.

With both of mine, it depends what mood they are in to start with - if
they are in chasing-each-other-around-the-flat mood, they don't like being
picked up at all, because they want to continue racing around. If they are
sleepy or relaxed, they love being picked up and carried around.

Amanda

I've got several housecats, 5 in all, and all of them are an E.
It depends on their mood. A couple usually don't want me to pet them much,
let alone carry them, but sometimes they will.
The others usually will let me lug them around for several minutes before
they want down, but sometimes they want me to carry them around all day
long. And sometimes they don't want me to touch them.
My cats are all very independant.

Cindy: b

Micky: c

And the two we lost:

Tommy: a

Minka: d, but not out of laziness, she really enjoyed it.

Carola

I set my cat down too rather than allowing her to jump down but
I do it for a different reason.  I want her to KNOW I am letting
her go.  There are times when you need to hold the cat (nail
trimming, health checks etc.) and I want her to learn that she
will be let go ..eventually...she doesn't need to try and "escape".

Don't know if she has put it together yet but I am still hoping to
make those required holdings less stressful.

AG

In news:rec.pets.cats, Bryan S. Slick <usenet@slick-family.not> posted on
Fri, 3 Sep 2004 08:05:11 -0400:

LOL... My roommate gets irked with me all the time when I set my "favorite"
of our three cats down.  (We call her Cream Puff because that's what she
looks like, but her real name is Mintaka.)  With his bad back, he basically
gets them as far down as he can without bending over and lets them drop the
rest of the way -- about a foot and a half.  I take Mintaka (the one that's
really mine) and carry her gently then set her on a soft couch cushion or
pillow like she's a piece of fine crystal, and then I pet her on the head
and ask her if she's comfortable.  Then she jumps off the couch and peels
sideways, knocking her hip against the wall with a thud as she runs after
one of the other cats.  So much for my being careful with her.

Damaeus

Nocturne: b) 2-5 minutes before her dignity becomes tarnished.

Smokey: c) Indefinitely, he's very clingy.

Kumani and Tyche: e) Indefinitely because we raised them from 3 weeks
of age and they think that being carried around by people is "normal".

--Fil

In news:rec.pets.cats, arang <arang@sys.tem> posted on Fri, 3 Sep 2004
19:05:51 -0400:

Meowing and hissing are an expression of pain and/or fear.  My roommate
accidentally stepped on Prissie's tail.  She meowed and hissed, too.  And
it's one good reason why I don't wear shoes in the house -- because with
three tails sweeping the floor, you can never tell when one might drift
underfoot.

I would never pick up an animal with "nature's handle" unless I had no
hands.  I got all over my roommate for picking up Storm by the scruff of
his neck.  I tried pulling on the loose skin of the back of my hand just to
pick up the weight of my arm.  It wasn't excruciating, but it wasn't
exactly pleasant, either.  Nature gave animals a handle to be used by other
handles.  Nature gave us versatile hands to be used to pick things up in a
way that's more advanced than a mouth can possibly achieve, so I use them
for that purpose.

IMNSHO,
Damaeus