Can A Kitten Go From Aloof To Loveable?

[ccooper]

I adopted a 4 month 1 week old kitten - female, she is now going to be 6 months old Oct. 8th.
She is the best kitten I have ever had - and we've had a few the past 38+ years! As attitude and behavior goes, could not ask for a better kitten. But.... she is not a loveable one. She picked my husband as her favorite (only because he's home with her daily and feeds her), but she will also sit with him and sleep next to him. She'll only stay on him for a few minutes, and she uses me as a stepping stone to get where she wants!! I feed her when I can and always play with her. I brush her and pet her, give her treats, but she still favors hubby!! I am not used to a kitten/cat not cuddling up to me and giving me unconditional love!! All my other kitties did! Will she grow out of this or is it a lost cause, she's just not a cuddle bug? I can use any opinions, help or comments on this! Thanks.

 

[susanm9006]

Absolutely she can. Kittens often don’t get cuddly at all until adulthood and even then their preference may change from one person to another.

 

[ccooper]

Absolutely she can. Kittens often don’t get cuddly at all until adulthood and even then their preference may change from one person to another.

Thank you - my last cat was 18 yrs old when he passed and I got him when he was 9 months old, so I could not remember if he was lovable or cuddly when he was young! Same with my other cats. My last has been gone for 4 years and I really needed another now and I just love and adore this one I now have!!

 

[susanm9006]

I understand. I lost my Velcro cat at 19 and then adopted a semi feral who wanted nothing to do with me. Has taken seven years, and she isn’t exactly a cuddly cat but gives me tons of affection none the less.

 

[catlover73]

I adopted Starbuck as a 6 week old kitten. She wanted to be around everyone as a baby. She slept between us in the bed as a baby. Once she entered adulthood she became daddy's baby. Starbuck is now almost 12 years old. She has gone back to being cuddly with both of us. For a long time she only wanted to cuddle with us when we were upstairs. She would only come down stairs to eat and go to the bathroom. She did not really spend time with us down stairs. Within about the last six months she has decided she wants to spend time cuddling with us down stairs. She comes down every night when we are eating dinner and sits on the couch with us. After dinner she climbs on both of us for cuddles. She stays downstairs generally until we go upstairs. She likes to hang out on my desk behind my monitor when she is upstairs. I now have a bed time ritual with her. I walk up to my desk and ask her if she wants to go to bed. She puts her paws up on top of my monitor for me to pick her up. I carry her to the bed room and put her on her pillow. She has her own pillow in a cubby hole in my headboard. This is where she sleeps now. If I go to bed before hubby she cleans my face and settles down in her bed to sleep. When hubby comes to bed she climbs on him to knead and give him kisses before going back to sleep. She now also sometimes comes down and hangs out on me on the couch on my days off while hubby is at work.

 

[basschick]

every kitten has their own unique personality, and they develop in their own unique ways. your kitten may never become a cuddly lap cat - i like the independent ones, myself - but that doesn't mean the kitten doesn't love you.

btw, maybe the kitten didn't pick your husband because he's home and feeds her. maybe she likes his voice, the way he moves around her, his smell or something else.

 

[aliceneko]

When I adopted Toffee and Fudge, they were semi-feral so had not had much socialisation at all. I managed to socialise them, and spent lots of time with them and gave them lots of attention. I played with them almost all day and was by their side almost all day so they could get used to me and learn that I was a friend and not a foe. Whilst they're still not keen on being picked up (they're still young, though as they've only just turned a year) they do love cuddles on laps. It's definitely possible to "make" a kitten loveable, with a lot of time and TLC