All About Cat Hissing

Cat hissing: It’s not “mean." It’s communication!

  • Cats are not being “aggressive” when they hiss. They’re expressing, “I feel uncomfortable or scared, and I want this to stop.” And that’s OK.
  • Cats hiss to avoid physical contact. They’re saying, “Please go away. I don’t want to fight.”
  • In multi-cat homes, the cat who hisses most often is the one who feels the most stress or bullying. So please don’t get upset with your cat for hissing.
  • Respect the hiss by giving your cat space.

To prevent hissing among cats, ensure plentiful and spread-out resources, including food bowls and litter boxes. Also, provide vertical territory for them to easily get away from each other. Learn more tips in the video below.

Logo Icon

About Best Friends Animal Society

Best Friends is working to end the killing of dogs and cats in U.S. shelters in part by getting more pets out of shelters and into loving homes.

We’ve come a long way since the first known city reached no-kill in 1994, and now we’re closer than ever to making the entire country no-kill. Today, roughly 2,500 shelters are no-kill throughout the U.S. — and 700 more are just 100 pets or fewer away from reaching that milestone.

Best Friends is committed to working with passionate people like you to save homeless pets through adoption, volunteering, fostering, and advocacy. In addition to our lifesaving centers around the U.S, we also founded and run the nation's largest no-kill sanctuary for companion animals.

Working together, we can save homeless pets in our communities and secure a better future for our best friends. Together, we will bring the whole country to no-kill.