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The litter tray

Join our community of cat lovers on the Mumsnet Cat forum for kitten advice and help with cat behaviour.

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Original poster

DH becoming very fond of kitten

27 replies

Rollergirl1 · 20/12/2011 16:47

DH has always professed to totally not get cats and was really quite suspicious of us getting one but we (the DC's and I) wore him down.

It's been beautiful to watch. The kitten has decided that DH is his favourite person in this household (much to mine and DD's annoyance). DH resisted kitten's subtle seduction for as long as he could but he is now utterly smitten. Kitten comes and lies on me of an evening if DH is not available but otherwise DH is his man-servant of choice.

Good work Casper!

OP posts:

Fluffycloudland77 · 20/12/2011 16:51

The love bombings worked then!.

It is hard to resist something that is always delighted to see you.

redrubyshoes · 20/12/2011 16:54

My DH was like that for a week or two. I then caught him kneeling on the kitchen floor asking her if she was "hungry for din-dins?"

usualsuspect · 20/12/2011 16:56

My Dp was the same , then he said 'daddys home' to the kitten the other day and I knew the kitten had won

Original poster

Rollergirl1 · 20/12/2011 19:20

Oh, he still objects loudly when I call him 'daddy' with regards to him and the kitten. But he has called himself 'daddy' a number of times. I think as you say Fluffy, it is very hard to resist something that lavishes you with love and affection even if you don't do anything to deserve it! We have always had a very hard and fast rule that Casper sleeps and is shut in the kitchen overnight. I went out on friday night, got back at 12.30 and found the kitchen door open. Went upstairs and Casper was asleep inbetween DH's legs on our bed. He says he simply forgot but I know that is simply not the case....

OP posts:

crazycrackernanna · 20/12/2011 19:23

soppy sod!

Original poster

Rollergirl1 · 20/12/2011 20:34

Why is it that cats go to people that show them the least affection? DH has even spoke to a colleague today (which again shows he's going soft) and this person said that cats see eye contact as threatening and dominating so they gravitate towards people that don't look them in the eye. I have heard this before but think that it's total bollocks. That would mean that Casper likes DH because he doesn't feel threatened by him. Do people really think cats are that intelligent??! He likes me cos i feed him and treat him nice. Not sure what he saw in DH, perhaps just that he lies down a lot (playing x-box) and he was a comfy object to lie on. And then it just grew from there...

OP posts:

DontCallMeBaby · 21/12/2011 14:32

It's not intelligence, it's instinct - unflinching eye contact is definitely aggressive body language for cats! You're onto something with the lying down thing though, I reckon - we came home from a night out to find our babysitter (my mate) lying on the sofa with one of our highly standoffish cats lying on her. DH said it was probably cos we never lie on the sofa - think I might try it tonight. :o

MmeReindor · 21/12/2011 14:34

Ha. Cute.

DH was not going to let our cat in the bedroom. Then not on the bed. Then only at the foot of the bed.

By the end, she was all but sharing a pillow with him.

He is the same with the dog.

SecretSantaSquirrels · 21/12/2011 18:07

My dog and cat hating DH has also been won over by the kitten.
I knew when I came back into the house for something I'd forgotten and found him on the floor plaything with kitty.

Original poster

Rollergirl1 · 21/12/2011 21:19

But the whole eye contact thing being aggressive i don't really get. There have been a few occassions when he has been snuggling with me (cat not DH) where he has voluntarily held eye contact with me for a very long time. I felt like I was being evaluated! In fact this will sound weird but I almost felt like I was having some kind of weird trip and he was actually reading my mind!

OP posts:

crazycrackernanna · 21/12/2011 21:23

You're all gonna think I am mad/a liar now...

I can make my kitten go to sleep I can....

I just say alternativley..."shhhh" and "go to sleeeeeep" like that...and she bloody well goes to sleep! No shit! I swear on dd's life

BibiBlocksberg · 22/12/2011 21:06

Aww, reading this thread has cheered me up after a shit day :)

Kitty power, it def. is powerful.

I had the being stared at at close quarters for ages as well when my tigger first came to stay with me.

