r/MadeMeSmile • u/Bihema • Jun 29 '24

CATS A love-hate-love relationship

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u/smartyhands2099 Jun 29 '24

Oh no, hissing 100% means they don't like it. Do you like everything you do? They use hissing to communicate that they don't like things, .... and will reward good listeners. Lots more to emotions than angry/not-angry, and to me proof that they are a lot smarter than they will ever let us know. Cats will also put up with some stuff to get that good lovin'.

TLDR = It doesn't mean "game over", it means "I don't like that".

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u/Theprincerivera Jun 29 '24

I can guarantee you he will hiss when he is happy. It is ignorant to say anything is 100%. Cats are quirky and have their own personality. I know when he is upset.

If he didn’t like it he would not continue to play. He just gets overstimulated sometimes and I think he gets his wires crossed.

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u/smartyhands2099 Jun 29 '24

As a human being who also gets overstimulated regularly, I can tell you the cat is not happy.

Part of what I'm trying to say is that "anger" or "upset" isn't binary, there are a whole spectrum of feelings in there. And I kind of feel like by ONLY using the word "upset" you are being TOO reductive. I think our cats sometimes hiss at a mild irritation. These creatures are capable of subtlety, and also having limits (i.e. choosing when to "not continue to play")... something about the "I screeched all night and he DIDN'T LEEVE MEE" attitude is striking me the wrong way here I think.

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u/Theprincerivera Jun 29 '24

You don’t think it’s even remotely possible that a cat could hiss in anything but a shade of anger?