# Do cats only have one 'mom'?



## Alpaca (Dec 21, 2009)

Just wondering, are cats a one 'mom/owner' type animal? I know some breeds of dogs like Chow Chows are like that. They basically have one master and everyone else is just well, everyone else. 

I find that Captain Jack will let a couple of other people touch him like my mom, sister, her husband. (My dad doesn't like him cuz he's too much 'like a lump', his fav is Miu who zooms around the house.) My sister can even pick him up. However, he only chooses to follow me around the house regularly. At times, he'll sit behind me if I'm cooking and chat with me. Other times I'm off somewhere in the house and he comes to find me, calling me as he enters the room (he's very talkative). My mom keeps on telling the other family members that Jack only recognizes me as his mom.


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## raecarrow (Oct 27, 2009)

I think that can happen. Some cats love everyone, but I think most cats usually bond closer with one person than they do with everyone else.


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## Maggie the Cat (Mar 13, 2011)

It's different with each cat I think. Maggie loves both me and my husband equally. Our last kitty was devoted to my husband, I was definitely second place.


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## bkitty (Aug 17, 2009)

Depends on the cat. Pixel is hubby's cat that considers me to be pond scum. PuddyWow luvs on everybody. Tuffy doesn't love anybody but is a known cuddleslut. Punk was our queen but deserted us & does quite well with our daughter now. Sasquatch decided to switch households from our daughters to ours.


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## Maggie the Cat (Mar 13, 2011)

bkitty said:


> Depends on the cat. Pixel is hubby's cat that considers me to be pond scum. PuddyWow luvs on everybody. Tuffy doesn't love anybody but is a known cuddleslut. Punk was our queen but deserted us & does quite well with our daughter now. Sasquatch decided to switch households from our daughters to ours.


LOL @ "cuddleslut"... my Maggie is like that. She doesn't mind who holds her and pets her as long as someone is.


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## yellowdaisies (Jan 25, 2011)

Spencer treats my husband and I equally, haha. Lily seems to be a bit of a mommy's girl - when she DOES want to cuddle (which is usually only maybe once or twice a day, if that), it's always with me. When I was out of town for a few days she cuddled with my husband, but when I came back, she was back with me again. lol


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## oceanmist (Feb 12, 2011)

I think it might depend on the type of person it is. Cherry, Casie and my dog Woody all bonded to me probably because I pay the most attention to them. The rest of my family is too busy or whatever to pay attention to them. 

So I think it could depend on how much attention and time you spend with them.


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## swimkris (Jul 17, 2010)

Pumpkin doesn't cuddle, but she loves attention from everybody. If anyone ever ignores her (usually for allergy reasons because few people can resist her tiny squeak meow), she goes out of her way to try to woo them! On the other hand, I am Simone's only mommy! He likes my flatmate okay and treats her as a second-rate substitute, but he hides from all of my other friends. If we have more than one person over, he will even paw open the hall closet door so he can hide behind the washer till they leave!


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## yellowdaisies (Jan 25, 2011)

swimkris said:


> Pumpkin doesn't cuddle, but she loves attention from everybody. If anyone ever ignores her (usually for allergy reasons because few people can resist her tiny squeak meow), she goes out of her way to try to woo them! On the other hand, I am Simone's only mommy! He likes my flatmate okay and treats her as a second-rate substitute, but he hides from all of my other friends. If we have more than one person over, he will even paw open the hall closet door so he can hide behind the washer till they leave!


SO CUTE. :love2 Both of them..


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## Coyote (Jan 16, 2011)

My hounds look to me as the pack leader. I am the only one they'll come to.

To the cats, I'm a mere underling, and on a par with the dogs or anyone else that comes in to the house.


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## swimkris (Jul 17, 2010)

yellowdaisies said:


> SO CUTE. :love2 Both of them..


Thank you


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## Nora B (Nov 6, 2010)

I think this is one of those areas where the difference in the history of deliberate breeding between cats and dogs takes over. Dogs have been bred on purpose for so many thousands of years longer than cats, especially when you're talking something so very deliberate as a chow's personality traits. I suppose you could argue a few of the 'purbred' cats can be categorized as bonding with more or less people but in all honesty I think the best answer to the question lies in the very different answers that have already been posted, they are all different.


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## konstargirl (Feb 4, 2011)

All three cats love everyone! This one cat name buddy, he didn't like me, my sister nor my mom at all. He only liked his master.


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## Susan (Mar 29, 2010)

I suspect it depends a lot on how many people interract with the cat and how often. For example, my girls live alone with me, so they're much closer to me than to anyone else. Whether or not that would be the case if others lived here, I can't really say. 

Jack might be closer to you since you were the one who spent the most time with him when he first arrived, so he would have bonded with you.


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## tigressbythetail (Dec 1, 2010)

During the week, mine seem content with my company. But then my husband comes home on the weekends (he's a truck driver) and suddenly I find myself catless. They flock to his lap as though he has treats in his pockets...Hmm. Maybe I should check. Sounds like something he would do just to irk me.


