Hi Everyone!
I'm new! I joined today to ask you guys about your experience with cats who really dislike human interaction.
I rescued a black kitten two years ago at my job. His name is Orion. In March this year, I surprised my boyfriend with a 4 week old grey kitten, who he named Dante.
From the start, Dante has never liked human interaction at all. When held, he would kind of tolerate it for a second, then give a pathetic whining plead to be put down. There is no spot on his body he likes to be petted or touched. He does not enjoy playing or interacting with us at all. He is not mean at all. He is very docile and never growls, hisses, or even struggles when we hold him...he just whines this sad little "mrow" when we pick him up. He doesn't appear to be in pain at all, just irritated. He has had the same behavior since he was 4 weeks old, and he is now nearly 9 months old and he is exactly the same.
He is COMPLETELY different towards our older cat, Orion. He LOVES Orion. Actually, they love the heck out of each other. They snuggle, they groom each other. Dante will meow and call for Orion if he can't find him in the house. He is very affectionate with Orion, and allows Orion to lick his fur and lay on him...yet a human cannot even lightly pet him in the same areas without pulling away.
We tried keeping him in the bedroom with us at night so he could be near us and maybe bond with us. He would cuddle up next to us, even lay his paws over our arms or curl up on our pillows, but the minute we pet him, he gets up and walks away. He seems to enjoy being NEAR us, as long as we don't interact with him. lol! He is always following us around the house, and is almost always close by.
It's been hard for my boyfriend and I, because we feel like we cannot really bond with him since we cannot interact with him at all beyond simply being near him. We feed him, and hope that he will get close enough for us to allow a little interaction before he runs off.
Is this kind of behavior a result of trauma in the kitten's early days? Is this normal behavior for some cats? It seems incredibly odd that he loves cat interaction, but hates any human interaction. Any feedback is appreciated. We are not sure what to do for him anymore, aside from co-exist with him.
I'm new! I joined today to ask you guys about your experience with cats who really dislike human interaction.
I rescued a black kitten two years ago at my job. His name is Orion. In March this year, I surprised my boyfriend with a 4 week old grey kitten, who he named Dante.
From the start, Dante has never liked human interaction at all. When held, he would kind of tolerate it for a second, then give a pathetic whining plead to be put down. There is no spot on his body he likes to be petted or touched. He does not enjoy playing or interacting with us at all. He is not mean at all. He is very docile and never growls, hisses, or even struggles when we hold him...he just whines this sad little "mrow" when we pick him up. He doesn't appear to be in pain at all, just irritated. He has had the same behavior since he was 4 weeks old, and he is now nearly 9 months old and he is exactly the same.
He is COMPLETELY different towards our older cat, Orion. He LOVES Orion. Actually, they love the heck out of each other. They snuggle, they groom each other. Dante will meow and call for Orion if he can't find him in the house. He is very affectionate with Orion, and allows Orion to lick his fur and lay on him...yet a human cannot even lightly pet him in the same areas without pulling away.
We tried keeping him in the bedroom with us at night so he could be near us and maybe bond with us. He would cuddle up next to us, even lay his paws over our arms or curl up on our pillows, but the minute we pet him, he gets up and walks away. He seems to enjoy being NEAR us, as long as we don't interact with him. lol! He is always following us around the house, and is almost always close by.
It's been hard for my boyfriend and I, because we feel like we cannot really bond with him since we cannot interact with him at all beyond simply being near him. We feed him, and hope that he will get close enough for us to allow a little interaction before he runs off.
Is this kind of behavior a result of trauma in the kitten's early days? Is this normal behavior for some cats? It seems incredibly odd that he loves cat interaction, but hates any human interaction. Any feedback is appreciated. We are not sure what to do for him anymore, aside from co-exist with him.
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