I think my neighbour is "lying" to me

sarahp

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My neighbours are fantastic, and I have 3 lots of neighbours who I can ask to look after the kitties and they all love cats, especially our girls so it works out well.

Anyway, so 2 of our neighbours say whenever they look after the girls that Smudge and Stumpy were cuddly and playful, and that they never saw Lily except for a flash of grey every now and again. Our other neighbour always tells us that Lily came and sat in her lap and had a cuddle.

Now Lily doesn't even sit in OUR lap, and rarely comes out when strangers are over. She knows our neighbour, and sits in the front window and doesn't run away when our neighbour talks to her (our neighbour takes her cat our for supervised walks and talks to Lily through the window while her cat is rolling around under the window), so I know that she does at least trust this particular neighbour and knows her better than our other neighbours.

I still find it very odd that she says Lily sits in her lap though. When Lily is affectionate and I'm on the couch, she'll snuggle around me and smooch up against me and is very loving, but that doesn't happen every day, and she rarely does it to DH so I can't see why she'd do it to my neighbour.

I can't see why my neighbour would lie to me though - maybe she wants me to be reassured that the cats are fine???? Whether Lily comes out or not, I know she's fine though...

Does it seem odd to you??
 

KitEKats4Eva!

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You know, Cairo would only ever cuddle me and never anyone else. The first time she met Max she fell totally in love with him and now I'm almost completely out of the picture. There's gratitude for you.

It's quite possible that Lily IS cuddly with your neighbour (offensive as that is!!) but also maybe your neighbour is just trying to reassure you. If your relationship with her is otherwise good, I wouldn't worry about it too much
 

theimp98

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i would say that is strange, But i do have a friend whose cat never sits in laps, but everytime i stop over there he comes and sits on the arm of chair i am in and keeps doing the nudge with head on my hand to pet him.. so who knows?
 
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sarahp

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Lily is just such a shy girl, I really can't imagine her being that comfortable around someone. Like I said, my neighbour is fantastic, and I certainly trust her to keep looking after the kitties, it's just odd.

Lily is currently on the couch next to me being super snuggly mewing at me and licking and nipping my arm while I'm typing - she hates being ignored
 

muttigreemom

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Odd, but not impossible.

Tryon is not a sociable kitty - at all. She's been coming out of her shell recently (and I think that has a lot to do with our bringing Sammy home, but just a guess)... but for months on end she would spend her days behind the tv only coming out when the coast was clear for food and to use the litter.

We just let her be because she was a stray and who knows what kind of life she had before us.

But then I had 9 people over for Thanksgiving. Usually even one extra person in the house has Tryon securely settled under the bed for at least a day. This time while I'm in the kitchen cooking I hear my mom calling me to look over... and there's Tryon snuggling on the couch with my mom! Totally threw me for a loop! She had never done that before, ever!

So who knows. Sometimes cats are just odd
 

swampwitch

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Ask your neighbor if she wears perfume with pheromones in it. That's the only thing I can think of. My Lily went berserk over our neighbor who wears Axe! He could hardly walk, she was so all over him.
 
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sarahp

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Well there you go, maybe she does just like our neighbour!!! I still want photographic evidence :p
 

lunasmom

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Yea, Whitey was never a cuddle cat, but now he'll only cuddle and lay on B. Occassionally he'll lay BY me, but never on me. As for my lap no way; B is his BFF.
 

dixie_darlin

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Originally Posted by SwampWitch

Ask your neighbor if she wears perfume with pheromones in it. That's the only thing I can think of. My Lily went berserk over our neighbor who wears Axe! He could hardly walk, she was so all over him.
Just like the girls in the commercial?

I wouldn't think it's impossible at all.
Tonka is NOT a lap kitty...at ALL! Not to me, (cept maybe 2 times) or DH or the kids but when my mom comes over... He is ALL over her!
He will jump onto the arm of the chair before she's even sat down.
 

starryeyedtiger

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Originally Posted by SwampWitch

Ask your neighbor if she wears perfume with pheromones in it. That's the only thing I can think of. My Lily went berserk over our neighbor who wears Axe! He could hardly walk, she was so all over him.
Axe has the same effect on me when Colin wears it
 

clairebear

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I don't really see why she would lie about something like that. It could be possible that she's telling the truth. Sometimes animals just form a bond with certain people. I have a dog who HATES strangers, I mean really hates them. But once a friend who is an absolute animal lover came over, and he instantly took a liking to her. She was able to pick him up and cuddle him. Not once did he growl or try to bite her like he would have done to anyone else. He acted like he had known her all his life. I think he could sense how much she love's animals, and felt he could trust her. Maybe the same happened with your kitty?
 

