Hi everyone.
I was hoping for some advice. I recently lost my cat to cancer in a very traumatic way. He was young and I was very bonded to him - I loved him like a child honestly. It's been incredibly difficult.
Things just felt so empty and so I eventually brought home another cat. He's a 5 year old boy and is very gentle and sweet but doesn't seem to want to interact with me much at all. He's been here about 6 weeks now, and it seems like he's been interacting less with me as time goes on. At the beginning he would occasionally cuddle with me on the sofa and he slept in bed with me at night. Now he never sits with me on the sofa and sleeps in another room. He also doesn't seem to like being pet - I try to sit at his level and hold out my hand so he can sniff it, but he just turns his head away. If I try to pet his head he'll get up and walk away. I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong. I've mostly been trying to wait for him to come to me but it doesn't seem like that's working.
He does follow me from room to room, and he comes to the door whenever I get home. He seems to always want to be in the same room as me, but sitting in another chair rather than right next to me.
I've tried winning his affection with treats. I live alone so I'm the one who gives him all his meals, cleans his litter box etc. I also play with him every night which he seems to enjoy. He spends a lot of time during the day looking out the windows and doesn't seem bored.
Anyway, I'm just not sure if there's any way for us to bond more, or if this is just how things are going to be. Of course I knew he wasn't going to be the same as my previous cat, but I guess I was hoping for at least some of the companionship I had before.
Has anyone been in this situation before and had cats that became more affectionate with time? It's just incredibly sad to think that this is how things are going to be for the rest of our time together, and I'm struggling a lot with the thought of that.
I was hoping for some advice. I recently lost my cat to cancer in a very traumatic way. He was young and I was very bonded to him - I loved him like a child honestly. It's been incredibly difficult.
Things just felt so empty and so I eventually brought home another cat. He's a 5 year old boy and is very gentle and sweet but doesn't seem to want to interact with me much at all. He's been here about 6 weeks now, and it seems like he's been interacting less with me as time goes on. At the beginning he would occasionally cuddle with me on the sofa and he slept in bed with me at night. Now he never sits with me on the sofa and sleeps in another room. He also doesn't seem to like being pet - I try to sit at his level and hold out my hand so he can sniff it, but he just turns his head away. If I try to pet his head he'll get up and walk away. I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong. I've mostly been trying to wait for him to come to me but it doesn't seem like that's working.
He does follow me from room to room, and he comes to the door whenever I get home. He seems to always want to be in the same room as me, but sitting in another chair rather than right next to me.
I've tried winning his affection with treats. I live alone so I'm the one who gives him all his meals, cleans his litter box etc. I also play with him every night which he seems to enjoy. He spends a lot of time during the day looking out the windows and doesn't seem bored.
Anyway, I'm just not sure if there's any way for us to bond more, or if this is just how things are going to be. Of course I knew he wasn't going to be the same as my previous cat, but I guess I was hoping for at least some of the companionship I had before.
Has anyone been in this situation before and had cats that became more affectionate with time? It's just incredibly sad to think that this is how things are going to be for the rest of our time together, and I'm struggling a lot with the thought of that.