My 14 year old male, neutered cat hissed at me today and it is extremely out of character so I'm concerned that it's a sign of dementia or something.
My daughter was out with my husband and my two sons were watching TV on the sofa with me. The cat jumped on my knee and settled with me for half an hour. When he heard my husband's car he jumped down and went to greet them as he's ever hopeful of being fed treats etc. My daughter came into the room and sat on my knee then a few minutes later the cat came back, jumped on the sofa next to us and immediately hissed at me. He jumped back down when I then said his name in shock.
He has never hissed at me before. Ever. He's a real softy. I can pick him up and cuddle him and he'll always allow it. I've never once worried about him scratching or biting me but when he hissed today I was so shocked and did feel fearful of him.
I don't know if it was jealousy? As he'd been on my knee before my daughter. But she's 5 and obviously been on my knee hundreds of times when he's wanted to come up and sometimes he's jumped up next to us and tried to get on too, but never hissed. She's literally shoved him off my knee before (and I've told her off for it) and he's never hissed. It is totally out of character.
He is starting to look elderly now. His back legs seem a bit weak these days when he first gets up and he's lost a bit of fur off the base of his tail. But his appetite seems the same as normal. So I don't know if this is just part of him getting older. It was so out of character that I wondered if he'd momentarily forgotten who I was and so saw a stranger and got scared?
Anyone have any advice please? Thank you