Kitten being too affectionate

Yeah, I know it sounds strange, but this IS a problem here. Gizmo is maybe 8 months old so he's still technically a kitten but almost the size of a full grown cat. We found him and his 2 sisters after their mother was killed by a stray dog (they were barn cats) so we took them in and bottle fed them. Gizmo was the runt and it was touch and go for a while, so I spent extra time w/ him. He would only eat for me, and I would cuddle him to keep him warm and make him feel safe. After we knew he was going to be ok, he would curl up on my shoulder and sleep there...when he was little.

Well, now, he isn't so little. In fact, he ended up being the biggest of the 3! But he still wants up on mommy's shoulder. Any time I sit down, he is literally in my face. Sometimes he is content with curling up in my lap or beside me, but most of the time he ends up standing on my chest and wrapping himself around my face so that I can't breathe! When I try to pick him up his claws come out, not defensive but more to hold on the whatever he can...clothes, skin, anything. We have 3 older cats that used to sleep w/ us, and we tried to let the door open for them but Gizmo came in and decided he wanted to sleep on my face.

I know I started this behavior by letting him get on my shoulder as a kitten, but how do I stop it? I've moved him, I've said "NO", I've used the water bottle but he loves water and all it does is give us both a bath. What do I do? It's very annoying!

The only thing I can think of to do is to keep putting him down when he climbs on you. My kitten is 4 months and wants all people food. So of course, whenever I am eating she is practically climbing down my throat to get the food. So I pick her up and put her on the ground, its annoying but after 10 or so times of this, she gives up. Maybe just try that. Whenever he gets on you, put him down. Hopefully he will get the message at some point.

well i can understand why she wants to do that...because your his parent. scince his mother was killed, he had to find someone to take her place. so since you take the place of his mommy he might have a fear of leaving you, since his REAL mom left him.
all i can suggest is to do what a real cat mother would do: teach him that you need personal space. i know a real mother cat would do at first something like what you're doing: telling him, gently but firmly, NO, and moving him. after that she would probably move on to some thing more drastic, like hissing and walking away from him or ignoring him. maybe you should try this. for real. i hiss at my cat to let her know that i've had enough of her biting. so maybe next time you're not having enough personal space, try hissing and getting up and moving to a different seat. you might have to do it ALOT to get the piont across. after that im not sure. cause probably if that wouldn't work for a real mother she would move to threatening him with her claws, and i dont think you should do that.
i am totally NOT an expert, these are all just ideas.
hope all goes well if you decide to try it! good luck!

You might try gently pushing against his head slightly above, between his eyes and push him a way. He will come back but keep doing it, and maybe quietly saying get down, or something when you do it. This is how the mother pushes them away from her teet when they nurse, and I have used it with success. yelling, squirting, probably does't make sense to him, since it was always all right before. Might make him resentful.

Thanks guys! Gizmo was being his needy self when I was checking replys, so I tried the hissing thing. He ran....but suddenly I had my 2 dogs (pug and chocolate lab) climbing up on my lap wondering why mommy was making strange noises! I just can't win! But, it did work w/ Gizmo. I'll just have to practice my hissing because here he comes again!

I would push Gizmo gently away. You don't want to scare him, just let him know that he is invading your personal space, or personal face.

If that does not work, a jet of air blown through your lips will discourage him.

It's actually rather touching. You ARE his mommy, you know...he knows no other. It's too bad he doesn't stay small.
You want to keep him happy and yourself sane...hopefully these methods will work.

best from the girl Gizmo

Just keep putting him down if he is in your face.

Trust me, it doesn't hurt their feelings like you think it might.

Now, if you stopped feeding him or showing him affection completely, that would be a different story.

I don't mean to chuckle, but I live with 3 bottle fed orphans and 2 out of 3 are a lot like what you described. I think it comes with the territory of being bottle raised!!! Those 2 are by far the most demanding yet most loving of all the cats in my house.

Muddy's antics are cute, yet annoying at times. He turns on his "LOVE ME NOW OR ELSE" mode and there is no stopping his demand for attention. It lasts anywhere from 5 minutes to hours. He stands on his back legs and reaches his arms up against you to pick him up. In the past, if you didn't do so immediately, he would leap up in the air and expect you to catch him. I only missed once and one time I actually threw the sandwich I was eating on the floor to catch him.

After about 3 years of it, and it was getting pretty old, I started redirecting his affection. He used to only want to be loved when I was standing and if I was holding him and sat down, he would nibble my nose. I persistently started putting him on my lap while I was already sitting and giving him love on my terms rather than his. It took months, but now he is able to peacefully sit in my lap and be smothered with scritches. Scarlett pulled the same type of antics while in bed.

I don't think you will ever break him of being overly affectionate, but you can start only allowing things on your terms. Push him away when he is too much in your face, and encourage times when you want his attention. After a while, he will figure it out.

I know, what a terrible problem to have a cat that is too affectionate!! Trust me, I understand.

hahahhahahaha I'm sorry to laugh here but it's just so funny yet adorable!!! I better not let my cats get into the habit of sleeping next to my shoulder/neck otherwise I'm doom!!! I wouldn't want to threw food on the floor to catch them.

I seached this forum for bottle fed to see if anyone else was having over affection problems with a bottle fed kitten, and am so glad you all understand! Great problem to have, but a problem sometimes. Gogo sleeps on my head for a while every night and I love it, but I can't have him jumping up on me the whole time I'm working. So, I tried reverse pshychology. When he comes to see me in the office I make a big fuss over him and scoop him up and hug and kiss and pet and hold him and then he wants to get away! He says, "Mommie's just too clingy when she's in her office chair". He now comes and sits quietly on the corner of the desk and naps when I work!

This is just another way of our cats surprising us. They only want us to think they don't need us.
I have a cat who is 16 years old. Just a few months ago she got it into her head that she LOVES my husband. She always before ignored him, totally. Now, she jumps on his lap, stares him in the face, and purrs like mad. When he is watching tv in the bedroom she will jump up, stand on his chest, look him in the eye, and then bump into his glasses. When he is trying to sleep she curls herself around his head and sleeps on his pillow. He is delighted that she finally loves him.
What I find amusing about her is that after 16 years she finally made the decsion that he is A-okay. LOL

Maia is a similar story! She was the runt and so tiny when I got her, blue eyes with a cold, half the size of her brother, and we had to give her milk supliment for the first week. Tiny little undeveloped kitten somehow managed to chase me if I left her, and what a set of lunges! I literally carried her with me everywhere I went in an arm sling. I went nuts but completely love her and that was one of the reasons I picked her ! She is 9 months now and if she's not sleeping, she follows me around, she is my best friend, half the time wanting me to hold her up on my shoulder! If she is overly persistent about it, I will take advantage of her affectionate state and trim her nails! at the same time, knowing she doesn't enjoy that, It curbs her enthusiasm for attention!