Lily

Question
Howdy, we have a 10 month old kitten that adores my partner and absolutely hates me.  When we first got her she was affectionate and loving and we used to snuggle up on the couch together all the time. I thought that she was adequately socialised but lately she has been hissing at our friends when they come over and generally being a vicious pain. We feed her red meat and play with her when we are home. We keep her in the laundry, which i admit is fairly small but she has a comfy spot to sit and some toys to play with, fresh water and enough food to last until we get home.  When my partner opens the door she runs up to him and snuggles all over him and they sit together most of the time. He also tells me that she is affectionate towards him when I am not around. However when I am around she will sit on the other side of the room and stare at me.
Im wondering if she is going to be like this indefinetly and if there are any steps I could take to change this behaviour and its making me rather sad.
- Jess

Answer
Its tough to just change an animal - its like asking me to help you change the personality of a human friend you have, really. But there are a couple of things. First, are you the one that locks her in the laundry every night? She may resent that. Also, think back; have you any encounters with her that were negative? Has she been spayed? If not, I suggest you get that done right away. Failing to spay can lead to some personality quirks that are due to territoriality and that may be your problem here - she has taken possession of your partner and hisses everyone else. Let me know if she is already fixed, but if not, I think that may part of the problem. Otherwise, time and gentleness from you is really all there is. She may have gotten spooked by something you did and you don't even realize it and it will take her time to get over it. One last point, you said you feed her red meat. You should be feeding her a good commercially prepared cat food which has added to it the proper vitamins and minerals a cat needs, not just meat. Please let me know what ahppens and we can follow up further.