Cats issue a series of vocal warnings ...
which other animals (and people) instinctively understand.
Cat hissing, sounds very much like the hiss of a snake,
which is a sound or warning that causes alarm and fear in the
animal kingdom and people.
Researchers believe that cats use an instinctive and effective
method of self-defence called mimicry, which
has evolved over the ages and across species.
Other warning cat sounds include the impressive rolling growl,
a common warning used by many animals.
A hissing cat may also flatten its ears against
its head.
One theory is this ear posture makes the hissing cat also look
like a snake. Another is the ears are flattened to
protect them from injury, should felines actually
have no choice but to fight.
A cat's hiss - how the sound is formed
Cats
leave their mouths partially open and tense their facial muscles.
With their lips pulled back and razor sharp teeth on display...
a rush of air is forced through the cat's
grooved tongue, which creates the hissing sound.
Cat hissing is often followed by spitting, a
powerful spray of moisture thrust out of a cat's mouth on a blast
of forced air.
(Notably, spitting is an unpopular behavior in our own culture.)
Mother nature provides cats with
two more defenses
Piloerection occurs when tiny muscles under the
cat's hair cause the hair to stand on end.
A feline will also arch its back and turn
its body so it faces sideways toward the enemy. This
body language posture is known by many as the Halloween cat.
Both of these postures are meant to make cats appear larger and
more capable of defending themselves.
Why else do cats hiss?
It's all in the family.
All new mothers are busy and need a break.
A quite hiss informs the kittens that now is a good time to
be less demanding.
A queen (mother cat) will also hiss
at her kittens if it is time to wean them. Call it
tough love. She instinctively knows that her kittens should
become less dependant on her. At about four weeks of
age, the kittens begin to eat solid food and should be completely
weaned at about six weeks.
If you have just introduced a new kitten to
your cat, it might hiss at the kitten to make it perfectly clear
whose boss.
Cat hissing is common cat talk among housemates and cat neighbors
who are always monitoring their status in their own cat community.
If your pet cat is handled when it's not
well or in pain, it might express its discomfort
with an angry hiss (just as we might yelp under similar circumstances).
If you own more than one cat, a cat returning home with
strange smells, may trigger a hissing episode from
a confused house mate.
Although not proven, one cat may sense when another
cat is not well and will try to avoid being exposed
to a contagious illness by hissing at the sick cat.
Whether we understand the reasons or not, the message remains
the same,
keep your dissstance.
