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I've heard people say that their pets seem to like one member of the family more than the others. I've heard this from dog and cat owners.
For example, we have 3 cats in our house. Lucky is technically my cat. He hangs out with me, sleeps with me, and is constantly on my lap. Chewy has always been my Son Dan's cat. Chewy loves me, I feed him usually, spend lots of time with him, and he will sleep on my lap while I watch TV. BUT, when Dan gets home I am suddenly of no interest to Chewy and he runs to be with Dan. Chewy loves me, but he is CRAZY about Dan and it is obvious he is Dan's cat. You can see it in the way he stares at Dan adoringly.
Daisy, is sort of neutral. I generally do the feeding and treat handing out, so she tends to be close to me, but she will also climb up on Dan and nap with him on the couch. But mostly, she is independent and goes off to nap on the kitchen counter or on her kitty bed.
Even Mama Cat, our feral at our shop, seems to be closer to Dan than me. He can get closer to her than I can, and she sits and watches him work a lot of times.
Do some of you have cats who are closer to one of you than the others ?
I don't think all cats are one human specific, but many do have a favorite human, or no favorite at all. And then there are some humans that all animals feel sucure around.
My grandmothers cat was for sure hers, but he would also welcome me home with pure delight and excitement to the point that if I did not enter the house in a reasonable time he got very upset. But at night, it was her door that he would cry at.
The cat we have now, she is a bit of a sentry. She plays gargoyle on the fence at the gate. She makes rounds, sleeping with everyone in the home for a four to six day span, then moves on.
My daughter got a kitten, grew up here with the family, but clung to me the most. He stayed with me for a year and then my daughter was able to take him with her back to school. He is more cozy with her, but still is afraid of her boyfriend and he's the quiet gentle kind.
I am the designated can opener and cat vantage point at night (ChaCha likes to sleep on my hip. Do not ask me how as I am a side sleeper.). SO is The Man as far as our two furries are concerned. He smells of wonderful things from aftershave to gun oil, shares his IPad and knows how to play catch the fish, is a softie when it comes to them getting big eyes/protruding ribs and are salivating over dishes just being emptied of seconds, he always listens patiently to their complaints regarding daytime staff. I may as well change my nick to P35
I can say yes to that. At one time, my wife & I had 7 cats (2 males & 5 females). We adopted Misty in 2001 when she was a sickly 10 wk old. My wife nursed her back to health and shortly after she started to gravitate more to me. My wife referred to her as 'Daddy's Girl'. She was affectionate enough towards my wife, but I was the one she followed around & chose for lap time.
We took in Gypsy a year later, also very young with a bacterial imbalance in her digestive system that took a while to clear up. She bonded with my wife, and any other human attention but hers was clearly sub-standard. She also took it the hardest when my wife passed away, and it took a few weeks to come around and gradually transfer that bond/affection to me. She's now a one-person cat, and no one else can get close to her.
All the other cats we lived with were neutral in their preferences, and more than happy to receive attention from either one of us.
When they first joined our home, our female cat seemed to prefer my husband over me, and the male cat was my baby. That leveled off after awhile, to the point where each of the cats had their own little ceremonies and habits with each of us.
Quote:
Originally Posted by catdad7x
We took in Gypsy a year later, also very young with a bacterial imbalance in her digestive system that took a while to clear up. She bonded with my wife, and any other human attention but hers was clearly sub-standard. She also took it the hardest when my wife passed away, and it took a few weeks to come around and gradually transfer that bond/affection to me.
My male cat, who was more bonded with me, took my husband's death harder than the female. He grieved openly -- he would look all over the house, and then whimper and cry when all he found was me. Broke my heart.
He and my husband had this little ceremony, where he'd climb into my husband's lap and hold the top of his head up to wait for my husband to kiss the top of his head. After it was only me around, he did the same with me, but because of allergies I avoid kissing cats. So to get what he wanted, he started climbing into my lap and head-butting my mouth, which he still does. And I'm too much of a sucker to say no.
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Gracie and Deuxdad are bonded with me although Gracie now sleeps in hubby's chair instead of the bed. Hubby is in a nursing/rehab place. Bella seems to be bonded to no one. She sleeps on the top of the couch most of the time.
I now live alone with my 2 cats; therefore, I do all the feeding, grooming, petting, etc. However, whenever any of my sons come home to visit, as soon as they are seated, they will find 2 cats vying for position in their laps (does not matter which son - all are so lucky!).
Momo is affectionate with anybody and everybody but favors me more than my husband. He (Momo) and I have been together almost 15 years now and I had him before I met my husband.
Tissy was about 3 weeks old and only weighed about 6 ounces (per vet documentation) when my husband found her in a scrap metal pile about to head into the metal shredder. She was covered in motor oil and was close to death. Even though I am the one who bathed her, took her to the vet and bottle fed her - she loves him more than me. She is very affectionate with me, but she's daddy's girl.
Rusty is friendly to everybody but adores me. He will just sit and stare at me, sleeps with me, follows me around the house, comes running and inserts himself into the situation if he hears me giving attention to another cat, follows me to the bathroom, stays in the bathroom while I shower and sits with me on the couch. It's borderline obsessive. My husband says that Rusty thinks I am his birth mother.
Monkey loves me, but DH apparently hung the moon. I have no chance. He literally lights up in the evenings when my husband gets home from work.
Yes, I think most cats favor 1 particular person more than the others. Some cats are so friendly and outgoing that they like everyone. My older cat only likes me. My husband, friends, family even my exes in the past tried to bond with him... treats and feeding but he would hide, hiss or take the treats happily until I'm home and he ignores them afterwards. My younger cat likes my husband and I, but prefers me over my husband more as he can be rough handling her.
My dogs? The older dogs loves everyone, the younger is more nervous around new people and places but she still seeks attention from strangers.
That was interesting to hear about how some of your cats grieved when a person in the family died . (Sorry about your losses BTW) I knew dogs would sometimes do that, but I always thought of cats as basically independent and not tuned into if a person passed away.
Don
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