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[mandycat]

I have a 9 month old kitty & have been reading the Forums for a couple of months. Do wish I had found them earlier; there is so much good information and I've so enjoyed reading about other's kitties and their experiences.

My kitty is just a mixed breed though I couldn't love her more if she had registration papers!!

I haven't been around a cat/kitten for years and even then not as closely as with this one so it was fascinating to observe her and the ways she matured & changed nearly daily.

She was a perfect kitty for her first couple of months. Since then she has not been the kitty I had hoped for and that she seemed to be when a baby. I still love her; just have had to accept her for what/who she is.

She is a very independent one and will NOT cuddle at all. In fact does'nt want to be touched very much; just when she feels like it. However she does want to be near me most of the time.

I am sure I did many things wrong during her baby-hood & am sure she would be a different kitty now if I had been more knowledgable or had the resources of The Cat Site right from the beginning. (No use crying over spilt milk though!)

She was rescued from a friend's garage where a stray had four kittens. When they were found all had eyes crusted shut & looked so pitiful. We were able to catch two before Thanksgiving & took them to Pet Hospital for treatment. We caught my kitty the day after Thanksgiving. I held her in my lap as we drove to the hospital and she purred all the way - I just fell in love with her then. From the age of 2 months or so though she doesn't do any purring to speak of - I plan to post on the Behaviour Forum about that situation.

This post is already much too long, sorry about that!

 

[dodo]

Hi Mandycat

My Minnosh is the same as your kitty. She was abondaned by her mother at birth. She had her 3 littermates around her until she was 1-1.5 months of old. During this time 2 of them died & later I gave the other one to a friend. Not having a mother to teach her how to be a social kitten & not being able to play with other kitties & to the top of these add my 'knowing nothing' about cats at that time, she didn't become a cat as most people want/know them to be !

Minnosh never ever lets others touch herself; although she welcomes the guests by smelling them

She doesn't love being petted unless she wants to; even then only a few seconds. (But I hug her anyways, cause I'm the only person whom she doesn't get angry that much

I can bathe her, brush her teeth, brush her furs & she won't do anything but sit for quite a long time for a kitty like her

) She purrs so rarely; (I was brushing her the other day & she started purring so loudly & long like she never did in her life before !)

She is now 3 & I adopted a new kitty, Yumosh (6 months old) almost 4 months ago...They are still not friends although in 4 months I see some veeery small improvements. So I'm still not hopeless..Yumosh is the opposite of Minnosh; she purrs all the time & likes to be petted etc. I love them both & very much in different ways...

 

[hissy]

Welcome to the boards. Don't think that is was something you did to cause your kitten to draw away from you. I have 18 cats all of which I got when they were quite young. Some you can pick up, some you can't. It is in their genetic makeup not in the handling that you did when she arrived. I have one kitten Shredder that I have never heard purr. His brother Kabota purrs so loud he sounds like a motor running. Ripster, you can't pick her up or she growls. Karma, if you pet her over a minute, she reaches over and bites you.

Each cat is different, and you have the right attitude to "love your cat regardless" Thank you for rescuing the poor little one. She sounds like she is very much loved and very well taken care of

 

[mandycat]

Thank you for the understanding replies & the reassurance that it is probably not my fault that Mandy is the way she is.

She was a real biter as a baby and still likes to bite. When she bites me I give a loud "NO" and then she will usually lick my hand as though she she is apologizing. Although she tends to bite she has never intentionally unsheathed her claws. She seems to like people and her visitors have commented on the fact that she never scratchs them.

I forgot to describe her: She has medium long hair and a fluffy tail. As a baby she was black with just a few white hairs; her ear tufts and a couple of stray white hairs in her tail. Now she looks more of a deep mahogany color and when the sun is on her the red really shines. Her coat is very smooth and shiny so she is an attractive kitty.

 

[mr. cat]

Welcome! Please take to heart what others have posted to this thread, that it is not your fault Mandy behaves the way she does. You surely never did anything cruel to her, so don't fret about Mandy. She's a cat! And, as we all know, every cat has her or his own personality.

