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My cats - any advice?


Zaphod

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Nothing serious, just thought I'd bounce it off you lot, seeing as you knowz teh kittehz.

 

I've got two cats, brother and sister (aw ain't that the cutest?) - as a matter of fact they're both excellently behaved, and they do really cute stuff like both go around together, hunt together, play together, and the cutest thing is come 10 o clock on the dot every night, they both go to bed for the night!

 

The thing I thought I'd ask you about is the boy doesn't like being touched, which can cause a bit of a problem come vet-time. I have to trap him, which I always feel a bit guilty about.

 

He's actually really friendly, they both really like their treats (in fact they're crazy about them) and he will often rub my legs for sweets, or simply just to say "hello man" on his way past. I understand from research that head butting a leg is a cat's way of greeting, apart from anything else, apparently they do this to each other to greet or acknowledge each other. Also, he hangs around when I eat and watches me, and seems interested in a lot of stuff I do, especially if it involves water. I was washing the car the other day and he was up on his hind legs sniffing the bucket full of car shampoo. He doesn't drink it or anything, just seems fascinated by water.

 

But if you try and touch him, he kind of hops away, and seemingly will do anything not to be touched, whereas strangely, he really likes the leg rubbing. Touching him seems to induce a kind of revulsion in him. I have stroked him a couple of times when he's really dozy and half asleep, he's actually purred a couple of times, but then he suddenly realises what's going on and runs away. So the deal is, he can touch me but I can't touch him.

 

They're rescue cats, so I figure probably something happened when he was little, or perhaps this is just his genetic makeup? I have accepted this and respect his wish not to be touched.

 

The girl on the other hand doesn't mind being touched although she isn't a lap cat. Both of them are kind of semi-wild, in the sense that they strike me as being more functional farm cats who like hunting rather than chocolate box lap cats.

 

The boy doesn't actually seem nervous or unhappy, quite the opposite in fact. He revels in human company and his sweets, it's just the touching thing that gets to him. They're both about 3 or 4 years old now (exact age unknown) so I guess this is the way it is.

 

Anyone got any comments, or has a cat similar?

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ahhh I think * rescue cats* has just answered it all .... and well done you ..I am a cat person , I have big george who is 11 and a half and bumble bee who is 10 months ..my little men ..anyway hahah don't get me started on cat gush or I will be here all night !!

 

It all sounds well in every other way , he is putting his scent on you , he has made you part of his pack and he will recognise you as his own . As you said , when he is half asleep you can get a little stroke in but as soon as he realises he is off ...so he is remembering something bless him ..so cat version of PTSD ...Carry on doing what you are doing but add a lot of holding your hand out to his face , let him sniff , move the fingers closer and tickle the ears IF you can ..don't worry about the tummy or anywhere else ..cats can feel very vulnerable having a tummy rub and we don't know what he is remembering ..so just keep earning his trust with the smelling of your fingers then tickling round his ears .

 

my pal has a rescue dog ..she will NEVER be able to pick him up ..something happened !! poor little thing , so she simply accepts that . With rescues we have to accept they come with baggage .

 

You are doing fab and given those fur babies a loving home ...and that is good enough .

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That's cats for you... I have had affectionate ones, super affectionate ones, aloof ones, tricky ones...they are pretty much like people, they each have their own personality and temper and moods, so you kind of have to take them as they are and deal lol.

 

Some of my cats loved living on me, every time I laid down there they were, on my feet, chest, etc. Others were a struggle to even pick up, even though they'd rub off my legs all the time. I had one who was very stand offish most of the time, but come bed time she would lay down by my side, making sure to only touch me a little, not too much.

 

It's just the cat's personality, and sometimes they do change as they get older and become more affectionate, sometimes they stay that way forever. You just gotta love 'em all

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I have two cats and several of my friends have cats. I think they all vary in their tolerance for physical touch.

 

My oldest cat hates to be picked up. She was very much like you describe, always close and involved but rarely liked to be touched.

Very quiet and reserved.

Now that she's 14 she's done a 180'. She's very vocal and wants to be pet all the time. She does however still hates to be picked up.

 

My little cat is an attention wh*re. Relentless at times.

 

Just different temperaments, that's all

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I used to have a cat Julie for 11 years, who I found as a stray.

She was always very independent and liked cuddles on her own terms.

She hated to be held and was not a lap cat.

She would rub against my legs to say "hi" or to get a treat. She would allow me to pet her, but only at night. She loved when I brushed her.

