When a woman was out of town and asked the man she was seeing to check on her cat, she had no idea the visit would later confirm her pet's instincts. Footage from that day shows the cat, Cleo, reacting to the man with loud meowing, hissing and a wagging tail - and she kept her eyes on him the whole time.
TikTok user @whathalesreading shared the video of her female cat's behaviour, saying that every time she doubts her cat "has her back", she remembers the clip. Over the video she wrote: "Every time I think my girl cat doesn't have my back, I remember this video exists, when a guy I was seeing went to check on her for me while I was out of town and she acted like this towards him (she was right)."
Why Do Cats Hiss at Strangers?
According to Pet MD, cats meow and hiss at strangers primarily because of fear, stress and boundary-setting. An unfamiliar person disrupts their safe environment, triggering a defensive reaction. When a cat hisses, it is asking for space from whatever it is hissing at - in this case, the man Cleo's owner was dating at the time.
The advice is to back away if a cat hisses at you, to avoid being scratched or bitten. Giving the cat space and time helps, but in Cleo's case, she simply was not a fan of her owner's then-boyfriend.
Cat Owners Share Their Own Stories
In the comments, other cat owners recalled similar moments when their pets seemed to sense something wrong with their partners. One woman wrote: "She NEVER had accidents outside of her litter box. She p***** on 3 of my s***** exes' favourite things. She's in heaven now, but that'll always be one of my favourite memories of my baby girl lol."
Another commenter said: "My cat did this to my ex. She even attacked him on the bed. At the time, I joked and said oh she thinks you're a bad man... Well, it turns out the cat knew exactly what was up and could sense he was indeed a bad man."
A third added: "My cat hid from my ex all day while he was pet sitting for me, and once he fell asleep, my cat came out from hiding and peed on him. Safe to say my baby does love me lol."
