Expert: Dear Tabbi - 2/6/2009

Question
My cat is about 6 months old, shes overall a nice cat. She loves my husband and i, and adores are baby, when my dad comes over she jumps all over him, basically she has no problems with anyone except for my husbands brother, when he comes over she freaks out, i mean i have never seen a cat go so crazy! he doesn't help the situation i know that but also whenever hes around she attacks us and hiss's at us and what not, its strange like i said, how can i make them get alone because he is over all the time

Answer
Vanessa,

Cats sense things about people, and they also react to smell. There is something about your brother-in-law, or his 'smell' that your cat distrusts, and she is defending you and protecting her territory from him. When a cat gets like that it doesn't stop and think about what it is doing, and just reacts, usually with the nearest pet or person.

Is he around any tomcats before he comes over? Or in any way around dead animals? He could be bringing in some smell on his clothes that she is reacting to.

First, I would get her spayed if she is not already. That helps a lot of behavior problems. I would have him completely ignore her when he is visiting, including no eye contact with her. Have him not try to touch her, and it's best if you don't either when he is there to help prevent her from getting into a frenzy. Definitely do NOT allow him tease her! The best thing probably would be to keep her in another room when he is around to keep her calm.

She may grow out of it or suddenly stop the behavior. She is a 'teenager' right now, and as with human teenagers, they can be unpredictable.

Tabbi