Cats are small creatures who can be overly emotional, just like humans. Since they can’t talk, they have other means of expressing themselves to others of their kind and those who aren’t. Hissing is one of the many ways cats express their displeasure about something, whether because of pain, fear, territory issues, or anger. Even big cats hiss when they are expressing unhappiness. Let’s find out more about why cats hiss and what it means.
Why Cats Hiss
Our lovable little furballs get upset at times, just like we do. They do not have a language to express their feelings, so some of the basic sounds they make are actually the cat expressing its emotions. Happy and content cats purr loudly and knead. Angry or scared cats hiss and may swat at their oppressor. Cats can poof their fur out to make themselves appear larger to the enemy, then deliver well-placed hisses and growls to scare them away. Most predators, including other cats, understand that cats have sharp claws, strong teeth, and horrible bacteria in their mouths that can infect and kill almost anything, including humans.
Pain
All felines, whether domesticated or wild, resort to hissing when injured, and another cat, person, or other animal comes by to check them out closer. The cat, unable to defend itself if it is badly injured, can only huddle in a tight ball to protect its legs, abdomen, and throat from an attack. Hissing is how the injured cat warns its onlookers that this isn’t a good time and that they need to leave the cat alone.
Cats also do this with their owners, whom they love enormously. An injured animal resorts to instinctual behavior like hissing, growling, screaming, and striking out. Your cat is afraid that you or another animal will inflict more pain or kill it since it is easy prey when injured. It isn’t that your cat is blaming you or anything. It is a primal instinct that has helped them survive over the centuries.
Irritation
When someone irritates a cat by petting it when it doesn’t want to be petted when a sibling cat pounces on its back and proceeds to bite and bunny kick it playfully, or when a dog approaches a familiar cat that wants nothing to do with it. Hissing is their way to communicate, “You’re irritating me. Leave me alone, or I’ll hurt you” to us. If you do not heed the warning, expect to be swatted next, followed by more hissing and growling, and eventually, the cat will either get fed up and attack or run away.
Other Cats
Cats are somewhat social within their species, but when an unfamiliar cat approaches another cat, that cat will likely hiss to warn the other cat to leave and that the territory belongs to them. If the cat continues to prod at the other, fighting will result.
If this is behavior between two cats in the same household, it’s perfectly normal behavior when a cat wants to be left alone. Sometimes, the other cat will want to sleep in the perch your cat is already in, so it will jump up, hiss, and swat to claim the perch and chase your other cat off.
Fear
When strange animals or humans approach a cat, it may hiss out of fear. If you see a cat trapped under a car while a dog paces and tries to get to it, there’s an excellent chance the hidden cat will growling and hissing to let the dog know its displeasure. If you are at the vet with your cat, they may hiss at the vet and any new face that enters the room. They might also hiss at you out of confusion over all the new smells.
When a cat is afraid, its eyes will be broad and massive, making itself look larger by puffing its fur out, or it may make itself as small as possible and hiss. A fearful cat will do anything to escape and can badly injure itself. If your cat is afraid, the best thing you can do to help it calm down is to talk to it in a soft voice and leave it alone for a while. This can commonly happen when a cat is moved into a new house. The new smells will confuse it and may lash out at you.
Defense
Lastly, a cat hisses as a warning and defense mechanism to whoever is threatening it. When your cat is cornered by a strange cat outside, it may hiss and swat to let the stranger know that this is their territory and that the stranger needs to leave. The hissing and growling will continue if the cat does not back off and may result in fighting. Cats will growl, yowl, and hiss when fighting with another cat.
If the threat is a dog or other large carnivorous predator, the cat will look as large as possible by puffing its fur on an arched back, hissing, growling, and screaming. Once a dog or other predator meets the cat’s claws, they may begin having second thoughts and may abandon the attack. They will realize a hissing cat is dangerous and can hurt them, so they will likely leave it alone. This behavior may also result in the cat being able to escape and live another day. Keeping your cats indoors is the best way to protect them from viruses passed on when fighting, like feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV).
