this post was submitted on 20 Aug 2026
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Mrs. Howell, AKA Lovey, well hissy you the more you walk in the room. She will hiss at you when you open the kennel door. She will hiss at you as you reach out to pick her up.

But once you've got her she will be completely quiet. She won't move. She won't tense up. She says no instinct to flee. She will just lay there as chill as can be. Her ears won't pull back. Her pause will stay in a state of retract.

She'll lay here for hours. If she's going to be adoptable, she's got to stop hissing. She's not violent. She is lump. But lump hisses. And that means she won't pass the 5-year-old test.

The 5-year-old test means that a kid can reach in and a parent won't freak out when the cat responds. This is a key factor and if a cat is ready for adoption.

Lovey just wants to be left alone. Which is not conducive to her finding a happier place.

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[–] NathanDerWeise@feddit.org 21 points 2 days ago

I wish my cat would lay on me for hours. She'll play with you all day, but if you pick her up, she wants to leave after 10 seconds. The only time she ever lays near or on us voluntarily is when she's scared (washing machine, fireworks, or thunder). She follows us everywhere though. She's one of those "just out of arm's reach" cats.

[–] SuiXi3D@fedia.io 16 points 2 days ago (1 children)

She is lump.

Does she sit alone in a boggy marsh?

[–] SirSamuel@lemmy.world 9 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Totally motionless, except for her heart

[–] actionjbone@sh.itjust.works 1 points 2 days ago

She's not wearing pajamas

[–] clanker_victim_555@lemmy.world 6 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Lots of houses don't have 5 year olds. That seems like a weird test to be stuck on.

[–] FauxPseudo@lemmy.world 6 points 1 day ago

Cats are put in cages and people walk by. Some people have kids. If a kid reaches out to a cat and a cat hisses it's going to cause reputation problems for the place that is doing adoptions. So the general rule of thumb is that it has to be able to not hiss when a 5-year-old reaches for it.

[–] ChicoSuave@lemmy.world 11 points 2 days ago

Mrs Howell is lovely. Look at the love in those eyes.

I have a feral friend I leave food for and she hisses instead of meows. She is kind and timid but not dangerous. I think the cat hisses to try to speak like me when I talk to her.

Maybe Mrs Howell is trying to talk. Does she meow? Does she purr when she's on you?

[–] Hond@piefed.social 10 points 2 days ago

Unreal Pixar levels of cuteness. 😍

Would adopt her instantly.

[–] joulethief@discuss.tchncs.de 6 points 2 days ago

I think she'd be a great buddy to our lil' Maja. Very timid but cuddly with people she knows and trusts. Spends most of her time by herself on the balcony watching birds and the neighbours.

[–] IamSparticles@lemmy.zip 3 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Just FYI, if she's named after the character from Gilligan's Island, her nickname is "Lovey". No second L. And I wish her the best on her journey to adoption <3

[–] FauxPseudo@lemmy.world 3 points 2 days ago (1 children)
[–] IamSparticles@lemmy.zip 4 points 2 days ago

All good. And for the record, I would happily adopt the hissy lump if I didn't already have one anti-social cat to deal with.

[–] Doublenut@lemmy.zip 3 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Where is Mrs. Howell? I can adopt?

[–] FauxPseudo@lemmy.world 2 points 2 days ago

She hasn't been vaccinated or fixed yet so even if she was friendly she still isn't ready for adoption. She is in South Carolina. But I'm not sure where she will end up as her journey continues.

[–] FlashMobOfOne@lemmy.world 2 points 2 days ago

And she is, apparently, an excellent manipulator.