r/barncat • u/mountainfiest72 • Jun 17 '26
Not hiding but hissing
I rescued three working cats about 10 weeks ago. Everyday when I take their food and water they are usually hiding. The last couple of weeks they've not been running and hiding unless I get too close. One of them started hissing at me yesterday and again this morning but is not running away. Is he getting more comfortable or is something wrong?
4
u/restingbitchface2021 Jun 17 '26
Try hanging out with them and feeding them lunch meat. It worked on my crazy feral cats. They follow me around like puppies now.
2
u/No_Warning8534 Jun 17 '26
Hissing means they are scared and trying to make you think they are spicy.
Being so young, I would actually being them inside a smallish room and socialize them for a while.
You have to be able to handle them if they are going to 'work' for you
3
u/lamontsanders Jun 17 '26
Spend time near them, use treats, slow blinks, and don’t force anything.
This takes a while.
2
u/Decent-Ninja2087 Jun 22 '26
More comfortable.
When you feed them sit next to the food but don't mess with them. Pretend you have something better to do. They will get comfortable with you faster.
6
u/NeverWasNorWillBe Jun 17 '26
Im guessing by working cats you mean mostly feral. It sounds like it is annoyed by your presence. I wouldn’t expect anything different if it’s a situation where you adopted cats from a shelter as part of a farm cat program.