I want to get my cat to like me

Lach

Hi everyone,

This my official cry for help. I need to understand my kitten.

She's nearly six months old and has been living with me for about almost five. She used to be very sweet and cuddly, but now she's all about her space.

I don't think she hates me. She sleeps on the bed with me and likes to be in the area most of the time, but she doesn't let me pet her for more than 5 seconds or lay on my lap anymore. If I try to touch her she just gets up and leaves.

I guess it's not such a big deal. I could get used to it, but I'm wondering if there is anything I can do. My girlfriend thinks its hormones (she's due to be spayed soon), but I'm not so sure. Maybe I'm just trying to hard to be affectionate with her.

Any advice or stories would be great. I'll post some pics soon.

Soggychicken

Sounds like hormones to me, especially since this development is recent.

Lach

Here's a picture from a couple of months ago:

thanimations

Cats can be pretty temperamental, so it's best just to give her some space I would think. She's still young so there's still awhile to go; it could be something she grows out of. I had a cat that wasn't very friendly once it got beyond kittenhood, but that was just her personality. She would come and cuddle when she wanted to, would tolerate it most of the time if I came to her, but for the most part we just gave each other space.

Of course, check with your vet if you think it's anything more serious, of if she regresses to destroying things, attacking you, et cetera.

Trowizilla

Cats definitely have a teenage jerk phase, but since she still likes to be around you, she's probably just trying out her independence. See how she acts after she gets spayed and when she gets done growing; in the meantime, let her have her space and don't freak out with the petting when she comes to you.

ege02

My cat is the same way. Whenever I grab her brush though she runs over and jumps on my lap and becomes my bitch basically.

Did you invest in toys? Cats at that age especially are energetic and playful.

dispatch.o

Cats grow out of the whole kitten laying on you in strange positions 18 hours a day thing... Most of the time they still want some attention and stuff, but they get a lot more independent and if you run around picking them up all the time they may stop coming near you at all.

I spend my time wearing my cat out with a laser-pen. When he gets tired he's all about sitting and getting patted on the ass.

TaGuelle

I dont mean to come off as an ass but you shouldnt go overboard with the laser pointer and kittens/cats. they love to play with them but after a while, it can take a toll on the cat. ive seen it happen multiple times with cats that friends of mine had. they would play day in and day out with a laser pointer and months later that cat seemed almost unnerved and constantly jumpy. so just take it easy with the laser. i wish i could offer more than anecdotal evidence of this so take it however you will.

dispatch.o

Well, he also plays fetch. Also, he's well aware the light comes out of the pen. He'll pick up the pen on another desk and bring it over to me and meow at me. Or if I sleep in, drop it on my chest and scream until I wake up. I'm not using it as torture.

Also, a cat that's jumpy or un-nerved like that got a lot more than a laser pointer. No pet I've ever had has ended out twitchy and insane, but I know a lot of people who "mess" with their animals and they end out borderline schizophrenic.

Interesting happy story, since I'm awake. We took our cats in as strays. The mother was nursing a small litter and our neighbor kept trying to sell the kittens. While still nursing one of them she got pregnant again. My girlfriend, being an animal person had started feeding her because of the lack of care the actual (neighbor) owner was showing.

We let her live on our patio and nurse until she gives birth behind an air-conditioning unit. That night we take them all inside. Eleven cats in all. We didn't want her to just keep getting pregnant, and we couldn't have her fixed while she was nursing. So, we lived with "mamacat" (which is still her name) one youngster female and nine newborn kittens for four months finding them homes and getting her fixed. We ended out keeping the runt of her last litter and the only one left from her first litter. Thus we gained three cats. I'm a dog person, and we have pet chinchillas... the cats are mighty curious what lives in our spare bedroom, but it's been 3 years now and we'll hopefully never let them find out. Were they to actually get in there, the caged Chinchillas would stand up on their back feet and spray urine all over the cats. Chin piss stinks.

The end.

Deathwing

I don't think she hates me. She sleeps on the bed with me and likes to be in the area most of the time, but she doesn't let me pet her for more than 5 seconds or lay on my lap anymore. If I try to touch her she just gets up and leaves.

One of our cats does this. When she was a kitten (she's about 2 years old now, and spayed), she couldn't get enough of snuggling with my wife, laying on her desk, sleeping on her at night, etc. Now she's decided she likes me better, and barely gives my wife the time of day unless she's blissed on catnip or something.

Their affections shift, but like someone else said, it's nothing to be worried about unless she starts getting destructive or overly aggressive - even without another cat around, they will learn to be emo pretty fast.

My girlfriend thinks its hormones (she's due to be spayed soon), but I'm not so sure.

Yeah, I would think it would tend to make them more affectionate, if anything, but ours was spayed before we had to deal with any of that....so no personal experience.

Maybe I'm just trying to hard to be affectionate with her.

It's possible. Even extremely good-natured cats need their space. If I chase the aforementioned kitteh around too much, she will eventually get ticked off and go sulk in a corner and glare at me or something. Messing with their feet or ears also tends to cause annoyance in a hurry.

Picture of said kitteh happily being where she shouldn't be:

EggyToast

Get her fixed and don't worry too much about the affection thing. 6-12 months is the "brat" phase, where they get into everything, break shit, and do their best to ignore you. They also usually have tons of energy and don't like sitting in one spot too long, unless they're asleep.

Both of my cats want my attention most when I'm not giving them any attention. When I'm at my computer they paw at my legs in the chair, in a "hey i'm down here" sort of way. Sometimes they jump up because I'm not reaching over and petting them, and they want pettings.

Your cat obviously likes you, otherwise she wouldn't sleep on the bed with you -- beds typically have the most person-smell. She's just not too into the lap and petting lately. Ignore her for a day or two, and see if it changes. You could also put your hand in front of her face and have her sniff you, and then pet her; they typically like that.

nizlopi

first of all, that is one pretty cat *wants*

What I think is best, is rather than trying to get her to sit on your lap, whenever you see her having a lie down or something, just go sit with her and stroke her, you'll find that she'll probably enjoy that and eventually she'll start seeking you out for the attention.

My cat Bella can be very moody, but I found that by doing that she started feeling a lot friendlier

Gihgehls

I just read this article and it is right the fuck on. I already did some of this stuff with my cat but she responded exactly how the article would say. Check it out.