Calling all Shoulder Cats!

[shouldercats]

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• shouldercats
• Apr 6, 2017

Do you have a Shoulder Cat?   The kind of cat that demands to live on your shoulders?  Meet Bronco, the Colorado shoulder cat!  He spends soooo much time on my shoulders that I had to create a device, kind of like a backpack, but it's not a backpack.  It's a Shoulder Cat Pet Perch.  He loves it, I love it.  He feel asleep on it one day while I was working @ home!   

Please post pictures of your Shoulder Cat!

 

[deannar893]

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• deannar893
• Apr 7, 2017

This is Raven she sits on my shoulders all the time but her favorite time is when I'm playing my game on my computer,then she tries to push the keys herself to help me olay.

 

[shouldercats]

How sweet!   Once a shoulder cat, always a shoulder cat!  They just love it there!

 

[Boris Diamond]

This is Leo as a kitten.  He does not climb on my shoulder any more, so I'm glad I have this picture!

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• Boris Diamond
• Apr 9, 2017

 

[shouldercats]

​I have heard that Shoulder Cats will tend to outgrow shoulder climbing behavior.   My Bronco is still young and still climbs..... ALL....THE....TIME......

Deb

 

[msFriday]

Hi, I have a "selective" shoulder cat -- that is, he only gets on my shoulders at certain times.  I can't include a picture...you'll see why!

I have a very small master bathroom with a window in it.  (The window opens into an enclosed sun porch with curtains all around, so there is privacy even though I leave the window open.)   Indy will lay on the windowsill while I am in the shower, waiting patiently.  When I get out and wrap a towel around myself, I am facing him and he is at shoulder height.  He comes up on my right shoulder, walks around and lays his head on my left shoulder, purring all the way.  He always goes the same direction, and he only stays a minute or two -- probably just long enough to "re-scent" me! 

He also has a neat "trick."  He likes to get up on my medicine cabinet, where he is almost at the ceiling.  (It has a large ledge around it, and we put a bath towel up there to make it more comfortable.)  He will sometimes sleep up there at night, but most often he gets up there while I am getting dressed.  When I am finished, and leave the room to put my shoes on, he will sometimes stay up there.  I always tell him to call me when he is ready to get down -- and he does!  He will sit up and "mew" and wait for me to come back into the bathroom, bend over, and present him my back to land on.  Then he jumps down on me (I'm much softer than the window sill or toilet seat, his other two options), then to the floor!  Good thing he only weighs about 10# !

 

[lavishsqualor]

Arrrgggg!  I'm so jealous!  I wish Atticus and Thirteen were shoulder cats.

 

[shouldercats]

​What a talented cat, that Indy!   How cool ! 

It is interesting that habits and ritual are so engrained (just like people!).

Deb  

 

[shouldercats]

​Lavish - Cats can be trained to be Shoulder Cats, I have heard.  

I might try that with one of my non-shoulder cats, since I have the equipment now (Shoulder Cat Pet Perch).

So interesting to hear the names - Atticus (love it!!).   Do you have another one named Scout?

ShoulderCats

 

[basscat]

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• basscat
• Apr 10, 2017

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• basscat
• Apr 10, 2017
• 5

It really doesn't matter "who's" shoulders though.....

 

 

[burchesj]

Wow! BassCat, your feline looks like a small, striped mountain lion! Beautiful!

 

[Willowy]

Well, that's because Basscat's shoulder cat is an actual bobcat .

I have a little female who will jump to my shoulder if I call her and pat my shoulder. She doesn't ride around on my shoulders though.

I remember one cat who was featured at Petsmart by a local rescue group, his tag said that he had a habit of jumping onto people's shoulders without warning, and that he absolutely couldn't be kept from doing it, as previous homes had tried to train him not to, so he had to go to a home that accepted that behavior, preferably no elderly or small children in the home because they might be scared or injured. I hope he found a home that fully embraces his shoulder jumping, not just tolerates it.

