Can You Tell How Cuddly A Cat Wll Be When They Are Eight Weeks Old?

[lizzieloo]

I am fostering three kittens who will be eight weeks tomorrow, I've had them for three weeks. I did this in part to see if my very grumpy cat would get along with a kitten - she had a traumatic experience with my second cat two years ago.

She has been together with them in my apt for a few days (separated before) and is doing fairly well. She does thump them on the head whenever they get too close, or if she is walking by them - and hissing - but she chooses to spend a lot of time on the floor close by watching them. She has also tried to engage them in play 3x but they were too busy playing to notice.

Two of them have gotten adoption requests already so they will leave within two weeks. The last one, Goose, I love her colouring and I think she would be the most compatible with Friday. The other two give her space but Goose will go to Friday's boundary and bounce around to try to engage play, and when Friday eats, Goose is not afraid to play with her tail, which Friday doesn't mind. She is very confident and I think that would work well, and is still submissive.

My issue? Goose is not cuddly. One kitten is very affectionate and loves to be held, one is moderately affection and accepts short times in your arms, but not Goose. She hates being held and has purred only twice.

Do you think she will likely never like to be held or cuddly? Friday is not cuddly so if I get a second one it 100% has to be reasonably cuddly. She will stay with me until she is adopted so I still have time to think on it, unless someone puts a request in for her adoption.

 

[ArtNJ]

Nope! It would be like trying to predict a human's future by analyzing them at 6 months. If you have to pick now, pick the cutest one.

I mean, there is no harm in picking the kitten that seems to have the personality closest to what you want -- I think everyone looks at personality to a degree when they select a kitten. Just realize it is at best marginally meaningful.

At that super young age, the "best" predictors would probably be breed (if pure) and how the mom behaves, followed by how the kitten behaves . . . but you are just rolling dice regardless. Que sera sera, whatever will be, will be, the future is not ours to see.

 

[Etarre]

My first cat, Gwen, was not a cuddly kitten when I adopted her at 12 weeks, and grew into being a constant cuddler. I bribed her to like lap time by brushing her in my lap, and she loved being brushed from day 1, so it worked.

I've only had two cats, though, and we got Juniper at 8 months, so I'm not sure if Gwen is typical or unusual. There probably aren't any guarantees, and whatever kitten you adopt may take social cues from Friday, including a disdain for cuddling.

Adopting an older cat would probably give you a better sense of the cat's permanent personality, but might also lead to more problems with getting Friday comfortable with an older newbie.

Are you sure that Goose has only purred twice? Gwen purred like a motor boat and you could always hear her, but Juniper is so quiet that it's only possible to tell that she's purring by putting your ear right up close to her.

 

[lutece]

The most affectionate kitten at 8 weeks is not necessarily the most affectionate adult. In fact, I've often had the LEAST affectionate 8 week old kitten in a litter turn out to be the most snuggly and cuddly adult.

Some temperament traits are apparent in very young kittens at 6-8 weeks... I can usually determine which kittens are going to be more dominant or submissive, and which kittens will be relatively high or low in energy/activity level. But it's not as predictable at this age which kittens will be affectionate and cuddly with humans.

It's easier to judge kittens' temperament when they are older, 14-16 weeks, although it can still continue to change after that. In our current litter (14 weeks old) the kittens are just starting to purr and be cuddly... just last week, they were not purring for me yet and were much too busy to settle down and be friendly, but I know from experience with these bloodlines that they will probably all be very affectionate as adults.

 

[Hellenww]

I agree that it's too soon to tell if she will be cuddly. Right now she has 3 other cats to keep her interested. If it's just you, her, and Friday she might be more interested in the human. It sounds like Friday likes Goose and that's always a positive.

 

[lizzieloo]

Goose is a quiet purer but I put my finger to her throat to feel it and she just doesn't purr, unlike her littermates. She sometimes likes to be pet as her tail will go up and she will pause for me to stroke her back, but just doesn't purr. She IS the most playful of the three so perhaps she just feels like I am not her priority compared to her toys and littermates.

Based on Etarre I just pulled out a brush to brush her while sleeping and she immediately purred so I think I'm going to do this several times a day.

I can't pick the other two as they both have adoption applications and I'm not willing to stand in their way. If people want to adopt them that is more important. Goose will be the only one left and I think she'd fit in the best with Friday anyway.

One leaves on Sunday and the other the weekend after and I am curious if she gets more cuddly after that...

I wonder if I let her in the bedroom with me tonight if she'd bond a bit more?

 

[Caspers Human]

When I was a kid, my father used to breed hunting dogs.

