5How to stop a cat from attacking after bringing home a puppy
- 4Older cat still hissing at new kitten after months
- 13Is my pet sick or just acting moody?