 

[shouldercats]

​Now THAT is what I call a real Shoulder Cat!  WOW, what big paws!

So then, do you think it's true that feral cats and other wild cats (like Basscat's Bob Cat) are typically Shoulder Cats?

A friend told me that feral cats are like to climb on shoulders. 

Could it be the former wild nature of a feral or a bob cat that makes them a lovable Shoulder Cat?   Very Interesting.

 

[basscat]

 
​Now THAT is what I call a real Shoulder Cat!  WOW, what big paws!

So then, do you think it's true that feral cats and other wild cats (like Basscat's Bob Cat) are typically Shoulder Cats?

A friend told me that feral cats are like to climb on shoulders. 

Could it be the former wild nature of a feral or a bob cat that makes them a lovable Shoulder Cat?   Very Interesting.

  
 A feral cat is wild. Every bit as wild as a "wild" bobcat.  There's a point of no return that occurs VERY YOUNG in a feral cat, to where they will never be truly tame and make a loveable sweet house cat.  Same with a bobcat.
I have what was a feral cat (black longhair).  We caught her just after she was weaned.  Put her on the back porch with a little house, kibble and water, and said if she stays she stays, if she leaves, she leaves.
She stayed. 
She's lived outside for a few years, she's lived inside for a few years. The garage is now her home and she can go outside anytime she wants.  She's 13 years old and prefers the garage.  We are the only people she will let get close enough to pet her, and even then.....An extended hand for a head scratch will be met with a hiss almost every time.  When in your lap, it's a constant rumbling growl.   And she's chilled in her years.  She used to be worse. 
She would NO WAY get on shoulders.  She loves her people, just out of arms reach.
A feral cat or a wild bobcat is no shoulder cat, unless you corner them and get too close.

 From a feral/wild-vs-tame standpoint?  There seems to be little difference between a tabby and a bob. 
If you had a socialized 6 month old 20lb tabby kitten?  There wouldn't be much difference.
If you cornered a feral 6 month old 20lb tabby kitten?  There wouldn't be much difference.    

 

[1CatOverTheLine]

Love conquers all - even three-generation ferals, long after they've grown from kittens to adulthood.  It might take eighteen months or two years of working with them every day, but eventually they get it, and once they do, there's no finer Friend on earth.  Friday - my most recent, and last - was born to feral Parents, and lived seven seasons in the wild.  Her Daughter - Clawed-Ya - was born outside as well.  They've been "indoor cats" (in their own house, fifty yards from the main house) - visited six times a day for an half hour to an hour - these last nearly eighteen months.  Friday will now sit on my lap, and climb up my shirt to my shoulder; Clawed-Ya is perhaps a couple months behind her Mother in being completely trusting, but still easy to pet and hold and to sit beside.  White Tip, who's now three years indoors in the main house, behaves as though she was an indoor cat her whole Life, and yet she spent at least five seasons outside, being born feral, to feral Parents.

Gibbs is not a house cat - neither are true ferals - and yet, one day, the whole world changes, and it's Mahalia Jackson singing Amazing Grace.  Time and patience are certainly a part of it, but in the end Love conquers all.

.

 

[marypetlover]

My new kitten is a shoulder cat and I love it. He loves to climb up and then lay with his lower body hanging down the back and his upper body hanging down the front of my body. He is so cute I'll try and get a picture of it.

 

[Lord7sins]

My Seven is a shoulder cat and we take outtings all the time and i usually walk the city with her on my shoulder! I just love it, its a great way to bond with your furry friend when your not home! They also get to enjoy being outside and not stuck in the house.

 

[lavishsqualor]

That's awesome! I bet you guys strike such cool figure walking down the street.

 

[DreamerRose]

Sorry about how dark this pic is. Mingo loves to sit on my shoulder while I am paying bills. He is probably jealous and wants my attention.