He used to let us kids play with the puppies so that they would be used to children by the time they were sent to their new homes.

One of the things I learned about picking out a puppy was to watch which ones came to greet you, first, when you walk into the room.

The very first puppy to rush up to greet you is the most outgoing one and is likely to be more aggressive or headstrong later in life. The very last one to greet you is the least outgoing and is likely to be shy or skittish when it grows up. The puppies that come in between are more or less outgoing, depending on how soon they come to greet the new human.

You can also judge a puppy's temperament by watching how it interacts with the others. Pups that only come to greet you after another has already greeted you might be more cautious and could be more cautious later on in life.

My father's "secret" to picking out the dog with the "best" temperament was to pick the second or third one that comes up to greet you when you first enter the room. Maybe you might want to pick one that comes toward the middle of the pack.

No, it's not foolproof but it's one way to help rank your choices.

While dogs and cats are different, I still think that a similar rule applies.

The first kittens to come to greet you are the most outgoing while the last are the shiest.

I wouldn't use this idea as the only criterion for picking out a kitten but I would certainly factor it in to the decision.

If one kitten just steals your heart you'd be a fool to turn it down just because it didn't come to greet you in the right order.

 

[lutece]

The very first puppy to rush up to greet you is the most outgoing one and is likely to be more aggressive or headstrong later in life. The very last one to greet you is the least outgoing and is likely to be shy or skittish when it grows up. The puppies that come in between are more or less outgoing, depending on how soon they come to greet the new human.

My grandparents raised dogs and they used to say this sort of thing, too. However, in my experience raising kittens, I don't think that puppy temperament testing techniques work the same way for cats. Over the years I have had many kittens that appeared quite "shy" and did not like to be handled as young kittens (6-8 weeks) but then became extremely affectionate and outgoing by the time they were ready to go to new homes (16 weeks - 4 months). Dogs and cats are different species and have a different relationship with humans.

 

[Willowy]

Haha, when I was a teenager my family picked our first puppy because she was the first one who ran up to us. In retrospect, we probably should have picked a less outgoing pup, lol. Ever seen Marley and Me? Yep.

Anyway, no, kittens don't work quite the same. I still haven't figured out how to predict anything about cats!

 

[duncanmac]

TBH, I don't think you can accurately predict what a kitten's disposition will be like as an adult. I would not expect a total change in personality either though - so I would look for an outgoing friendly kitten who responds well to treats and play. And then "train" it to like being petted and cuddled by mixing play/treats with a snuggle and any time it comes to you for a pet or a cuddle, reward her with a boat load of praise and some treats.

Just remember - some cats will never be lap cats, even if they are super cuddly.

 

[danteshuman]

Well part of it is environment and part of it is the cat. Cami was running hot as a wee kitten since we first got her (she is long haired.) However we made it point to never force her to cuddle & to give her time (15-30 minutes most of the time) every time she got on our laps. By the time the kittens we ten weeks old we could tell Cami was not a lap cat (she likes snuggling near people.) However we could tell the two boys were love bugs and at 9 months they still all. Look for a kitten that wants to snuggle on their human between the kitten zombies.

However if you want a lap at for you do the above ‘sit for 15 minutes every time’ rule .... and adopt a 2-4 year old cat that is a total lap cat (with a similar temperament to your resident cat.) If you want a cat to be Friday’s buddy & can do without them being a lap cat, then keep Goose.

 

[lizzieloo]

I am so close to keeping Goose. One was adopted on Sunday and Friday became more relaxed within 2 hours and sat on the couch with me for cuddles - she hasn't done that since I stated fostering in April. And then this morning she pounced playfully toward Goose!

I am very eagar for the other kitten to get picked up to see how Goose is with Friday one on one. Right now the 2 kittens play with each other over Friday and I think when it's just the 2 of them they will bond really well. If they do I am going to keep her. She is still not cuddly but she is at least purring more.

However, Goose's adoption profile went up today so she might get snatched up...if so then it just wasn't meant to be.

 

[lizzieloo]

*sigh* I can't keep Goose. They had a spot at the pet store for her to be showcased (they have one large cage) for adoption this Saturday. Friday hasn't given me enough indication that she will do well with a friend, and the last few days they've stressed her out a bit. She won't eat unless I shut the door for privacy and she is hesitant to use the litterbox with them around too (I have never witnessed them bugging her in the box). She has been having an increase of hairballs in the last 2 weeks and constipation. If may be related to the kittens, it may not. So I'll send Goose for adoption and figure out Friday's issues and go from there. I think Friday is telling me a firm NO to a playmate though.

Oh well!

 

[danteshuman]

Im sorry to hear that!