Like the title says, I'm a bit more of a dog person since I've had my dog for about 15 years now and haven't had any experience with owning a cat. But, my heart called and I ended up adopting a 5-6 month old semi feral kitten a little over month ago.
He's made incredible improvements since I've had him, but there are just a few things I wanted to try to clear up so I'm not frustrated with myself and the situation.
I've bought cat trees for him to climb all over and keep out of reach of the dog, but he still much prefers under the couch instead. If he's ever on the cat tree or even on the top edge of the couch, he'll jump out/down to bolt under the couch if anything scares him (i.e vacuum). It's not a huge deal since he comes out pretty much immediately after, but I found it strange that he didn't prefer the height. I have a yappy little 15 year old terrier and know that he's safer up since she can (barely) shimmy her way under the couch if she really wanted to chase, but he hasn't seemed to grasp that yet.
About a week ago, he actually walked up to me for some pets, but he hasn't again since. Occasionally, when he doesn't sprint under the couch when I walk by him, I'll reach a loose fist out to test whether he wants to be touched or not. Sometimes he'll sniff and walk away, other times he'll smack my hand and walk away. Not sure if that's a sign that he just wants to play, or if he's like "excuse me, rude." I'm sure I can expect more of this behavior for a while (especially since he's been a stray until animal control found him), but the "love me, wait no go away" attitude confuses me a bit hahaha. Gotta take it slow, right?
Also, would the cat ever get jealous?? I know he sees me baby-talking to my dog all the time and giving her a lot of love and kisses. I wasn't sure if that would affect his perspective of me hahaha!
He's made incredible improvements since I've had him, but there are just a few things I wanted to try to clear up so I'm not frustrated with myself and the situation.
I've bought cat trees for him to climb all over and keep out of reach of the dog, but he still much prefers under the couch instead. If he's ever on the cat tree or even on the top edge of the couch, he'll jump out/down to bolt under the couch if anything scares him (i.e vacuum). It's not a huge deal since he comes out pretty much immediately after, but I found it strange that he didn't prefer the height. I have a yappy little 15 year old terrier and know that he's safer up since she can (barely) shimmy her way under the couch if she really wanted to chase, but he hasn't seemed to grasp that yet.
About a week ago, he actually walked up to me for some pets, but he hasn't again since. Occasionally, when he doesn't sprint under the couch when I walk by him, I'll reach a loose fist out to test whether he wants to be touched or not. Sometimes he'll sniff and walk away, other times he'll smack my hand and walk away. Not sure if that's a sign that he just wants to play, or if he's like "excuse me, rude." I'm sure I can expect more of this behavior for a while (especially since he's been a stray until animal control found him), but the "love me, wait no go away" attitude confuses me a bit hahaha. Gotta take it slow, right?
Also, would the cat ever get jealous?? I know he sees me baby-talking to my dog all the time and giving her a lot of love and kisses. I wasn't sure if that would affect his perspective of me hahaha!