It's very nice to meet you and Mandy! So here's my standard greeting:

I'm sure you'll receive good advice in the behavior forum! Please keep us posted as to Mandy's (and your) doings.

:tounge2:

=^..^=

 

[debra myers]

MANDYCAT.....A hearltfelt welcome to you and your fur-child Mandy.
Sounds to me like you did a great job raising her....afterall, she is independent and knows exactly what she wants!:tounge2:

 

[miss whitney]

Mandycat:

Your experience with your kitty sounds like mine with Smokey. He was rescued from a shed after he was born to a stray. He was not cuddly from the start and acts like your cat does now. He is now four years old and still is not cuddly but we accept him as he is. I think it is all in their personality rather than how you raise them. I have had cuddly cats and purring cats and indifferent ones through the years.

I hope you enjoy being a part of this forum. It is really fun to post and read.

 

[dawnt91]

Welcome Mandycat! I think most of us have had an experience with a cat like yours. Some seem to be such cuddlers, and others want to have nothing to do with it. My Muffy is not a cuddler. She ALWAYS dips her head away when you try to pet her. But she's a great cat. She lets the kids hold her all the time and never fusses with them. She follows me from room to room, so I know she loves us. She just doesn't like to be cuddled. But she does like to rub against our feet all the time. Sometimes she embarrasses us in front of company with her foot fetish. They're just all so different. It sounds like you're doing a great job.

 

[elinor]

Hi Mandycat and welcome. Please dont think you had anything to do with your cats personality. They are all so different. I went through something like that with my kittens a while back. They did not seem to want to be petted and cuddled at all for a time. They are now affectionate but one more that the other. And some days one or both does not want any attention and other days they fight for it.

Also someone here told me, I think Anne that they dont really come into their full personality untill they are over a year old. So give her time as she could become quite cuddley later on. You never know. But if she doesnt she is still your baby and she will show her love for you in other ways.I would love to see pics of her.She sounds beautifull.

 

[debby]

Mandy!!!!!!!!!!!! So glad to meet you!!!!! I am so happy you found this site!!!
Even though others have said the same thing, let me say one more time....your cats personality is not your fault. You did NOTHING wrong.
I have many cats...but only one is inside. I raised him from a little kitten...and he used to love to bite and scratch.....he is now a little less than a year old, he doesn't bite or scratch...but he will never just curl up on my lap and sleep, or anything like that....he LOVES to be petted, and paid attention to, but only when HE is in the mood for it. If I pick him up, he immediately struggles and jumps down.
If I pick him up, and put him on my lap, he jumps down.
But sometimes, when I am not paying attention to him, at all, and maybe I am watching a movie on TV, or talking on the phone....WHAM there he is...right on my lap, purring....wanting to be paid attention to.
I think all cats have their own personalities just like humans. Your cat sounds like my Merlin....wants love....but only when he is ready for it...(kinda like my hubby....

ha!)

I love Merlin even more because he has his own distinct personality, and not just your usual loving cat.

He is my baby!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[jeano369]

Mandycat,
Welcome to the site. Your kitty sounds just fine and very much loved.
I have 3 kittens just over 3 months old and they are all different. the white male, Knolly, likes to be held and is a holy tearer, attachs my leg and feet, bites and shows his self! Black male, Buddy, is very regal looking and sleek coat, he is the largest of the three and likes to be held like a baby and cuddled. Just the past couple days, he has started licking my feet like Knolly does and then sometimes biting! Now Missy, the Black female, she is the smallest of the litter, petite by a long shot, very shy and timid. Just the past 2 days has she actually came to me and let me pet her or hold her. Before, if I would pick her up she'd stiffen her legs and want down. But for 2 days now, she is coming and checking me out, I can hold her awhile and coo and talk, then she will lay beside me and let me pet her that way. We all sit outside on the glider and what fun it is when all three decide it's their turn. I'm hoping the biting and attaching is just a phase.
Enough on my kittens, good luck and know you'll enjoy the site.

Jeannie