Cats · by Isha Menon · 2026-10-01

resident cat hissing under the door but eating treats right after. bad sign or normal?

Doing slow intro with new kitten in the spare room. Our older cat is 4, normally confident. She'll hiss once or twice at the door, then take churu from my hand two seconds later and loaf in the hallway. I'm trying not to overread every little thing.

21 sparks · 13 comments

Comments

Sleepy Mango · 22 likes

That sounds pretty normal to me. Hiss is communication, not automatic doom.

An Pham · 1 likes

Normal. Mine growled at the door like a tiny diesel engine and still adjusted fine.

Rafael Almeida · 0 likes

diesel engine is such a specific accurate noise lol

Isha Menon · 0 likes

She does one hiss then sniffs the crack under the door for five full minutes

Brave Noodle · 6 likes

Don't rush visual access just because the hallway loaf feels encouraging.

Isha Menon · 1 likes

thank you, this is exactly the pep talk I needed

Mango Noodle · 2 likes

I had one who hissed for a week and now grooms the younger cat's head every night. Ask your vet if anything feels off, but intro drama alone is common.

Finn Brown · 1 likes

Our intro took almost three weeks and I still swear the hiss-to-groom pipeline is real.

Isha Menon · 1 likes

This makes me feel so much better, thank you

Kabir Khan · 1 likes

Door hiss then snack is basically 'I have concerns but I'm open to negotiations.'

Jasmine Cruz · 0 likes

That translation is killing me because it is EXACTLY what it sounds like.

Silver Marauder · 1 likes

The fact she's taking treats and hanging out is a nice sign.

Achieng Njeri · 0 likes

Hallway loaf is big 'I still want to be near this situation' energy.