Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
We've had 3 y/o Glinda for almost 4 months now. She loves to be near us and follows us wherever we go. When watching TV she is always quick to jump in our laps and sleep for hours. She lets us pet her and has become more of a snuggle bug since we adopted her...BUT she still does not like to be picked up. Typically when I scoop her up she will tolerate it for about 5 seconds then try to bite me (not hard) but she clearly wants to have all four paws on the ground. I tried rewarding her with a treat each time I pick her up, but that hasn't had an effect. I notice when we take her to the vet they scoop her right up and she does not bite them. Not sure if it is a confidence thing or just the fact that she is really distracted by the new environment at the vets office.
All this is to ask if any of you have tips for helping us work with our cat so she can become more comfortable being picked up? Maybe it will just take time and more positive reinforcement? It's the only time she bites us, and I wouldn't do it often if she doesn't like it (I don't want to force this) but I'd love to be able to do it once in a while without a love bite. Any tips? Thanks!
It's important to understand why cats don't like to be picked up (generally speaking of course. Some don't seem to mind and some become "rugs")
Cats are prey animals as well as hunters and being picked up triggers a flight or fight instinct in many.
I have had a couple cats over the many years who didn't mind it or seemed to like it but most had to be trained to accept any kind of handling that they did not initiate.
She's only been with you 4 months which is no time at all. It takes a long time to build trust. I would continue the quick pick up and release, but release her BEFORE she gets to the point she needs to bite you to tell you to let her go. And the treat reward is okay if she is food motivated. It should be a treat you use only for this training.
Pick her up correctly. Approach sort of sideways and putting one hand under her just behind her front legs, lift her and support her bottom feet with your back hand. Give her a quick kiss on the head maybe, then put her down, give her a treat and initiate a favorite Game with her.
Remember to tell what you are doing and why. "Okay Glinda, time for pick up training! I'm going to pick you up so you can learn to be held without being scared!" "Oh thank you Glinda well done you brave girl!" and like that.
As always catsmom has aweaomw advice. I completrly agree.
Each cat will come to you with a different amount of interest in being held. It's against their nature to be not in control of their situation. So those that like being held are kind of the aberation, evolutionarily.
So long as they appreciate your affection you have a place to work from. I have tow cats currents. Both are rescues. The female iscgoing on 10 yrs and male is just past 8, so both "seniors" and about 1.5 years apart. The female I literally can't keep off of me most of the time. She goes to great extent to crawl up and get held.
Our male, the slightly younger of the two, we've actually had longer by about 2 months. When we first got him he was the type that reached out for you for attention, but was very particular about it. That has continued, but over 8 years it has mellowed. When we first got him he was found abandoned on the strret s so who knows what his history was. He wanted sattention but wasextremely head-shy and would only want attention in very defined situations.
We've now had hine 7 years. Slowly, very slowly, he has learned to completely love head scratches. He is OK with me picking him up and under 50% of situation he likes it. The difference is in his own furry head. But he never figths us, just eihtrer settles in or pushes and lets us know he doesn't like it (what he did all the time when we first got him). He sleeps on my husband's lap when I'm not in the house but will only lean up agaunst me and head but me. He's just very particular. But it is clear he is affectionate in his way. Any this is after alost 8 years. Some cats will never get comfortable with getting picked up because it feels like they have been grabbed by a predator and are being carried off to death. Just work with them. With our kitty it has been consistently picking him up when he wants attention but then letting him down when he pushes out to make sure he knows he is never trapped when he is being held - we will let him down when he wants it.
I you adopted an adult cat you don't know what may have happened before your adoption. Our cat, who we adopted as a tiny kitten and grew into a giant 13lb boy, loves to be picked up and never complains. Mywife cradles him and he will stay like that for a long time. Conversely our friends adopted an adult cat and it hates to be picked up but our friends pick up ours and he loves it.
We had a tabby cat, stray that I found when I did home health. She was living around trailers by herself. She jumped in my car. I brought her home to live, but she never let me pick her up or be close to her for a few yrs. I think it was. She finally relaxed and I could pick her up.
First time ever having a cat. My gf and I adopted when she was 2 months old, and enjoys being picked up. My gf just shakes her head when I'm walking around the house as I pretend she a flying supercat. Or then I'll hold her like a baby on my shoulder. If she doesn't get held at some point during the day she'll usually meow. Fun first time cat experience I'd say.
It really depends on the cat. Two of our four like to be picked up and two don't care for it. We don't push the issue, except if they need treatment (nails clipped, medications, etc.) for something.
We adopted 2 kitties from the shelter in August. One would be happy to be carried around all day long. The other absolutely loses her mind if you try to pick her up. She is very sweet - she'll cuddle, sit on your lap, sleeps with us, loves to be petted. But the minute you try to pick her up, she kind of freaks out. She just gets really, really scared. Although she was young, she was brought into the shelter as a stray, so she may have had some trauma. She was about 4 months old when we got her.
I would like her to be a little more comfortable with it, for nothing else but to make trips to the vet easier. But I don't want to stress her out. So sometimes we'll sit on the floor, and pick her up while we're sitting down. She seems OK with that. So we do it from time to time hoping she'll just get more comfortable and trust us. She can still be a little skittish, especially with people she doesn't know (she hides when company comes). But with us, she's become pretty comfortable. She used to not like "hugs" either, like anything that kind of restricted her movement, she would get scared. But she loves the hugs now.
I think she'll eventually be OK with it. It probably won't ever be her favorite thing, but I think she'll get to the point where we can pick her up for short periods or just to move her from one place to another. We just need to take it slow, since I think she had a tough beginning to her life.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
