Unfriendly kitten

[fitzyafcb]

I have a new 8 week old kitten that growls when she's eating hates being picked up and can be quite vicious when petted. Yet seconds after trying to be affectionate towards her she will come to me and sit close and doesn't mind being stroked. She is ok when she is half asleep and you can stroke her but she still isn't overly keen.

Her brother is completely the opposite to this.

Is this normal behaviour? Is she unhappy here? What can I do to make her more friendly?

[MYSTERYT]

HI i had sort of the same trouble when i got my female cat ,she sort of made a snorting kind of noise when she ate and affectionate forget that ,oh unless your male (tart that she is ) but now days and shes only just 2 yrs she is mummys fatty she only comes to me now in the mornings and gives me loves and kisses but when shes had enough she had enough and she will let you know she just switches shes very fluffy and you cant see the claws but you do get the look to warn you , but in general female cats are not over friendly only when they want to be ,know as for male cats well there just soppy my one is ,dont worry about her not being happy of course she is and she'll come round in time ,oh yer when my female cat was a kitten if she got angry and went to claw me i would tell her of in a different tone of voice and it works cause when she is being naughty Quite often beating the male up cause he might of sniffed her i just change my tone and she walks of saulking, Be patient

[Babz]

Maybe she wasn't handled very much when she was a tiny kitten, it's in the first few weeks that they get used to being handled by humans. Having said that I'm sure that given time she'll turn into a loving companion and I'm sure she's not unhappy, she's just being a typical cat. We had 2 females and 2 males, the girls were really loving and just wanted to be close to us all the time, sadly over the last year we have lost them both, and it's broken our hearts. The boys we have are loving when they want to be but they are more interested in either being out or being in bed, nowhere near as loving as our precious girls were. Enjoy your kittens, they soon grow up.

[fitzyafcb]

Thanks for your messages. Sounds like I just need to give her some time. My last little girl was runover and killed a couple of weeks ago, just a year old and she was so loving and gentle. We miss her dearly. She is such a contrast to the new female that we are finding it quite sad.

Thanks again for the advice!

[bensmum]

So sad to hear about your cat - it's horrible to lose them like that. The new kitty will never replace her but given time I'm sure she will become more affectionate. She needs to be confident of her surroundings and of you - it sounds as if she may have had to fight for her food before you got her but she will learn.

[fitzyafcb]

Thanks for your kindness. Mollymoo was our world. I've had cats all my life but she was amazing. Some things are too unfair for words.

pebbles is the new female and I think you could well be right about her fighting for her food. She is the tiniest kitten i have ever seen. white with patches of tortoise shell. I wanted to call her China. She must be half the size of her brother. He is quite scared of her when she gets going.

[fairies07]

I would also suggest once old enough you have her spayed as my female got nasty after having a litter of kittens... Also a change in the tone of your voice really does work and also u could try clicking your fingers to teach her. It does work as when i click my fingers all 4 of my cats stop what thay are doing... And they say you cant teach cats anything!!!!

[johnny37]

This sounds familiarr to me. What is the point of them if it is not to be stroked and make us feel good? We have a pretty two year old she-cat which we have had since she was 8 weeks old. Although she is not agressive she has never been affectionate and hates to be picked up. When we try to give affection she struggles like mad until we let go. She is out all day but when we come home she comes to greet us. She will come to us sometimes of her own accord (especially when her food bowl needs filling) but quickly moves away after getting our atttention. She knows where her territory is as she is often seen around our garden but when she comes in at the end of the day (though the cat flap) she will go straight upstairs to her bed. The annoying thing is. is that she is not doing her job, which is as I said to make us feel good. My latest idea is to try grooming as I have heard that animals do this as a form of bonding but she won't even tolerate that!