A Tale of Two Kittens

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pdduggan@hotmail.com - 11 Oct 2006 13:38 GMT

My wife and I just adopted two short-haired, tabby kittens (brothers)
at the weekend. They will shortly be 8 weeks old and were adopted from
lovely, caring people. They are bothe eating and exploring and playing
together absolutely fine and not giving any reason to be concerned for
their health.

One of the two (Zippy) seems to enjoy contact and will purr when
stroked/scratched and is very relaxed about being picked up. George
though doesn't like being touched at all and will run away at the
earliest opportunity, especially if his head is stroked, and he will
cry if picked up.

I realise that cats have their own personalities and some just aren't
as sociable as others. If George is never going to be a people cat then
we'll just have to (sadly) accept that. While he is still so young
though, is there anything we can do that will encourage him to be more
sociable and affectionate? Or might he just come round to us in time?

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Niel Humphreys - 11 Oct 2006 14:57 GMT

> My wife and I just adopted two short-haired, tabby kittens (brothers)
> at the weekend. They will shortly be 8 weeks old and were adopted from
[quoted text clipped - 13 lines]
> though, is there anything we can do that will encourage him to be more
> sociable and affectionate? Or might he just come round to us in time?

He will come around in time, he's probably just a little shyer than Zippy
and is more wary of his new humans. Just persist in picking him up and
putting him down gently so he knows there's nothing to be feared from
getting carried around a bit. :)

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Niel H

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cybercat - 11 Oct 2006 19:10 GMT

> My wife and I just adopted two short-haired, tabby kittens (brothers)
> at the weekend. They will shortly be 8 weeks old and were adopted from
> lovely, caring people. They are bothe eating and exploring and playing
> together absolutely fine and not giving any reason to be concerned for
> their health.

Yay! Good for you! (And I hope those people have spayed the mama cat.)

> One of the two (Zippy) seems to enjoy contact and will purr when
> stroked/scratched and is very relaxed about being picked up. George
[quoted text clipped - 7 lines]
> though, is there anything we can do that will encourage him to be more
> sociable and affectionate? Or might he just come round to us in time?

He'll come around better if you work with him. You can socialize him
into a much more affectionate cat by offering incentives. Find out
what he likes and let him come to you for it. Then while he is snacking
or playing with a catnip toy he has sought you out for, handle him.

Use interactive toys, like the feather on a string, or the great fishing
rod with a mouse on the end! So that he will learn to associate you
with fun stuff. Feed the kittens close to you sometimes so you can
pet them while they eat.

Especially handle both of your kittens' feet and tails, so they grow up
used to it. That way you can trim their claws and they will not be the
kind of cats that wheel around and get you when you touch their tails.

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pdduggan@hotmail.com - 12 Oct 2006 16:37 GMT

Thanks for replies.

> > My wife and I just adopted two short-haired, tabby kittens (brothers)
> > at the weekend. They will shortly be 8 weeks old and were adopted from
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
>
> Yay! Good for you! (And I hope those people have spayed the mama cat.)

They took her in as a stray a few months ago (but she must have been a
pet previously as she is *very* friendly). When her stomach swelled
they initially thought she had worms....Yes, a visit to the vets is in
the offing.

> <Snip some good advice>

Thanks again.

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