Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi!

I have 2, 15 month old cats. Siblings gotten at the same time, not knowing they were only 4 weeks old when I got them. I was told they were 8 weeks and I didn't have a clue. Anyway, they have always been together. One a male, Clark. Other female, Chloe. Had similar experiences with people, house, treated same. They get along great, they are very much my babies. They both get plenty of attention from me, and from hubby. I would think they would be quite similar in personalities.

Well.......

Chloe is extremely outgoing, instigator, loves everyone that walks through the door, isn't afraid of much but the sweeper and the doorbell.

Clark is fairly laid back, follows Chloe's lead. Nurses on the furry blanket on our bed. Loves to be with us, plays fetch, isn NOT afraid of the sweeper, but seems to be afraid of any unusual noise, doorbell and unknown people. He hides under the bed whenever someone he doesn't know comes over, which is everyone but my sister-in-law and nephew.

My question is, why would two cats raised pretty much the same way be so different? I don't mind most of the differences, as I understand siblings can be different. However, I'm really bothered that Clark is afraid so often. No one has ever hurt him. No one has knowingly scared him. But he hides whenever someone comes over or he hears a loud noise.

Chloe rarely hides. Only when I bring out the sweeper.

Anyone have any thoughts?

Hi! I had two brothers from the same litter for many, many years. I adopted Stanley and Pookey from the SPCA when they were a year old and they've been with me since. Stanley passed away a year ago at age 16, Pookey is still with me (17 now).

Although they were from the same litter, they were night and day different in personality.

Stanley was my outgoing one, met people at the door, etc.

Pookey is my more reserved, shy ones. If he is uncomfortable or scared, he's under the bed. When it rains heavily or thunders, under the bed. When I start the vacuum, under the bed. When someone visits, he will usually hide out, but eventually come out to investigate if the person is here a while. If he knows them, he probably won't hide out first.

Having said all that, your two sound very similar to my two. Their personalities didn't change much thru the years, however they did become more cuddly as they got older. But Stanley was always outgoing and brave, and Pookey is still a scaredy cat to some degree.

Stanley was VERY quiet, rarely meowed. Pookey meows a lot. Even more so without Stanley, he wakes me in the night now that Stanley is gone, something he didn't do often before. But, he is getting better, not as frequent with the meowing in the night. They bonded very strongly, as your two will...
-----
Tammy and Pookey
(Stanley 8/91 - 8/07)

I had two siblings, a boy and girl, that were brought home at about 7 weeks old. The purrsonalities were very different even though they were always together. The boy was outgoing, affectionate and very playful. The girl was very active and playful with her brother, but not at all interested in people. Ben would greet people at the door looking for affection, food or both. Sadie would hide or hang back. If food was involved she would eventually make an appearance. Ben went to the Bridge at age 9 and Sadie became much more people oriented. She would even play with some toys which she had previously shown no interest in. I think it is just a matter of each cat's own personality.

Previous to the brother and sister above, I had two half-brothers who were about 3 weeks apart in age and raised together. They were inseparable, outgoing and very similar in their reactions to situations.