Question
My wife and I live in a small flat along with our neutered male British Shorthair. Over the last month, we both traveled quite a bit and were away from the flat for more than 15 days. During this time, a friend of ours took care of our cat, simply cleaning out the litter box and feeding him. After we returned, I tried to clean out his litter box and he suddenly hissed and growled at me and tried to attack me. I stopped and waited until he calmed down. After about 10 minutes, when I was sitting a bit away from him, he approached me and let me pet him as if nothing unusual had happened. I am now afraid of touching his litter box and have absolutely no idea what caused him to get angry.
Any ideas what I can do?
Answer
I've been trying to think about this from the cat's point of view. Litter box has territorial and dominance implications. If the cat wasn't sure who you were, due to combination of your absence and a scent change, it is possible that this was a "who are you, what have you done with my human, and are you about to kick me out of the house" reaction.
If so this should correct itself in a few days as the cat concedes that you really are yourself and gets over its annoyance at your absence.
Answered By - keshlam