Recently Adopted Cat Rarely Lets Me Pet Her?

[sara729]

New to the site, so hello! I recently adopted a 1 year old cat a month and a half ago, so far things have been going well. When I first brought her home she was very affectionate, rubbing up against me and rolling over letting me pet her all the time even on the stomach. However, in the past few weeks every time I try to pet her she only lets me pet her for a minute then attacks my hand, or just immediately attacks my hand (grabbing onto it and trying to bite it). Occasionally, when I walk over to her she bolts away with her tail puffed out, but then runs back as if she's trying to play. I don't think it's out of aggression, she continues to follow me around, greets me when I get home, and sleeps right next to me at night and seems to be playful with quite a bit of energy but I wonder why she no longer likes the pets. She never seems frightened, having owned cats before I can usually recognize the signs of a scared cat and she's never hissed, growled, etc. I never pet her roughly or annoy her, and I haven't yelled at her. Could there be a reason why she's suddenly acting like this? I would love for her to be a lap cat one day but she hardly lets me pet her

 

[Nancy Ninetails]

Cats have their own things at times. I adopted two from a hoarder situation that I have now had for 3 years and one of them just last month finally came to me for pets. It wasn't that he did not like us or anything, he was just very unsure about human touch.

The petting can sometimes overstimulate cats as well. Perhaps that is what she is reacting to. I would not worry about her never being a lap cat. I have a very affectionate male that will roll over and meow for belly rubs but the second you touch his belly will bite (not hard or anything). However, he cuddles in my lap now. Just have to stay around the ears for his pets or begins to nibble.

 

[susanm9006]

It sounds to me more like she is trying trying to play with you and would rather do that than cuddle - she is still really a kitten and acting like one. When she bites, pull your hand a way and say something like "no"or "no biting". Try petting her when she is falling asleep rather than wide awake and ready to play. Keep a big toy handy when she comes up to you so she can bite the toy instead of you. The running away with a puffed tail is her just being silly and needing to race.

You can also try active games like fetch, and wand or laser to wear off some of her energy.

 

[danteshuman]

I agree with the above posts. If I was guessing I would say your cat is getting over stimulated. Also one of my cats isn't big into petting. He has his times, and only to a certain point. BUT he loves being on my lap. So if he gets on my lap I ignore him unless he actively seeking affection. Cats show affection in more than one way.

 

[sara729]

Thanks for the replies! She's actually gotten a little better with not biting so much, and I think she does get overstimulated easily. Also sometimes I forget she's still somewhat of a kitten so she's going to be more playful, I will definitely keep toys around for when she starts to bite.

 

[Summercats]

My two to three year old cat likes to lightly play bite sometimes, especially when he has been using cat nip. I give him a soft toy to wrestle with instead when he is in a super playful mood. I find running with a wand and having toys tossed to chase helps to keep him happy