Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Please bear with me so I can try to explain this.

My boyfriend Richard and I have been dating for two years. At the time we started dating he had just gotten a new kitten. This would make Jennie a little over two years old. Other than me, Jennie has never really been around other people. She will rub up against me and will tolerate some petting. But she has never been a lap cat with either of us. When we have friends over she usually just hides until they leave and then she's fine. About a year ago we introduced her to my son, who at that time was 4. She only saw him occasionally, but was fairly social with him.

About 7 months ago Richard bought a new house and then in June my son and I moved in with them. Jennie had adjusted well to the new house at this point and we felt she would get used to us as well.

Things were going fairly well for a while. Jennie basically just ignored my son and treated me about the same as she always has. In order to show her that I was there to be her friend I took on the responsibility of feeding her and taking care of her litter box. Gradually she has begun to distance herself from me more and more. She will even bite and smack me if I touch her. She doesn't initiate any contact with my son, who is now 5. When he approaches her to rub her she bites and swats at him.

Could she be experiencing jealousy since we're there taking up some of Richard's time? We have been considering getting another cat or a small breed dog. But with this behavior becoming increasingly worse we're not sure what to do. My son and I have both always been animal lovers and we're both quite heartbroken to feel she hates us. I would like my son to grow up with pets, but I also don't want to stress her out more. It's hard balancing the needs of both of them

Please help if you can.

Robin

The key here may be the litterbox. Perhaps Jenny is feeling "territorial" about that. Continue to feed her, but see if your significant other will start cleaning the box again.

At this time don't get another animal.
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Smile, it will make them wonder what you are up to!

MA gave good advice. Once she starts approaching you, you might want to try getting an interactive play toy. I reccommend something called Da'Bird. Even our shy kitty who hates everyone except my father will come out to play when I take it out. Just don't look at her when playing.
I'm connecting a link so you can see what Da'Bird is. The feathers some how twirl and sound like a bird. 7 our of our 8 cats love this thing.
Da'Bird

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Jaime owned by
Mya the dog
and the cats:Crash, Moxie, Gabby and sometimes Tucker

The link is to long so your going to have to cut and paste it in a new window.
http://cats.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?zi=1/XJ&sdn=cats&zu=http://www.thecatconnection.com/Da-Bird-Cat-Teaser.html
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Jaime owned by
Mya the dog
and the cats:Crash, Moxie, Gabby and sometimes Tucker

Jennie might just be a "one person cat." (The one person being Richard.)

Some cats don't like being around other people (or any people for that matter) -- it's just their personalities, and there isn't much you can do about it.

Rather than seek out the cat to give it attention, wait for her to come to you and your son. She may not desire affection, or company, so that could be why she gets defensive and swats at your son.

My advice is to leave her alone and let her do her own thing.

Thanks to everyone for the wonderful advice. I've passed all your advice onto Richard and we have pretty much come to the conclusion that she is just a one-human cat. I've been doing the treat thing, but she seems happiest if I just leave her alone, unless I'm feeding her or giving her treats.

So then we come to my other question. Since we've lived here over two months now and we know she just isn't going to warm up to us, how long should we wait before getting another pet? My son is an only child and he has been begging for either another kitty or a dog. Richard seems to think Jenny could handle a dog better than another kitty. Any suggestions? Is there any breeds that would be better around Jenny than others? We really need an inside dog and were thinking that something small would be less threatening to her. Any help is greatly appreciated

Robin

It will be a toss-up whether the cat would tolerate another cat or another dog better. There is no way to predict what a cat will do when confronted with another animal.

Whatever you decide be sure that the animal you adopt can be returned if things don't work out.
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Smile, it will make them wonder what you are up to!