theimp98

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Originally Posted by SwampWitch

Ask My Lily went berserk over our neighbor who wears Axe! He could hardly walk, she was so all over him.
lol i used to wear axe sometimes
 

zissou'smom

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Zissou likes anyone better than me. I just think it's a "new" sort of thing, like little kids always preferring their new toys before going back to that one favorite.

She's not much of a lap cat to me either, but when anyone comes to visit she snuggles with them like they're made of beef jerky and catnip.
 

kluchetta

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That reminds me of an experience...I used to deliver papers, and was collecting my monthly fee. I was about 14 or 15. I walked into this house, and there was a beautiful cat (tortie, I believe), and the father (I went to school w/ his daughter) said, "oh, stay away from her, she hates everyone." And so I stuck out my hand and she just RUBBED against my hand like she loved me, LOL!
 
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sarahp

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Wow, there's heaps of kitties who've decided they just like someone in particular. So maybe I'm a little offended/upset that my baby girl would love my neighbour more than me


It's just so hard to believe given that I've never witnessed her sitting on anyone's lap or even letting anyone else pat her! She is much more comfortable when it's just me home, so maybe when it's just my neighbour she's even happier for whatever reason
 

yosemite

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It is possible she is telling the truth.

My friends had a Siamese cat that just had this amazing rapport with me for some reason. The cat would chatter away at me whenever I visited and basically didn't leave my side and most often went into heat after I left. They bred her and she gave birth to 3 kittens. My friends called to tell me because they knew I would want to see the kittens. They warned me however that the cat wouldn't let anyone near the kittens not even them.

I went for the visit, said hello to the cat and her kittens but kept my distance so as not to upset mom cat. I went out to their living room to sit and the cat brought the kittens to me, one at a time and put them on my lap, yowled something at me and walked away. My friends were sitting there with their mouths hanging open and my girlfriend started crying. She was so upset that their cat wouldn't let them near the kittens but brought her babies to me.

So, long story short, do I believe she may be telling the truth? Yes, she may well be.
 

siggav

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That's an amazing story Yosemite!

I have something slightly similar. I once house and catsat for people I know. I lived in their house for 2 months while they were away on a big holiday and looked after their cats.

They had one tiny little tortie and a big ginger and white unneutered tom. (I'd told them to get him fixed lots of times but they didn't and I didn't have the cash at the time to catnap him and get him fixed, he's been fixed now fortunately).

They said the tom was mean and didn't like people and just stayed outside lots. He was outside when I got the keys etc. so didn't get to see him then.

When I met him for the first time I was all prepared to meet some scruffy hostile big tomcat and he walked to me sniffed and happily while purring madly curled himself around my feet to cuddle as I was standing there. We bonded really strongly as I was living there and they even offered to give him to me but I was leaving the country just a few weeks later so I couldn't take him.
 

mybabyphx

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Originally Posted by Yosemite

It is possible she is telling the truth.

My friends had a Siamese cat that just had this amazing rapport with me for some reason. The cat would chatter away at me whenever I visited and basically didn't leave my side and most often went into heat after I left. They bred her and she gave birth to 3 kittens. My friends called to tell me because they knew I would want to see the kittens. They warned me however that the cat wouldn't let anyone near the kittens not even them.

I went for the visit, said hello to the cat and her kittens but kept my distance so as not to upset mom cat. I went out to their living room to sit and the cat brought the kittens to me, one at a time and put them on my lap, yowled something at me and walked away. My friends were sitting there with their mouths hanging open and my girlfriend started crying. She was so upset that their cat wouldn't let them near the kittens but brought her babies to me.

So, long story short, do I believe she may be telling the truth? Yes, she may well be.
Wow, that that is unbelievable!
That is a story I'll never forget.
 

littleraven7726

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I think she might be telling the truth. Nabu only likes me, and ESPECIALLY my hubby. But you should see him schmooze it up with the petsitter. And he sleeps on my FIL when he visits. It's very cute. Normally he heads for the bedroom when we have company.
 
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