Cat hissing?

Question
I have had a female cat that I got from the human society for about 5 or 6 years, we got her spayed and de-clawed her front paws only a few weeks after we got her. I am honestly not sure if she has always been aggressive but she does not like anyone but me, my mother, and my father. If anyone else comes near she will sniff their hand and then run/back off while hissing or growling. She sometimes will do things like play with my hair, lying around she will kind of mat at my hair with her paws and every now and then hiss while doing it. When i get up to see what her problem is, she looks at me like nothing is wrong. It boggles people's brains at how mean she is to strangers and nice she is to me... but every now and then she will end up hissing at me and running away to hide. Is there anyway I can make her a nicer cat to people here(which is actually not what I am that worried about) and do you have any idea what could be causing the hissing- what she is trying to tell me?

Answer
Kyle,

Is she a calico? She sure sounds like it!

Some cats are one-person cats and are territorial about their 'person'.

Here is an article about cat 'body language' and sounds that my help you understand your cat:
http://www.petplanet.co.uk/petplanet/health/cat_talk.htm

It sounds like your cat has a 'temper' and gets mad easy. And that she does not like the 'smells' that other people have. Maybe a movement you make when she doesn't want you to or petting her when she wants something else will irritate her and make her hiss at you. Sometimes they have a sore place on their body (a previous injury?), or a place they don't like to be touched (some cats have areas with sensitive nerve endings) that will make them hiss when you touch it.

When a cat has been declawed sometimes they have problems ever after. When they declaw them they cut off their 'fingers' up to the first knuckle so the claws can't grow back. It could be that when she is kneading she may be hitting a place on her paw that hurts alot when she hits it a certain way and that could be the reason she hisses when she's 'happy'.

Or...you may just have a cat that is on the neurotic side (I have a couple of those!) whose behavior does not make any sense to anyone but them.