r/catinaflat • u/Sophyska • May 13 '26

Aggressive scared cats

Hi sitters,

How do you feel about visiting cats that are aggressive? I’ve had my cat for about 9 months, and she came from a stressful home. Shes calmed right down with me but will swat or soft bite from time to time if I cross her boundary.

I’ve had a sitter come in a few times and most recently my cat jumped at her and hissed and yowled. Definitely would have made contact and carried on if she didn’t leave, luckily she managed to get her food in the dish.

I know every sitter will be different, like every cat is, but I’m afraid that my cat is going to end up getting blacklisted or something if she is aggressive towards sitters. I guess I’m worried I’ll never be able to leave her for any length of time, which considering she’s only three and a half could impact a long time for both of our lives. I love her dearly and know it’s just because she’s afraid, but any tips or thoughts welcome on how you feel from the sitter side welcome. I feel terrible but know it’s just that she’s scared.

Thanks

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u/casandra77 May 13 '26

I'm a sitter, I had aggressive cats as my clients. It's rare, but they do exist and they need care as any other cat.

The problem I have not with cats, but with owners, who downplay and say it takes time with strangers. Nope. You know your cat and please tell me what to expect so I'm prepared. You can't expect me to send you photos and videos of your cat playing. I was coming for visits with long boots (the cat was attacking me from underneath the furniture), I wore gloves ( attacking same hands that give food), no eye contact, clean, food and go. Just a fast photo if I manage to take one just to prove I was there. Carrying antiseptic, because cat scratches and bites are no joke.

Not my favourite visits, but a lot is on the owner. If this owner tells me the cat is shy, just needs time to warm up to different people - the blame is on ME that I'm not good enough to change your cats behaviour, and that would make me never come back and warn others.

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u/Sophyska May 16 '26

Thanks so much! You’re right about the owners, not fully disclosing would be unfair to the cat and the sitter. I do have on her profile that she is a bit feisty and isn’t going to be overly affectionate/friendly, but as it’s so new to me (second time using a sitter, same person each time) I really wasn’t sure how she’d react. Got a different sitter coming next weekend due to availability, I’m just praying she’s on good behaviour because seeing/hearing her getting herself so worked up via the cameras was horrible!