I think its just your cats personality.

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I used to have a cat Julie for 11 years, who I found as a stray.

She was always very independent and liked cuddles on her own terms.

She hated to be held and was not a lap cat.

She would rub against my legs to say "hi" or to get a treat. She would allow me to pet her, but only at night. She loved when I brushed her.

I think its just your cats personality.

 

 

Julie hahahaha that did tickle me

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Yes, he's likely been hurt OR it simply could be that he just isn't much of a toucher. So two things to try. First, when he's being all purry and cute and rubbing on you, simply hold out a finger towards his nose and let him originate sniffing and or then rubbing it. Only focus on his ears and head area at first. See if you can get him to do that little cat thing where they rub their ears and head against your fingers.

 

From there slowly, and by slowly I mean over a month, see if you can work up towards him letting you touch his head and ears. No body until later down the line, many cats actually don't like full body touch or they enjoy limited. I have one cat that you may stroke him along his body an entirely of four times. After that he's gonna bite the crap out of you if you keep it up, but this is the same cat who I once scratched his chin and ears for an hour and he meowed at me pitifully when I got up to go do something else. Ears and head, fantastic for petties, body - four times and then he nails you. Go figure.

 

There's another tactic you can do, but again this is a slow work up and that's the warm washcloth tactic. This you do when the kittah is sleepy and near you then again start with the head, let him sniff it, stroke gently around his head and ears and see if you can work up to full body. It simulates a mother cat grooming them and I have used it on many rescues and strays to calm them down.

 

Also if need be you can use a teeny bit of catnip and/or calming sprays if need be when doing these processes.

 

And if after all that he still says no then it's simply the way he is. If he's not fixed yet that may mellow him out, age probably will, but he may simply be a cat who never enjoys full on petties. Cats do have personalities too and quirks. I have one rescue right now who won't let me touch her, but when my son comes home she'll cuddle right up to him, chattering and digging her little face into his lap and just loving all over him. She adores my son. She's marked up his book bags and backpacks like crazy with the scent glands on her head, then with me it's like, "Meh, servant please do fill my water bowl. Uh, thanks. And when exactly is THE BOY coming home?"

 

I figure she's probably either never been socialized around women, sees me as a rival or she's been abused by a woman. So I'm treading very carefully with her, but of course it's rough 'cause she's so darn cute with my son. I wish she'd chatter to me like that. Sigh.

 

Those are my tips. Also watch Jackson Galaxy videos - the man is brilliant when it comes to handling cat issues.

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In response to some of your points :

 

I should have made it clear, I haven't recently acquired these cats at the age of 3 or 4, I did actually get them at about 8 weeks old or so, they'd been found in a cardboard box and I got them from a cat charity. I just never thought of asking the question about the male one online before. He's always been like it. When I first got him, he would really flinch, almost like I had ammonia on my fingers on something. I tried picking him up when he was about 10 weeks old, and it was like trying to hold a ferret. He sliced my hands up. Yet didn't seem unfriendly, as such.

 

He's been like it ever since, the leg rubbing thing started suddenly when he was about 1 year old, and also I communicate with him with his treats, although she tends to nick them all if he's too slow.

 

He is a bit mellower now for sure, but has always been this way with hand touching. Funnily enough, he does like a good pair of shoes.

 

It's quite funny actually how he backs off, he really does remind me of Floyd Mayweather, just always seems to find a gap.

 

He does do the finger sniffing thing, he's quite good with that, although one time out of ten he will do the ammonia reaction again, or look at my fingers like "Wah Gwan Bwoy, yo fings sho dun gon stinkeh" and almost kind of looks at them like they're a dog turd or something. He's not impressed. I have hypothesised that perhaps he doesn't like scented soap or something.

 

Ah well. I think it's a case of "He's like that". I don't mind about it actually, I just always take cats for what they are, and he's actually really friendly and well behaved. Him and the girl chase each other around come four o clock in the morning, and he kind of always lets her go first with the treats and stuff, I think he's a gentleman! Just like his owner, if I may be so bold as to venture.

 

Hope you guys thought this was cute, anyway. I'll report back if I get any progress, but I'll let it be at his rate. I have had this kind of cat before, although not as extreme, I've had aloof cats who mellowed out and became cuddly when they were about ten. One of my last cats actually was silent all his life then suddenly started miaowing when he was about 12. They don't mind switching up, I've noticed.

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