Why can't cats stay kittens (long)

In My Humble Opinion (IMHO)
#1

I am at my sister’s house watching a movie when my niece’s kitten comesover for a look. He’s a cute little guy with black and white fur. He jumps on my lap, much to my attempt to shoo him away, and proceeds to purr and rub his little head against my hand.

I gate cats. I grew up i a home with many, many cats. More than once I arrived to school with spray on shoes or bookbag. Suuuure, not their fault they were not fixed. I can agree with this. But what I hated most was their indifference to me once they grew up. My dogs always loved me no matter what, the cat not so much.

So here I am trying to watch Taken on HBO when this 3 month old kitten takes an interest in me. I let him sit in my lap and I begin go pet him around the ears and under his chin.

Next thing I know, he’s suckling on my fingertips. I can actually hear him making suction and licking. Well, I do have a heart and all, so I pet him some more. He stayed like that; suckling different finger tips on my left hand while Liam Neeson chased a young guy off an overpass and into the hungry grill of a truck.

At this point I only thought it was cute. Next I know, the kitten gets up and brushes his head against my face. Now this starts me wanting to do all kinds of baby talk to the little guy. Either he enjoys this, or he’s playing with me.

Then something strange happens: he climbs onto the back of the couch and begins suckling my ear. This lasted a good 15 minutes, or long enough for Neeson to flirt with the prostitute in Paris. All the while the kitten would paw at my kneck and purr while suckling the top of my ear.

I really don’t know where I am going with except to say how my feeling on cats has changed. After the kitten grew bored and the movie ended, I decided to give the suckling thing a try with her other, 12 year old cat. While trying to get him to like me and maybe suckle a fingertip or ear, he hissed and scratch

#2

Mods: this belongs in MPSIMS.

Oh, and I posted this via iPhone, only to tap a wrong section of screen and have it take me away from the text window. Really not cool is that iPhone will not allow you to scroll through a message, meaning I could not continue my long winded account.

I have failed you all with my attempt at a whitty and transformative moment. I shall go to bed now, forever to remember my failed endeavor of spreading simple joy across the inner’net.

#3

Suckling isn’t a kitten thing. Some cats do it, some don’t. My 4-year-old cat has done it since I got her when she was a kitten, and still does.

I think if you lived with a suckler you’d stop thinking it was cute pretty quick. My sheets, blankets and clothes always have wet spots on them…

I think you’ve just had poor luck finding a cat who is dog-like and cuddly enough for you. My other cat, who will be 3 soon is SUPER affectionate like you describe this little guy. More so than my dogs.

#4

I have never had an “indifferent” cat. My two current cats greet me at the door when I come home. They sleep with me and my partner (lots of purring from all four of us) and watch TV with us. And the 8-year-old even has his own happy dance.

And they’re not destructive, like kittens.

#5

All my cats but one have been pretty darn indifferent. And I’ve had a lot of cats. I have met some very affectionate kitties but I haven’t had one personally. My guess is that the ratio skews pretty high on the indifferent side.

#6

Different cats have different personalities. Some are very affectionate, even into their old age, while some kittens really don’t want to be around humans. I think that it’s part nature, and part nurture. Kittens need to be handled by humans when they’re very young, or they NEVER learn that humans are fun to be around. And some cats are just Cats Who Walk By Themselves, and just want to be left alone.

My daughter’s 9 year old cat still suckles on blankets and occasionally on my daughter’s shirts…while she’s wearing them. It’s cute, but it gets old fast.

All of our cats are affectionate, even the ones we got as adults. Partly this is because when we go down to the Humane Society, we let the cats choose us…we see which cats are interested in playing or being petted, we interact with the cat for a bit, and just generally see if our personalities are compatible. We have one cat who hates being picked up, yet he loves to sit in someone’s lap and be petted and loved on. The other two enjoy being picked up and cuddled, and one of them just can’t get enough attention. All three cats love to snuggle up to people and just hang out.

The one who is constantly asking for attention is Siamese. Meezers are well-known for their sociable personalities, and in fact what would be considered separation anxiety in any other cat is just pretty much the normal meezer personality. When I take a trip and am absent in my kitty’s life for a few days, my husband says that she cries a lot and is inconsolable. She also cries when he’s gone for over a day. She loves her people, and wants us around.

#7

I couldn’t wait for my last kitten to grow up! He is 2 now, but he was into everything. Very bad. He is the least affectionate of my three cats, but he is starting to come around. My 2 girl cats are super affectionate and I would even say they are more affectionate than some dogs I’ve had (but I am, at heart, a cat person).

#8

So did you file charges after the molestation you suffered?

Joe

#9

I’ve never had an indifferent cat either. Different personalities, yes. Lenny wasn’t cuddly until he got old, but all the cats I’ve had throughout my life have been very social with people. IME cats that don’t grow up with really interactive people are more distant than those whose humans play with them daily. E.g. I know a lady who puts food down for her cats and that’s it. She wouldn’t ever even think to bring out a toy, so her cats prefer to socialize with each other and not with her.

#10

I prefer my cat as an adult. When he was a kitten, he needed constant entertainment with cat toys. He hadn’t learned how to be polite yet, so he’d occasionally grab my hand and bite it. And worst of all, he’d keep me up all night suckling my earlobe. Thank god he grew out of that.

As an adult, he certainly isn’t indifferent. I mean, he sleeps 20 hours per day, but when he’s awake he wants to be all up in my face giving me kisses.

#11

Last night my two kittens decided to climb up the Christmas tree. The whole thing came crashing over, smashing lots of ornaments. The one commemorating us getting married, one of our’s children’s birth, and ironically, the one we got to commemorate getting the kittens. And the absolutely irreplaceable angle tree-toper from my grandmother.

Kitten sausage is on the menu tonight.

#12

This thread suffers from lack of pictures.

#13

Do what I do, foster kittens for a local shelter. You get them at their cutest snuggly rolly-polly kittenist best, then you give them back when they’re 2 pounds and looking more catlike. The hard part is giving them back.

#14

Yeah, but then you’ll need the kitten sausage ornament.

#15

Kittens are always cute, cats sometimes not so much.

But this is normal

Babies = VERY CUTE

Teen agers = ANNOYING

Humans don’t have the monopoly on their babies being cute. Everyone loves kitties and puppies, then they grow up and have minds of their own.