Answers at Dogster Answers.

Wed, Jul 30th 2008, 02:16 GMT

Sometimes cats can hold permanent grudges for the most minor reasons. My family got our first cat when I was four years old, and as little girls often do, I tried dressing her in doll clothes a few times. You can imagine how enthusiastic the cat was about that. Mind you, I wasn't rough or cruel, and probably only did it two or three times, if that. But for the rest of her 17 years, that cat hated me like the plague. To be fair, she was a singularly unaffectionate cat; the only person she ever made nice to was my mother, who fed her, and then only at feeding time. In any event, I've spent the intervening years wondering whether I warped her and gave her PTSD by dressing her in doll clothes. Anyway, all I can say is that while I tend to agree with the other posters that the cat is jealous, she could be harboring some deep-seated grudge for some perfectly innocent past behavior on the part of your daughter.

ANSWERED BY

Leila

Sun, Jul 27th 2008, 23:31 GMT

I've never heard of a cat or dog taking an instant dislike to a person for absolutely no reason. Are you 200% certain that at no time did your daughter ever kick at, hit or even yell at Hannah? Or, if you adopted Hannah as a grown cat, that no other young person ever did anything to her? Does Hannah show this behavior toward anyone else but your daughter? Are your daughter or possibly visiting friends loud--do they speak loudly or yell a lot? I'm not trying to pin the blame exclusively on your daughter, but this is such odd behavior. Usually animals are jealous of other animals and not humans. But I like the advice about having your daughter feed her or give her favorite treats or even play with her,maybe a laser light or something like that. You can also sit quietly with your daugter, speak softly to Hannah and heap on the praise when Hannah behaves herself around your daughter. Try to keep things exceptionally calm and quiet around those two and see if that helps. Good luck!

ANSWERED BY

Izadore (Izzie)

Sun, Jul 27th 2008, 14:05 GMT

I sounds like Hannah is jealous of your daughter and seems to be acting the same way she would if you tried to introduce another cat. She thinks she is your baby and doesn't appreciate someone else getting your attention. Ypou may also be paying less attention to her at the weekends which is making her insecure. You could try these things to help calm things down. 1) make lots of fuss of Hannah while your daughter is there to help her feel secure and know that you still love her 2) Get Feliway diffusers. This makes cats feel secure and relaxed and will help reduce Hannah's agression. You can also get this as a spray so I'd get that too and spray around the house before your daughter arrives 3) If Hannah has a favorite treat have it so that she only gets them from your daughter during the weekends. That will make her associate something good with your daughter and help win her over. Hope things work out OK and I think the things above will help you work through this

ANSWERED BY

Sassy