I wish my cat liked my DH

My cat is three years old now (large, neutered male). He is basically a good boy -- eats like a horse, uses the box well, etc... He is not much of a lap kitty but he seems to love me and the kids and loves treats even more.

Anyhow, though he likes me and the kids, he is timid of strangers and mostly of men. A couple examples:

- we went out of town for a week and my grown niece stayed here with him. He bit her at least two times (unprovoked while sitting at the desk next to the computer). If she pets him, he will tolerate it for so long before snapping at her.

- my husband -- the same thing. He will pet the cat and the cat will tolerate it for a bit then snap at him.

It makes my DH not like my dear kitty so much. Kind of a bummer when your DH doesn't like the family pet

My cats before Bijou never took to my hubby very well. He "liked" cats but could take them or leave them. I guess they figured that out for themselves. Anyway, we got Bijou and he loves all of us equally. My hubby is in seventh heaven. He adores Bijou and is always talking to him, loving him and really just enjoys him.

Get another cat but let your hubby pick out the cat. Let the cat choose him.

Originally Posted by Yosemite

Get another cat but let your hubby pick out the cat. Let the cat choose him.

Click to expand...

Persi picked me and look how I turned out

Could he be over stimulated? I know my Caponey loves me a ton, yet if I pet him for longer then he likes (could be anywhere from 30 seconds to 30 min) he will attack me pretty hard. He grabs my hands with his arms and bites really hard. Being as itâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s just me and my boyfriend we donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t really care if he bites, weâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ve never disciplined him, we just learned to see the signs of when he is over stimulated. The signs are easy to spot, he gets his crazy face and goes into the defensive position. Maybe thatâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s whatâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s happening?

Yup, kitties can get overstimulated easily. With our Billy, like Silvionic, you just don't know if it's going to be 30 seconds, 3 minutes, or 30 minutes. Let hubby know it's not him, it's that cats get overstimulated easily. A twitching tail is a good sign to stop.

You can also do things to help kitty associate DH with good things. Get an old t-shirt (or a new one, whatever), and have DH get it really good and sweaty. Have oen of you put treats down for kitty each morning and evening on it. Do this for a month or forever. It may help. Does he play with them? Gary tries to get away with only petting the cats - but what they really love is being played with. Does he take out that interactive wand toy? If you don't have one that has really captured kitty's attention, buy Da Bird. Cats that don't like wand toys even (usually) go nuts for this one. It's the way the feather spins on it and the sound it makes that makes the difference.

...and I agree with Linda. Get another kitty - and let it choose hubby.

Laurie

We got another kitty for my hubby, since my other 2 were so skittish and completely attached/devoted to me.

Now I call my hubby "Snow White" because whenever he is laying on the sofa, they all lay with him.

2 of my cats don't like my hubby and it really bothers him! he loves the cats so he tries very hard to make them like him ( gives them treats cuddles plays with them) they have come around some....but still are not his biggest fan!!

When we adopted our first rescues (feral kittens), we found the best way for them to want attention was to ignore them. Cats are SO contrarian. Even now, we forget that. After trying to brush or pet them for a few days and they're not into it, we remember to ignore them. After a day or so we actually say out loud - don't come looking for love over here! Works like a charm.

Laurie