Why does a neighbor's cat meow at my door and hiss?
A neighbor's cat frequently meows, scratches, and rattles the door in the early morning hours, yet hisses aggressively the moment the door is opened. This prevents any friendly interaction and creates a stressful situation right outside your 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.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
Why does a neighbor's cat meow at my door and hiss?
- 1Moving slowly, letting the cat approach first, and being patientDid this help you?
- 2Leaving the door open for a while and walking away to let the cat enter on its ownDid this help you?
- 3Placing spike mats in front of the doorDid this help you?
- 4Using an automatic feederDid this help you?
- 5Feeding late around 11pm before bedDid this help you?
- 6Never opening the door or reactingDid this help you?
- 7Using an adhesive door draft stopperDid this help you?
- 8Providing a flopping fish toy for daytime distractionDid this help you?
- 9Letting the cat into the bedroomDid this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“basically, ever since i moved into my apartment, my neighbor's cat keeps meowing outside my door. however, when i open my door, it starts hissing at me and looks really angry”source ↗
“Every night around 5am he comes to my bedroom door, trills/yowls, and scratches it. It happens in rounds, several times in the early morning”source ↗
“He also slides his paw under the door and *pulls* on it, so the door rattles in its frame and makes a huge racket”source ↗
“i try 🥹 even if i open my door really slowly, the moment the kitty sees me it starts hissing”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 18Older cat still hissing at new kitten after months
- 7Why does my cat meow when I sneeze?
- 26Why is my cat suddenly attacking my other cat?
- 3Why does my cat demand food while I'm in the bathroom?
- 3Why won't my kitten stop playing too rough with my older cat?
- 2Why does my cat bite my legs when I walk away?