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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.

Original poster

My kitten loves me too much!

19 replies

EweHaveGoatToBeKiddin · 05/08/2013 19:49

Oh what a lucky problem I have, I know I know. Smile

I have two kittens - a brother and sister at 5 months old.

The male is very charming indeed. He doesn't sit on my lap or get too close, but he does rub against my legs when he wants something and will occasionally purr when i'm near by. In the mornings he'll want a little head scratch when i wake up.

His sister on the other paw is his polar opposite. Every time i sit down, she'll jump on my lap. She'll start kneading me and sucking on my sleeve. She purrs constantly when I'm around. Right now she's putting her nose under my hand to lift it from the keyboard as she wants me to stroke her head. For the millionth time this evening. She follows me everywhere too.

Is there a way to get her to be a bit more like her brother? Don't get me wrong, i love how cuddly and affectionate she is - and often wish her brother displayed a bit more of these traits - but it's all the time.

As soon as i come home from work or the shops - she's there following me. As soon as i sit down, she's there kneading, sucking, licking me. Even her purr is starting to grate on me because it's constant. It's nice to know I'm loved, but it would be a bit like dd telling me every minute of the day 'IloveyouIloveyouIloveyouIloveyou'. It sort of loses its meaning after a while, and now i just don't believe her.

Any tips?

OP posts:
peggotty · 05/08/2013 20:00

Hmm yes it's probably good that you should try and make her a bit more independent of you. Cats can learn what a firm 'No' means. How about putting her down/away from you with a firm no when you don't feel like giving her attention. Just keep doing it if she comes back. Yes you will feel mean but you can introduce a period of time, say half an hour each day at the same time where she gets your undivided attention and affection. It would be good to try and tire her out with chasing games or toys so that she needs a nap afterwards too. Oh and has she been spayed yet as some of her behaviour may be linked to being on heat?

peggotty · 05/08/2013 20:01

And are they housecats or do they have access to outside?

Fluffycloudland77 · 05/08/2013 20:04

I was going to say neuter her, especially with her brother around.

Shut her in a room for an hour if you need a break, she might meow pitifully but it won't kill her.

purrpurr · 05/08/2013 20:05

That is just too cute for words. You have my sympathy but also a major awwwwww face going on here. They do settle down in their affections - had my dmog for 8 years and she's a lot more independent these days. Although she does mew at the back door to get me to go outside and play with her when the grass is long enough to swish about. I stand there going 'oh sorry sweetheart, mummy's busy' - 'meow! Purr, trill, despondent face' - 'oh go on then...'

Original poster
EweHaveGoatToBeKiddin · 05/08/2013 20:09

Her brother's getting his OP next week but the vet feels we should wait to get her done until she puts on a bit more weight. So probably in another two months. Yes, they're indoor cats and seem quite content to be so far. She's been like this from the moment I brought her home as a teeny tiny kitten though. So I'm not sure if it's related to her being on heat. They've shown no sign of being 'amorous' or having any of those urges so far.

The boy was much more reclusive when i brought him home but seems to have warmed to me in the past month or so. Whereas before he didn't like being touched very much at all.

OP posts:
MaggieMaggieMaggieMcGill · 05/08/2013 20:14

How old were they when you got them?

peggotty · 05/08/2013 20:16

They're not an oriental breed are they? How long are they on their own for while you're at work - just wondering if she's a little bored or has a bit of separation anxiety while your out which translates to over affection/attention once you're back? I do agree that as she matures it will probably settle down a bit but she might always be a bit like it Grin which isn't a bad thing really. I suppose the only worry may be if she develops other attention seeking habits that are a bit more destructive (I'm not saying she will though!).

Madratlady · 05/08/2013 20:26

I've got a boy cat like that. He became a lot more independent when he started going outside (and I get a break from the constant 'meeeeeeeew')but still likes my attention a lot. We think he's so clingy because he was taken fro his mum very young and abandoned. when we got him from the rescue he attached himself to me because I gave him lots of love and attention.

