A one person cat

When I was out of town last week my neighbor, who's been around my cats for six years, stopped by to spend time with them. Katie and Pete both accepted attention from her, but Gracie, who's known her since she was a kitten, wouldn't let my neighbor touch her. I feel so bad because she really wants Gracie to accept her, but my little girl just won't warm up to her. She's like this with everybody. She's not shy and usually comes out when I have company. She just doesn't like anyone else touching her. She has always been extremely affectionate with me. I'm thrilled that she clearly loves me so much, but am wondering if anyone's else's cat is like this?

Everyone used to refer to Ullah as evil. She's my baby. I've had her since she was three weeks old. She sleeps with me, kneads on me, and is my little girl. BUT, when anyone would so much as look at her, she'd hiss, bat at them, and sometimes try to bite. She is a total Dr Jekyl, Mr. Hide. Now that I've lived with my BF almost two years she tolerates him. She was ok with my mom and sister when I still lived at home. Other than that, she doesn't like anyone. As she's gotten older, the hissing has stopped but now she just runs and hides if anyone tries to mess with her.

Nano is that way. She doesn't run and hide when there are guests -- but she will strut around the living room and act like she has the place to herself. She shuns any attention or treats from guests. She is very affectionate towards me when we're alone but I wish she would be more accepting of other peple.

My brandie does that... she only lets my family and bf touch her.

Some cats are sensitive to touch and don't like it much. If as kittens they were not picked up by humans and played with, tickled and such starting at two weeks old, they are not familiar with touch and it makes them uneasy. Let Gracie keep to her own desires and don't expect her to be what she cannot find herself to be. Each cat that you own is unique in different ways,celebrate that uniqueness and don't look to change them to be something they can't.

Originally Posted by hissy

Some cats are sensitive to touch and don't like it much. If as kittens they were not picked up by humans and played with, tickled and such starting at two weeks old, they are not familiar with touch and it makes them uneasy. Let Gracie keep to her own desires and don't expect her to be what she cannot find herself to be. Each cat that you own is unique in different ways,celebrate that uniqueness and don't look to change them to be something they can't.

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Thanks, but I wanted to add that I've had Gracie since she was six weeks old and she received plenty of cuddling and play from me as a kitten. She also had contact with a number of other people. She's just always been extremely attached to me and is actually the most affectionate of my three cats. I've never had any expectations of her and love her just the way she is. I have no desire to try and change her. I just posted this out of curiousity to see if anyone else's cats behaved this way.

I think Charlotte is like that. She'll soon be 3 years old, but I've only had her for 2 years. She's very affectionate with me but doesn't like when others try to touch her. I keep telling people that I need a video camera to capture her sweetness because no one believes me.

I've heard that Siamese are like that in general. I know the one I had as a kid, and that my parent's still have was definately a one person cat. She was my cat and didn't really care for any one else.

Unfortnately when I moved out she was too sick to come along, we checked with the vet and stress would have been very bad for her since she had and still has advanced Kidney Disease. She's made a good transition to being my Dad's cat at this time though since I no longer live at home.

Originally Posted by hissy

Some cats are sensitive to touch and don't like it much. If as kittens they were not picked up by humans and played with, tickled and such starting at two weeks old, they are not familiar with touch and it makes them uneasy. Let Gracie keep to her own desires and don't expect her to be what she cannot find herself to be. Each cat that you own is unique in different ways,celebrate that uniqueness and don't look to change them to be something they can't.

Click to expand...

Thanks for that information. It makes sense that some cats might be sensitive to touch. My Chloe is now 6 years old (had her since she was a baby) and it has taken her right up until now to be a little more relaxed when it comes to getting petted. She now will actively seek to be petted BUT only when she wants to. Interesting.

My Tiny is very shy around strangers and will hide in the bedroom whenever we have company. My dear departed Sonny was like that as well, but all of the others warm up fairly quickly to visitors. I don't know how Bucky is going to be, but so far he seems VERY friendly, the only visitor he has met is my son and was not the least bit shy with him.

Our four run the gamut of personality when it comes to meeting other people. Our first two are the most gregarious, walking right up to anyone who comes in and sniffing them. Our third couldn't care less about company, and more often than not doesn't want to be bothered even with us. Tiger, our fourth, came to us as a stray that we caught, and no friend or relative has seen her yet because at the sound of another human being she is straight under the bed. As soon as she hears the people leaving, she'll come right out and look around all big eyed. It seems to be just a matter of personality and personal history.