dislike of head-pets

[wispyrustle]

My 12 week old kitten loves to sit on laps and allows petting on his back, but right from the very first head-pet he will turn his head and 'put his teeth on you'. Not really a bite, but he's obviously discouraging the head-pets.
This is NOT a big deal, I know, and I guess it could just turn out to be his personality. But I'd like to know if anyone else has had a kitten outgrow this or if there are any special things I can do to change his mind about letting us touch his head...? Thank you!

 

[howtoholdacat]

At 12 weeks this is probably play and I'd bet a million bucks it will change by the time your cat is an adult.

 

[kailie]

My Azizi has never liked head perts, and we've had him from the time he was a small kitten. He will usually either shy away, or nip at us, never hard. Now when HE wants attention though, it's another story.

 

[snickerdoodle]

A friend has an older cat, Lucky, who looks like a maine coon, who does not appreciate being petted on the head for too long (You can get away with one or two pets). I learned that the hard way twice, and once he waited until I was asleep on the couch to bite my foot and get me back for it. LOL. Hopefully I would think he'd outgrow that, being so young. Chickster will do it sometimes, too, and I am STILL learning which buttons not to push and when, she can be hard to read.

 

[wispyrustle]

Thanks for your replies!

I've realized that as long as he's in kitty play mode, petting is not a priority in his world. If he's sleepy, he will let me pet his head a bit. So I guess he could grow out of it, otherwise I just learn his quirks

 

[lorie d.]

One of my Rainbow Bridge cats, Snowball, had a habit as a kitten of always wanting to see and smell our hands first before we petted him. We never knew why he did this, but he outgrew this behavior after he became an adult. Maybe if you show your hand to the kitten first in a non-threatening way before you try to pet his head it will help.