Original poster
EweHaveGoatToBeKiddin · 05/08/2013 20:42

They were 2 and a half months when i got them, Maggie. Ahhh, i can still remember their first mew. Smile

And they're just mixed/moggie/normal cats, Peggotty Nowt special or oriental. I'm self employed so mostly work from home doing customers' work, but most days i have to pop out for the odd two hour block. But when I'm out, i make sure they have their big basket of toys out so they can hopefully amuse themselves for a short while. I've actually been very impressed with their behavior so far. So if this is the extent of it, i shall consider myself most fortunate. No tearing up carpets or anything. Their most destructive thing so far, which they do every day, is jumping in the empty bath and having a lie down, knocking my candles/shampoo bottles down in the process.

OP posts:
Original poster
EweHaveGoatToBeKiddin · 05/08/2013 20:45

Ah, that could be the problem, Madratlady. Perhaps she was taken from her mum too soon?Sad

But the male kitten seems just fine in comparison, and they're from the same litter. Maybe she was just more of a 'mummy's cat' than him. Poor mite. I feel awful now getting annoyed.

OP posts:
LaurieFairyCake · 05/08/2013 20:46

Give her something to do.

Throw a rolled up ball of paper to the top of the stairs, send her up after it. Do that a few times and it will knacker her out enough for a snooze.

Or a pencil with long string on it.

I've used both to tire out kittens.

Madratlady · 05/08/2013 20:52

My clingy cat is laid across my lap in front of my lap fast asleep. He's much less annoying when he's asleep because he meows constantly when awake and not being fed or cuddled!

Are your cats going to be allowed outside OP?

NeoMaxiZoomDweebie · 05/08/2013 20:54

I feel your pain but have no remedy. My Siamese is like a stalker. He's THERE wherever I am...narrowed eyes, drooly lips and arched back ready for a three hour stroke. Does my nut in at times.

Fluffycloudland77 · 05/08/2013 21:02

The worst bit is when you tread on them by accident and they act like you did it on purpose.

Madratlady · 05/08/2013 21:06

Accident Fluffy? Mine trips me up on purpose!

I find that picking Clingycat up and giving him a big cuddle every now and then helps with the whinging.

GetStuffezd · 05/08/2013 21:11

Completely agree with Laurie. I have a girl like that too, while my boy is affectionate at a distance. I would feel too mean shutting her away so I wear her out with a tease toy, which she loves!

Having said that, I came home with a new tease toy yesterday and the girl immediately pounced on it...the boy immediately looked up at me as if to say "where's mine, mummy?" I felt horrible!!

riojabotherer · 05/08/2013 23:32

Our kittens are brother and sister and are the same age as yours. The female is just the same, every time my bum hits a chair, there she is. It's lovely, but sometimes I'm afraid she does get told to bugger off. Her brother is the right sort of affectionate, and clearly he is the boss, as she steers clear when he's curled up on me.

I thought she may just be more Bengal than he is (their dad's a Bengal, mum's a Russian Blue). She definitely looks it, whereas he's more like his mum.

No signs of naughty behaviour here either, but they're both booked in to be neutered next week anyway.

cozietoesie · 05/08/2013 23:46

That's been my life these many years, Ewe.

I've semi-solved it because my boys always sleep with me and when I read, watch movies on the laptop or something, I'll go to bed to do it. Likewise, if strangers come in and they don't like them, I'll shut them in my bedroom - which is where the electric blanket is left on for them in winter.

So - they see the bedroom as an extension of me and will take themselves off/settle down there to have a snooze if I'm not available for some reason. Only thing which has saved my sanity.

Madratlady · 05/08/2013 23:50

If I sleep with my cats then the boy wakes me up just because he wants a cuddle! If I snuggle with him for a while he goes away happy and I can go back to sleep, but it's no good if I have to be up early in the morning.

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