# Can you pick up your cat?



## Mollikins (Feb 17, 2007)

Mine will sleep on me - at night - she will lick my forehead. She'll meow to wake me up or JUMP ON MY HEAD several times if I don't get up. 

She'll come sit by me and pur and want to be pet on her own terms.....

But I pick her up - and she growls and hisses and makes these horrible noises. Then she jumps down and runs away - I won't see her for a while. Maybe this is because she was a stray? I don't know what happened to her before we got her. I just know she was about dead when we decided to take her in. She is a nice kitty and cute - but she just refuses to be picked up and held. Are your kitties like that?


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## Purplekittie (Feb 22, 2007)

I can pick up my cap. In fact, he loves to be held


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## fbodgrl (May 10, 2004)

I can pick all 4 of mine up. Although some of them love it while others will tolerate it for a minute or so.


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## marie73 (Jul 12, 2006)

I can pick Cinderella up and she'll stay in my arms for about a full minute. I try to put her down as soon as I sense she's about to wiggle, so it seems like I'm letting her loose and she's not fighting me.

Cleo *DOES NOT LIKE TO BE PICKED UP*! But I haven't even had her a week yet. I hope that changes. She's very, very cuddly besides that.


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## Aussie_Dog (Jul 27, 2005)

I can pick up all mine (3 girls). None of them protest, though Buffy will scramble to get on my shoulder, which is her preferred perch.


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## MikePageKY (Aug 24, 2005)

Aussie_Dog said:


> I can pick up all mine (3 girls). None of them protest, though Buffy will scramble to get on my shoulder, which is her preferred perch.


 :lol: Same here. I can pick up and hold everyone in the tribe, but Hobo will immediately hang himself over my left shoulder....and Etcetera will climb onto both shoulders and hang around the back of my neck like a boa :lol:


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## zippy96444 (Mar 7, 2006)

If I dont pick Mango up, he gets insulted! He loves to be held! He will climb on us if he wants held or just stare us down untill we pick him up.


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## Kitten (Feb 22, 2007)

Lucky is one of those animals that will pretty much let you do anything. I can pick him up, hold him upside down, play with his paws, ruffle his head... just about anything that cats or animals in general aren't 'supposed' to let you do. He's an absolute love. 

He'll cheekmark the brush when you brush him, arch into the vacuum cleaner... he's supposedly not even bad about getting bathed, which he really needs. He's not terribly fond of the shedding comb I just got, though...


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## CataholicsAnonymous (Dec 4, 2006)

I've had several feral cats, and the one thing most of them have in common is a fear of restraint, including being picked up or even held. Like your girl, they've all been very affectionate cats --- on their own terms --- and even after years of "domestication" they still have that aversion to restraint.


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## Calla_Dragon (Feb 11, 2007)

I can pick up some of mine, but others prefer to keep their paws on the ground. Otto doesn't mind being picked up, but is very cuddly and will jump on your lap the minute you sit. Milo hates being picked up and will get that tense "oh my god..." feeling, but he'll jump on your lap for snuggles. Loki is the same way as Milo. Lucy loves to be picked up and snuggle. Pumpkin prefers to be left alone although he will let me pet him. Tang will let me pet him occasionally but freaks if you pick him up. Bishop I can't get anywhere near so I can't pick him up, nor does he jump up for snuggles. He keeps to himself and the rest of the cats and avoid the humans in our house. Lynx is a rag doll and loves to be picked up and carried around like a baby.


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## Jet Green (Nov 28, 2005)

Yoshi - yes, anytime  
Taro - usually, if he's in the mood  
Hisaki - occasionally, if he's in the mood :? 
Hinata - with rare exceptions, only if I want to be scratched bloody :x


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## waiandchris (Jan 17, 2007)

I'm the only one in the family that picks Gigi up and after about a minute or so he want's down. I do make it a point to pick him up frequently during the day for a quick kiss and pat.

He loves to be near us all the time, although, he is not a lap cat.  Do you think this may change over time? 

Sometimes I will try to sit with him and give him a treat to show him that being on my lap is a good thing. Time will tell!

Christina


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## coaster (Dec 1, 2004)

Mellie doesn't like to be held either, but I've noticed over time that I'm able to hold her more often and for longer periods of time. So, I think there's hope for you, too, if you're patient. Don't hold her for any longer than when she struggles to get loose. Try to make each encounter pleasurable for her. But just keeping doing it and try to get her used to it, and hopefully she'll become less averse to being held over time.


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## loveshobbits (Dec 11, 2006)

I can pick up all my cats. The rexes love to be held and cuddled. Miss Mouse was a stray, and though I can pick her up I can feel that she is tense, so I only do it when I have to.

Michelle


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## Bethany (Jul 19, 2006)

I can pick Stormy up, but she wiggles free immediately. If I pick her up to place her on something, she usually jumps down immmediately. She hates being places when it wasn't her idea to be there.

Misty is willing to be held for a while, but I admit I don't do it often. She weighs almost 14 lbs and I find that's more than I want to carry for long.


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## dmcwlvssr (Apr 24, 2005)

I can pick up Mischka, Linx and Sundance but Pandia runs and if I do get her picked up she wiggles until she is out of my hands. Mischka & Linx will let me hold them but with constant complaints, Sundance melts in my arms he is such a lover.


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## Auntie Crazy (Dec 10, 2006)

I can pick up Allen, Rachel and Meghan anytime. They all like my lap, too (especially Allen).


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## kitburger (Dec 27, 2006)

Kitty was a stray too and didnt like being picked up. He would either do his 'Im really not happy about this meows' or growl and scrabble to get down.
I thought it would be sensible to get him used to being held, picked up for when he has to go to the vets.
First I would just pick him up and give him a scratch and put him back down pretty much straight away and just gradually increased the time. I do this nearly every day.
He wont ever look at me when I pick him up, he always faces away but he likes it when i give his face a scratch and that relaxes him.
After 2 1/2 years I can only hold him for a couple of minutes but he doesn`t get cross any more.
Also, in all that time he has only sat on my lap twice, but he likes to cuddle up on the sofa now and use me as a pillow :roll: 
He`s alot more cuddly than when he first arrived. I think it just takes a long time to build up trust and we dont know what happened to them before.
It is definitly worth the patience though!


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## lilaccat3456 (Apr 27, 2006)

I can pick up and carry my two cats anywhere with me (except the vets if there are dogs around), but Cylie does not like to be held in any way when I am sitting and petting her--actually she doesn't like to sit on me when I pet her--she prefers the arm of the chair or the ottoman. Cooper thought climbs up on me and loves me to hug and squeeze him. I call him my dog because he reminds me so much of a dog!


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## dd_co_ol_dd (Feb 18, 2007)

both my cats are stray. Patty loves it when someone picks him up (Iknow, wierd name for a male cat :lol: ), but when he wants to be somewhere else, he wriggles out and we out him down. Explor (I know, another wierd name :lol: ) doesnt like to be carried at all.


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## Mysterious (Mar 1, 2007)

I can pick up all of my cats. Winston and Laddie just sit in and cuddle, but Star makes complain noises. LOL, She doesn't struggle to get down though.


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## OctoberinMaine (Sep 12, 2006)

Rookie loves to be petted, will cuddle close in bed, but WOW, does she hate being picked up. And don't even think about her sitting on anyone's lap. It's funny, isn't it, that some forms of contact are encouraged and others aren't? The only common thread is that the contact she likes is where her two feet are on the ground.


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