I was worried about my cat, but he didn't have any problems with my transition.
Sometimes I yell at my cat when he is in the middle of doing something I don't like, such as climbing or scratching where he shouldn't. With my old voice, he would just give me a look and keep on going, or he would pause sort of disdainfully, as cats are wont to do. Now I have a pretty powerful baritone, and I can scare him if I'm not careful. He's run away from me a couple of times and sort of hunkered down fearfully.
I have never hit him. It's just the voice, plus physical movement.