Why does my 8-month-old kitten avoid touch? How to encourage petting?

Question

Hello again Petco Pet Education Center! My beautiful kitten is now 8 months old. Tessie does not liked to be picked up. I understand that not all cats prefer this. However; whenever I go to touch her, she avoids all hand contact. It seems very strange. We show her tons of love and affection. Again, she seems to have a negative reaction to any touch whatsoever. Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thank you! -Jamie and Adam. Pet's info: Cat | Domestic Shorthair | Female | unspayed | 8 months and 3 days old | 4.8 lbs

Megan, DVM, CVA · Accepted Answer

Oh my! Tessa is really cute! This can be normal behavior for some cats. Some never want to be touched and only want to do their own thing. I would recommend to continue to play with her and also slowly start to try petting her while feeding her a treat if she is food motivated. If you think she is fearful or anxious around you, you could try some feliway diffusers in your house and also the feliway spray on your clothes. This is a cat pheromones that can have a calming effect on some cats. You could also try catnip to see if she becomes more affectionat with it around. She is quite the cute cat and I can totally understand how hard it must be to not want to hold and love on her. Unfortunately, some cats are just stand offish. I hope this helps!

Why does my 8-month-old kitten avoid touch? How to encourage petting?

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