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## Alpaca (Dec 21, 2009)

Ah, looking at everyone's answers, it does seem like it's dependent on the individual cat (or dog for the matter). 

I've never had a pet who followed me around like this and I grew up with dogs. So I feel weird! He doesn't follow all the time, but when he does, he looks at me with this..expression. I'm not entirely sure what he wants, but it's like he's looking for love? attention? companionship? I don't know. It's so strangely human because he'll sometimes meow while staring you straight in the eyes. 'Cept he doesn't speak human. Anyways, it's just such a strange yet wonderful feeling. I can't describe it.

On another note, I'm so proud of him again! The fire alarm went bonkers last night and was screaming on high pitch. Neither of the cats heard it before. Miu dove behind the couch, but Jack came over to me! He looked concerned/scared, yet he came over to stand cautiously with me. His stance was like 'I'm ready to run if necessary', but he stood looking at me for answers. So I remained calm and told him it was okay. He later went off to sit in his room, but he didn't hide. Good boy! Miu, on the other hand, only came out to peer from between the couch and table after a while. She still looked freaked out and wouldn't let me touch her. She was getting ready to run if anything. What a scaredy cat!


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## Abbie (Jan 13, 2011)

My girls definitely see me as their one and only Mummy. They will give or take cuddles from Daddy, infact my boyfriend has complained that Evie wriggles to get down and runs off when he tries to cuddle her! With me she just turns into a little bundle of snuggles... She'll often be found belly up on my lap, with her head dangling upside down over my knees. I have both Evie and Mitzi snuggled up on my side of the bed at night time, so it's three of us on one side and just my boyfriend on the other! I think it has a lot to do with who spends the most time with them, who feeds them, who trains them and whether you speak to your cats! I had 2 weeks off when we first got Evie and she was rather ill, so I looked after her and made her better- sure fire way to become Mummy! 

Tammy, who lives with my Mum, is infinitely more fond of women than men. I'm her number one, even though I don't live there anymore. My mum always complains that Tammy deserts her and sleeps with me whenever I stay over there! My mum is her second and my brother her third. She'll go to my Dad if she's desperate for a cuddle! She won't let anyone else touch her, categorically. Not even my bro's girlfriend and they've been together more than 3 years!


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## Time Bandit (Aug 17, 2010)

Samantha is *very *attached to me, and she lets everyone else (human, feline, or other) know it. I am most definitely her only mommy. Alice is daddy's girl. Rochelle is in the middle...she doesn't seem to have a favorite and cuddles with both of us.


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## Susan (Mar 29, 2010)

Alpaca said:


> On another note, I'm so proud of him again! The fire alarm went bonkers last night and was screaming on high pitch. Neither of the cats heard it before. Miu dove behind the couch, but Jack came over to me! He looked concerned/scared, yet he came over to stand cautiously with me. His stance was like 'I'm ready to run if necessary', but he stood looking at me for answers. So I remained calm and told him it was okay. He later went off to sit in his room, but he didn't hide. Good boy! Miu, on the other hand, only came out to peer from between the couch and table after a while. She still looked freaked out and wouldn't let me touch her. She was getting ready to run if anything. What a scaredy cat!


Good for Jack...cool under pressure! My girls have never heard the fire alarm go off, but I guarantee if they ever did, they would both pull a Miu and dive under the couch (or the bed, or the coffee table)...


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## librarychick (May 25, 2008)

We have some of each...

Even though Jitzu lived with my BF before she ever met me she needs a Mum. First it was her awful first owner, then another female roommate, now me. She'll sit with my BF once in a while...but she follows me around everywhere when I'm home. My BF calls her my familiar. She'll literally get up from a deep deep sleep to escort me to the bathroom, lol.

Torri is Daddy's girl. She's ok with me and she'll snuggle me at night because I move less, but she runs to her Daddy when he calls. Very sweet.

Doran is definitely a Mumma's boy...I'm the only Mum he's ever known though. He will cuddle other people if they sit on the couch (his 'cuddle place'), but he'd rather snuggle me. He also only purrs his special Mum purrs for me, and he cries for me once in a while.

Muffin..doesn't care. He'll love anyone as long as they pet him. Even if they don't he'll roll himself onto their feet and make adorable faces until they give in, lol.


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## Alpaca (Dec 21, 2009)

Oh this is surprising me so much. Jack Jack has been with me for about 5 months now. From a stray to...this! 

After I slept with both Miu and Jack in the cat room the other day, Jack has been following me around even more. It's like having a dog. He sits with me on the sofa, at my feet. He'll either nap or just stare off into the distance. His back will be towards me like he's guarding me or something. Sometimes he'll turn around, sit up, look at me while miaoing. This morning for the first time, he got up on my bed as I prepped for work and just lounged beside me, waiting til I was done. He talks to me all the time. I keep on thinking maybe that's the reason his previous owners didn't want him. 

He already has placed a tentative paw in my lap before. I can't wait til he climbs in and makes himself comfortable!


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