So I've had my first ever cat for about 4 months now; couple questions about him

[hpizzle]

I've had my first cat who is also my first pet for about 4 months now. I'm loving him but I have a few questions about his behaviors over the 4 month period. He's an orange tabby male, neutered, about 7.5 months old.

- Is he happy? Odd question but, how do I know if I'm doing what I should be doing to keep him happy?

- When I come home from work, he's always by the door. I'm assuming he hears the footsteps. Is there a chance he will ever make a run for it when I open the door? Sometimes when I'm bringing groceries in or boxes, I'll leave the door open. Sometimes he'll just stand near by, sometimes he makes his way onto the patio and sniffs around. Is this alright or is there a chance one day he'll run off?

- How do I know if he's bored? At times he'll just lay there, eyes open and look at me or around the room. Does that mean he's bored?

- He gets close to me sometimes and appears to "kiss" me on the lips. Is he showing affection or just trying to smell my mouth? Either way, it's really cute.

- Sometimes when I walk into a room and he sees me he'll make a little squealing sound almost. Is that him saying hello or something?

- Waiting outside the bathroom door...why does he do this?

- Sometimes when I walk towards him or look at him he randomly hunches his back up and his tail puffs up with his ears behind his back like he's scared. Why does he randomly get scared of me =/ ?

- As the months go by, he spends less and less time on my lap/near me and instead will lay down on the floor? Is this normal? Sometimes I have to pick him up just to get him to sit with me =(.

This forum has been a lot of help since I got the little guy! Thanks for all the help!

 

[nikimarie673]

I've had my first cat who is also my first pet for about 4 months now. I'm loving him but I have a few questions about his behaviors over the 4 month period. He's an orange tabby male, neutered, about 7.5 months old.

- Is he happy? Odd question but, how do I know if I'm doing what I should be doing to keep him happy?
- When I come home from work, he's always by the door. I'm assuming he hears the footsteps. Is there a chance he will ever make a run for it when I open the door? Sometimes when I'm bringing groceries in or boxes, I'll leave the door open. Sometimes he'll just stand near by, sometimes he makes his way onto the patio and sniffs around. Is this alright or is there a chance one day he'll run off?
- How do I know if he's bored? At times he'll just lay there, eyes open and look at me or around the room. Does that mean he's bored?
- He gets close to me sometimes and appears to "kiss" me on the lips. Is he showing affection or just trying to smell my mouth? Either way, it's really cute.
- Sometimes when I walk into a room and he sees me he'll make a little squealing sound almost. Is that him saying hello or something?
- Waiting outside the bathroom door...why does he do this?
- Sometimes when I walk towards him or look at him he randomly hunches his back up and his tail puffs up with his ears behind his back like he's scared. Why does he randomly get scared of me =/ ?
- As the months go by, he spends less and less time on my lap/near me and instead will lay down on the floor? Is this normal? Sometimes I have to pick him up just to get him to sit with me =(.

This forum has been a lot of help since I got the little guy! Thanks for all the help!

Hey there! I may be able to shed some light on the situation! Congrats for being a cat parent it is a very rewarding relationship but just keep in mind cats are not like dogs they show their love in different ways.

-If he is happy he will show you in different ways: does he eat well, use the cat box well? Does he love cuddles? Does he meow and love play time with you? If yes to all things he is very happy boy!
-Me personally I have trained my two to stay away from the door. They would be defenseless if they got out. Everytime I come in the door I am conscious about were they are and make spht noise and also tell them in a firm tone you get in the house. Eventual he will get the idea. The outside world is very hard for an indoor cat.
-I love Jackson Galaxy (the cat behaviorist) and am believer in his methods. Yes sometimes they lay down and just chill. But also how much catification have you done? Does he have a cat tower to run up on? Cat love being high off the ground! Jackson refers to something he calls the cat superhighway. It's a path that the cat from go from one place to another and to another, a lot of times without even touching the ground. My girls for instance can go from my living room window, to the end table over the couch across another end table, jump to the kitchen table jump to my kitchen bar and then up on top my cupboard without ever touching the ground! It's their superhighway. Catification is the simple principle of does a cat look like it lives in your house? Are there toys everywhere, scratching posts, a cat tower etc? This all helps with boredom and of course structured play time with you. If you don't have a toy called Da Bird yet get it! My cats LOVE it. It's just feathers on the end of a string attacked to a wand but when u move the feathers through the air it can sound like a bird flapping his wings. Play with him hard about twice a day and he will sleep well! If you haven't watched Jacksons videos on YouTube I strongly encourage you do so!
-Is he purring when he does the kissing thing? My girl Pips loves being on my chest near my neck and gets so content in her purring and cuddles will start to drool on me. She has done this since she was a baby and is 3 now.
-Cats only meow to communicate with humans. Cats very rarely meow at one another. So when he makes squeaky noises it prolly is a hey I am happy to see you!
-Cats hate being left out of the fun. You going in the bathroom makes him wonder what you are doing in there? All cats I have had over my life run to the bathroom after I go in. Paws and meows under the door are common. I even had one that would come in there with me I left the door open and demand to get on my lap.
-I doubt it's scarred. I had a cat who did that and it meant he wanted to play and be rough. He used to puff up and bounce at me sideways. We then had some playtime and he was happy. But is there anything else going on at this point that would tell u he is truly scared or it is just random if you walk around a corner for instance?
-Cas can be overstimulated which is the reason many cats will be happy while you pet him and you coninture and then all of a sudden they nip and leave you. So just work with him and continue loving him.

Hope that answered some questions! Good luck!

 

[hpizzle]

-I doubt it's scarred. I had a cat who did that and it meant he wanted to play and be rough. He used to puff up and bounce at me sideways. We then had some playtime and he was happy. But is there anything else going on at this point that would tell u he is truly scared or it is just random if you walk around a corner for instance?
 

Yep he puffs up and bounces either towards me or sometimes away! Maybe next time he does it I'll start a little play session with him.