My nieces cat

Question
My niece has a 9-10 month old female (spayed) cat. She takes her places when she is going to be gone for even one overnight. Many times she has come here. This visit though she has not warmed up to me or my 2 cats. She has been growling and batting at me every time I approach her and she has had a loud fight with my younger female cat. My question is...do u think it is because she is feeling insecure about not having a set home?  She is not staying home enough to make the safe connections and is being put in homes with other cats or dogs for 1-4 days.  Or could she be sick? She isn't acting it but maybe???  I am just a concerned Aunt and want my niece to have a loving cat and not a paranoid angry one.

Answer
Hi Martha,

It sounds like as she is getting older she is getting more territorial. She has her home. When your sister brings her over this is no longer her safe area. It is a strange area with strange cats. This is causing her aggressive behavior. When she was younger she wasn't too set in her ways. But now as she is older she likes her home turf only. I think it is time for your niece to visit places with no cats from now on. She should leave her home when she visits you. Otherwise you will be looking at some nasty cat fights. Good luck.

Ciao, Karen