Hi everyone,
my two kittens were 10 weeks old and lived with just me and their mother when I took in a rescued cat with her 4 kittens. The new kittens were 7 weeks old. Unfortunately the newcomers had a ringworm infection that I was not aware of so it spread to the elder kittens and their mother. The treatment was long and tasking and we're still waiting for final culture results to see if the infection cleared up. I don't think it really bothered them, I am mentioning this just to explain why the new kittens are still here after 3 months (they were supposed to be rehomed, but the infection delayed it).
Now what worries me is this: although all kittens seemed to have clicked nicely, as time went by, one of the elder kittens became less and less affectionate with me. She used to meow for cuddles and jump on my lap to take a nap, but now she only seems to want my attention when she wants me to turn on the faucet in the kitchen (she loves playing with running water). I often try to pet her and hold her but she allows it much less often than before. She will be 6 months soon and should be spayed then if ringworm is cleared up. My question is this: she hasn't gone into heat yet but I am nonetheless wondering if this behavior is a sign of growing up and becoming more independent? Or could it be that since they're all getting older she has become stressed out because she lives with so many cats (I've read on vetinfo.com that keeping more than 2 cats increases the risk of stress). She didn't use to be this way when she was younger, even with the new kittens in picture. Maybe she also became a little less active, but I thought it was maybe because she has inspected everything in the house and there's nothing new for her to discover. She still runs around like crazy sometimes, chasing tin foil balls, it just doesn't seem to last as long as before and doesn't happen as often. I don't really see any problems among kittens, they all sleep and play together, all kittens nurse both mother cats (except this kitten, she only nurses her own mother and seems to be avoiding the other mother cat, except the occasional curious sniff).
my two kittens were 10 weeks old and lived with just me and their mother when I took in a rescued cat with her 4 kittens. The new kittens were 7 weeks old. Unfortunately the newcomers had a ringworm infection that I was not aware of so it spread to the elder kittens and their mother. The treatment was long and tasking and we're still waiting for final culture results to see if the infection cleared up. I don't think it really bothered them, I am mentioning this just to explain why the new kittens are still here after 3 months (they were supposed to be rehomed, but the infection delayed it).
Now what worries me is this: although all kittens seemed to have clicked nicely, as time went by, one of the elder kittens became less and less affectionate with me. She used to meow for cuddles and jump on my lap to take a nap, but now she only seems to want my attention when she wants me to turn on the faucet in the kitchen (she loves playing with running water). I often try to pet her and hold her but she allows it much less often than before. She will be 6 months soon and should be spayed then if ringworm is cleared up. My question is this: she hasn't gone into heat yet but I am nonetheless wondering if this behavior is a sign of growing up and becoming more independent? Or could it be that since they're all getting older she has become stressed out because she lives with so many cats (I've read on vetinfo.com that keeping more than 2 cats increases the risk of stress). She didn't use to be this way when she was younger, even with the new kittens in picture. Maybe she also became a little less active, but I thought it was maybe because she has inspected everything in the house and there's nothing new for her to discover. She still runs around like crazy sometimes, chasing tin foil balls, it just doesn't seem to last as long as before and doesn't happen as often. I don't really see any problems among kittens, they all sleep and play together, all kittens nurse both mother cats (except this kitten, she only nurses her own mother and seems to be avoiding the other mother cat, except the occasional curious sniff).
NOW he's in the process of transitioning to lap cat!!!!! He doesn't get in my lap by himself, but he walks up and stands on my leg, and I pull him into my lap and he stays for pets for a while before running away. DH predicted from the very beginning that he'd become a lap cat in his 8th year. He's got until April to be right. 
