No specificity. Drag just wants to be able to communicate better with cats, especially when drag isn’t in a mood to expand drag’s horizons by confronting a scary stimulus.
Hissing at strange cats won’t provoke them into a fight? Getting into a fight with a cat would be the worst outcome, that won’t happen?
I can’t guarentee anything, but hissing is usually ‘knock it off’ and growling is ‘fuck off i’ll bite.’ You could try being generally loud first, though, since your human hiss might not get parsed the same as a cat hiss if you don’t do it right at first. Say ‘no!’ very loud. Clap your hands. If it’s far, stomp and go “hey!!!” Some cats pick up weird socialization and I’m not a cat expert, so take what i say with a grain of salt, tho.
When I see my cat scratch the wrong thing I go “Hey!!” and thump the table and she’ll stop what she’s doing. Then when she scratches the right thing, I go “Oh, good job, kitty!” in a much softer, gentle voice. She doesn’t really get it. She hears the loud tone, stops scratching, and jumps up on the couch. She doesn’t get it’s ‘stop,’ but she stops, so it’s good enough for me. They don’t like loud noises or certain smells, so you can use those to make them not want to be around you without hurting them.
I like the advice here on how to reduce a cat phobia. If you spend time with some very chill cats who will only be aggressive in extreme cases, you’ll learn their body language and signals and have an easier time signalling to them. It’s easier to “get” cats when you understand how little they understand us.
I wish I could help more. I remember being terrified of dogs as a kid, until I met a neighbor’s tiny elderly guy, who was so gentle and hard to fear, I slowly overcame it. Good luck! Sorry about the rambling.
No specificity. Drag just wants to be able to communicate better with cats, especially when drag isn’t in a mood to expand drag’s horizons by confronting a scary stimulus.
Hissing at strange cats won’t provoke them into a fight? Getting into a fight with a cat would be the worst outcome, that won’t happen?
I can’t guarentee anything, but hissing is usually ‘knock it off’ and growling is ‘fuck off i’ll bite.’ You could try being generally loud first, though, since your human hiss might not get parsed the same as a cat hiss if you don’t do it right at first. Say ‘no!’ very loud. Clap your hands. If it’s far, stomp and go “hey!!!” Some cats pick up weird socialization and I’m not a cat expert, so take what i say with a grain of salt, tho.
When I see my cat scratch the wrong thing I go “Hey!!” and thump the table and she’ll stop what she’s doing. Then when she scratches the right thing, I go “Oh, good job, kitty!” in a much softer, gentle voice. She doesn’t really get it. She hears the loud tone, stops scratching, and jumps up on the couch. She doesn’t get it’s ‘stop,’ but she stops, so it’s good enough for me. They don’t like loud noises or certain smells, so you can use those to make them not want to be around you without hurting them.
https://www.reddit.com/r/CatAdvice/comments/13oclp7/how_do_i_get_over_my_fear_of_cats
I like the advice here on how to reduce a cat phobia. If you spend time with some very chill cats who will only be aggressive in extreme cases, you’ll learn their body language and signals and have an easier time signalling to them. It’s easier to “get” cats when you understand how little they understand us.
I wish I could help more. I remember being terrified of dogs as a kid, until I met a neighbor’s tiny elderly guy, who was so gentle and hard to fear, I slowly overcame it. Good luck! Sorry about the rambling.