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

Is it true that cats get friendlier as they get older?

15 replies

ForkTines · 16/08/2024 12:35

My very beautiful but, at best, aloof and worst brutal cat is coming up to two years old. I’d not change her for the world but she’s never sat on anyone or looked to anyone for petting since she was a tiny kitten. She hates being alone and follows me around and always sits next to me on the bed or sofa, but always 3 feet away. She sleeps on my daughter’s bed every night, but always at her feet. She always looks full of adrenaline and jumps out of her skin all the time as if we’d crept up on her. She seems quite clever - she always wants to play fetch and brings me things to throw for her and reliably brings them back. If no one is playing with her she gets one of the kids nerf darts (we now have a pile just for her) and places it on the slope by the side of the stairs and let’s go in time to race it to the bottom. She is an indoor cat - by her own choice. She has a collar and is chipped but has never crossed the threshold of either door unless carried and runs straight back in if we put her in the garden. She sits by the open back door on the mat watching sparrows and never running after them but woe betide a fly that gets in as she’ll hunt it at top speed all round the house. She’ll tolerate quite a lot of ear scratches and lean into them then out of the blue bite - not painfully, no mark or blood, and she never, ever scratches. She’s a graze fed cat so there are no meal times to bond over - she eats a mouthful of kibble every now and again. She makes a point of weaving everyone’s legs (incredibly briefly) every morning and if we’ve all left the house simultaneously and come back together. Other than that the only sign she might like living here is that she always wants to be where someone is - normally me - and won’t sit in a room alone. She just seems like she’s not all that happy and I feel for her. She always looks an odd mix of listless, anxious and quite regularly thoroughly pissed off. Is there anything I can do? She looks the way I felt when I was 13.

OP posts:
Grateeggspectations · 16/08/2024 12:39

Ours was bolshy all his life 😀

ForkTines · 16/08/2024 12:44

Grateeggspectations · 16/08/2024 12:39

Ours was bolshy all his life 😀

Ha! Perhaps it’s just who she is.

OP posts:
Tdcp · 16/08/2024 12:49

My cat is similar, she just likes attention on her own terms. Regarding the biting you when you've been stroking her, this is likely petting aggression. Stroking the cat can sometimes give them big bouts of energy and such and then they lash out. My girl has it, you just have to look for the warning signs and stop before they go for you. Generally cats do chill out more the older they get but she might never be a 'lap cat', she definitely seems to love you though as she's following you around and sitting near you. If she also faces away from you that is a good sign that she trusts you and likes your company :)

Tdcp · 16/08/2024 12:50

Also, being 2 she's in the teenage years... hang on in there 😂

ForkTines · 16/08/2024 12:52

Tdcp · 16/08/2024 12:50

Also, being 2 she's in the teenage years... hang on in there 😂

Thanks for this - I’ve never had any kind of pet before and it’s not been quite how they show it in the Sheba adverts. Love her to bits though. Just hope I’ve not done it all wrong!

OP posts:
LostInTheSystem101 · 16/08/2024 12:52

Our boy is 4 now, and has just in the last 6 months started to voluntarily come to sit on my lap. He's still super skittish in the house though, more chilled in the garden...!

There is hope!

ForkTines · 16/08/2024 12:57

LostInTheSystem101 · 16/08/2024 12:52

Our boy is 4 now, and has just in the last 6 months started to voluntarily come to sit on my lap. He's still super skittish in the house though, more chilled in the garden...!

There is hope!

That must be really nice that he looks calmer. Skittish is the word I needed - she’s very much that, all the time (that she’s not asleep)

OP posts:
Julianne65 · 16/08/2024 13:16

Ours is the same. Tolerates some head scratches and has sometimes sat on my lap for a very short time. Other than that she goes out but when in she likes to be around us but not too close.

OneBadKitty · 16/08/2024 13:16

I think cats do become more socialised as they age. Two is very young. My cats are 12 and as young cats they were really self sufficient and aloof. I was disappointed that they didn't 'chat' to me like my old cat did when I got them, but now they talk all the time- I think they learn over time how to communicate with humans. They also spend a lot more time in our company now- as young cats they sought out secluded places to nap but now they always choose to stay close, follow me round the garden and sleep in the same room as us at night (except on those summer nights where they insist they stying out to catch moths). Persevere- talk to them al lot, play with them, hand feed them treats and they'll soon be your best friend. One sits on my lap, the other never does but does like strokes and purrs a lot when I stroke him.

IntrepidCat · 16/08/2024 13:20

I’ve had cats who have been incredibly affectionate from kittens and stayed that way or become cranky as they’ve got older. I’ve also had fairly aloof cats who are possibly a bit more tolerant as they age, or perhaps they just can’t be bothered to escape a cuddle.

Recoverymoreprotein · 16/08/2024 13:22

Mine has been seeking more strokes in the last 6 months. Before that he became more tolerable of the children and would some times sit near them. He is nearly 19 years old.

amylou8 · 16/08/2024 13:22

My 17 year old girl, who has always been a typical hauty tortie, has mellowed in the last year, she's far less aloof and become very needy, wanting fuss and attention. I think it's dementia and she's just forgotten she hates us.

ForkTines · 16/08/2024 13:48

amylou8 · 16/08/2024 13:22

My 17 year old girl, who has always been a typical hauty tortie, has mellowed in the last year, she's far less aloof and become very needy, wanting fuss and attention. I think it's dementia and she's just forgotten she hates us.

Ha! Not heard that term before - ours is a tortoise shell British shorthair.

OP posts:
Tdcp · 16/08/2024 14:45

ForkTines · 16/08/2024 13:48

Ha! Not heard that term before - ours is a tortoise shell British shorthair.

Tortoiseshells are well known for being more feisty and aloof.. coming from an owner of one 😂 she's lovely but it's on her terms only. It'll be a mix of breed / age and petting aggression. I've owned a lot of cats and fostered a lot more, nothing in your OP gives me cause for concern personally :)

TroysMammy · 16/08/2024 20:26

Haribo is 5 and it's only recently that he won't run away from our neighbours. He doesn't go up to them but will walk past them or stay put when he's lounging in their gardens. I've also realised he now purrs. That's recent too.

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