I think my cat is competing with my boyfriend LOL.

I think my cat is competing with my boyfriend LOL. My 9yo male orange tabby I think thinks my live-in boyfriend is his competition. Sometimes I'll pick Tigger up and he smells like my boyfriend. I later realized that he has a tendency to lay on all his dirty clothes. When I picked Tigger up, he smelled like car grease (earlier that day my boyfriend was working on his car), and then later on that night I saw he kept laying on the same sweatshirt that smelled like that car grease. Another time, he smelled like my boyfriend's dirty clothes, and when I picked him up, he smelled just like that. Even tho my boyfriend plays pretty rough with him, Tigger still seems to love him cuz he always rubs really hard against his legs. I was thinking, either he is trying to smell like my bf cuz he sees that I pay just as much attention to my bf as I do him OR Tigger is marking himself on all his clothes and trying to show domination over my boyfriend. One time, Tigger even threw up inside of my boyfriends jeans that were laying in the dirty clothes pile on the floor LOL. Either way, it's funny! I've had my cat his whole life....I've been with my boyfriend for a year. I show Tigger so much attention (I treat him like my own child), yet he still competes. Does anyone else have a cat that seems like he does that? It's not a problem, just an observation.

You probably have traces of your bf scents too so Tigger is just making it a threesome.

I've had Popsie for sixteen years and have been with DH for nine. DH and I have only been married one year and lived together two. DH knew Popsie before we got a house but not that well. Over the past two years they have developed a friendly relationship. Answering your question, Popsie would compete for me and still does. Like if DH lays down with me Popsie has to be right there too trying to get my attention.

Yea that's what tigger does too. In bed my boyfriend is on one side of me, Tigger is right along me on the other side. Or if were in the living room, Tigger manages to find a spot thats closer to me than where my bf is sitting. Or when my bf picks Tigger up, Tigger gets all mad and wants to jump out of his arms, but when I pick Tigger up, he shows me all his love and snuggles his face against me and then looks over at my boyfriend as to say "ha ha, she loves me more" LOL.

Stimpy has only lived with us while DH and I have been married, but he is quite the jealous boy. He does what we call "cuddle blocking." If he can be between us, he will. He makes it pretty clear he likes me best. He's a brat. We just laugh about it and move if he is being too pesky. His spot on the couch is actually the middle, relegating me to one side and Mike on the other end. He is a big cat, and usually gives Mike a quarter of the couch if he can get away with it. Yeah, he's a brat.

That's really lovely, it really comes across in your post just how much you love Tigger

My Radar prefers me to my husband - yet he ALWAYS smells of my husband's deodorant. I have yet to work out why, because he very rarely cuddles my husband or seeks affection or contact from him. The relationship they have is quite like your bf's relationship with Tigger - Radar comes to me for cuddles, and to Nate for play. We both fulfil different roles in his life, and his relationship with each of us is different. Now my Sonic is the jealous one - but it's Radar he competes with. He will climb onto my lap and then look around to make sure Radar is watching while he gets affection from me. I am sure he is telling Radar that he 'owns' me. I have to make sure to give Radar affection with Sonic shut in another room, because otherwise he will get off my lap if Sonic glares at him or approaches.

My SO rescued Fluffy, and she thinks he hung the moon. When he leaves to go to work she will sit on the end of the couch and look so sad. She is acting a little more loving toward me lately, but up to then she could have cared less about me.

He sees you like your boyfriend, and wants to smell like him to garner more of that attention.

Just let your boyfriend know a certain amount of rough play is okay, but it's easy (from the cat's point of view) to go too far. Cats don't really like rough playing. It seems like it, since they come back at the player, but it can bleed over into defending themselves, and a lot of times the player (usually a male human) doesn't realize that.

They aren't dogs, and don't care for the roughousing people are used to doing with dogs.