Felt like I was in Charlie and the chocolate factory being evaluated as a good or bad egg.

Ex P always said he didn't like cats, didn't want one blah blah.

The last time i saw him he asked if he could make an appointment to come see the cat...kitty power had won him over too.

Cats are really loving creatures imo but because it's such a 'private' thing people who have not had one often mistakenly call them aloof, calculating, unaffectionate etc - that's because the love for their slaves is not usually 'paraded' in front of visitors (unlike dogs who tend to behave much the same no matter who is around)

CroissantNeuf · 22/12/2011 21:15

Your OP has reminded me of my Dad when we were children. He was completely against having another cat when our elderly cat died.

Then one day when we were at our Grandparents with my Mum we found ourself agreeing to take on not one, but two kittens that needed a home. They were born in my Grandparents neighbours garden, semi-stray etc and would have been PTS otherwise.

My Mum, in a moment of madness agreed but with a "I don't know what your Dad is going to say".

Anyway we took them home and my Dad had the predicted hissy-fit about not being consulted etc. He soon came round though and was a real softy with them, feeding them titbits etc.

When both cats eventually died it was my dad who missed them most.

Meow75isknittinglikemad · 22/12/2011 21:16

Rollergirl

Once you have the relationship though, that changes things. It's at the start of proceedings, and very often it can just be a five minute appraisal and then kitty will have made their mind up as to whether you pass or not, and once you do it'd be very difficult to break that bond. Many cats are actually incredibly tolerant to very poor treatment from humans.

hiddenhome · 25/12/2011 20:04

My dh has surprised me by bonding with our latest rescue cat. He sleeps on our feet all night and dh secretly enjoys it

crazycrackernanna · 25/12/2011 20:08

I think I have nearly poisoned my kitten

DD gave her some pastrami as "a treat".and she's really quiet and didn't eat the turkey I put out for her.
She's drinking though...but has slept loads

hiddenhome · 25/12/2011 22:02

I don't think pastrami is poisonous.

dh has been feeding our cat smoked salmon

crazycrackernanna · 25/12/2011 22:40

Thank you Hidden...was worried x

Lueji · 02/01/2012 00:03

Eye contact initiated by the other person is threatening. Not if initiated by the cat.

I rarely "pay attention" to my cat and he follows me around all the time and comes to sleep with me.

Sleeping on my lap just now. :)

Northernlurker · 02/01/2012 00:20

My parents have a cat who if you say to him 'tucker down' - he simply curls up and goes to sleep.

crazynanna · 02/01/2012 00:28

I just look at my kittenand say repeatedly "Go to sleep" in a hypnotist voice...and she does!

Jux · 02/01/2012 00:37

Lueji is right.

Cats will gravitate to the person in a room who doesn't look at them or who looks at them least - shame it tends to be the cat-haters! Did for my aunt every time, she loathed them! It was hilarious.

BeckyBendyLegs · 02/01/2012 12:10

Ha ha same for my MIL. She hates cats, our oldest cat always used to sit on her lap and it was so funny to watch her try to shoo her off!

mathanxiety · 03/01/2012 06:38

My dad used to profess disdain for our cats, one after another. One day I found a doodle he had done of a cat, a nice, detailed drawing of the cat asleep and curled up.

Yesssss

BibiBlocksberg · 03/01/2012 20:06

Reading this just reminded me of ex-p and his claim of total 'not botheredness' about the little grey girl I'd taken pity on and gave a home to.

Until the freezing January morning when he came running into the bedroom, white as a sheet and jibbering incoherently.

Poor little unknown soul of a cat died in the path behind our house (frozen solid with blood coming out of its mouth so obviously injured) and at first glance it looked like my little smudge.

Confess as dismal as that was, once I'd dropped dead cat at a local vets I spent the remainder of the day pointing at P and saying 'ha ha you love her' (the alive and well cat residing with us that is) a la Homer Simpson.

My dad was the same, 'no, no cats, out of the question' yadda yadda.

Until the day a mother cat with her kittens rocked up and he sheepishly had to confess he'd been feeding mummy cat for a while. She obviously knew a good human when she came across him

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