Shoulder kitten

[chickenfeet]

Jane has reverted to wanting to be a shoulder kitten. She keeps climbing up my back and onto my shoulder at the least opportunity. I have known many kittens who liked to perch on my shoulder and, of course, Jane was one of them when she was small. This is my first experience though of a full size adult cat perching there. I rather like it except when she starts worrying about her balance and the claws come out!

Comments

[shezan.livejournal.com]

I absolutely dream of my future cat being a shoulder cat. Do they decide, or can you encourage them? (daren't use the word "train"...)

[chickenfeet2003.livejournal.com]

I think you can encourage a kitten a bit by handling him a lot and letting him climb all over you. I don't think there is any guarantee though.

[majea.livejournal.com]

Neither of the Bengals are shoulder cats? Ava climbs up at any opportunity. She does prefer it when I'm moving, though. Being up high is good, but being up high and mobile is better.

[chickenfeet2003.livejournal.com]

Neither bengal has ever shown any sign of being a shoulder cat.

[geneticallydead.livejournal.com]

My moggy Thursday was a shoulder kitten, but grew up to absolutely hate being picked up. But in the last few months a change has come over her - she wants to be held against my chest like a baby when I'm sitting down being petted and her neck being scratched. This can't happen at all if I'm standing or moving, I can only be sitting down, and there's a brief moment of panic everytime when she jumps up onto my lap and I have to half pick her up to get her against my chest.

When she's there, she's quite happy for some time, and blisses out on pets and neck scratches, but leave her there long enough and this compulsion comes over her - she must get up onto my shoulder right now. She doesn't seem sure of why she wants to be there, and doesn't know what to do when she gets there, and I have to wrestle her back down to hold her against my chest again or she starts to panic and tries climbing down my back. It's just weird because it's been at least three years since she was a shoulder kitten.

I can't let her sit up there though, because as you say, the balance thing. She's got sharp claws! I wonder what inspires them to want the shoulder after so much time?

[kalypso-v.livejournal.com]

Kitty sometimes attempted this with my father, usually at rather inconvenient moments when he was trying to walk about. I can't remember her doing it as a kitten, oddly enough.

[thidwick.livejournal.com]

Our cats were both shoulder kittens when they were little (we have a funny picture of Jim standing at the kitchen sink with one cat on each shoulder) but they mostly grew out of it. Maggie still occasionally decides that she needs to perch on a shoulder (usually Jim's -- mine aren't big enough, I guess) and I'm giggling at the thought of 18-lb Gandalf even attempting it these days!

[ironed_orchid]

We used to have a shoulder cat. Which meant having scratch marks on shoulders most of the time. Both our current felines resist such notions. But Zuul is a flop anywhere, including on the shoulders, cat, and I get to spend quality time with her quite often.

[besideserato.livejournal.com]

OMG, how fabulous to have a shoulder cat! Except the claws, of course, but I suppose in time she will get used to the space and do less clawing!

I want kitteh!!!!

[glitterboy1.livejournal.com]

Thomas still climbs up sometimes, but he's more of a back cat: he'll perch on your shoulder if absolutely necessary, but he's much happier if you bend double and allow him to stretch out over the whole of your back. Unfortunately, this does make it difficult to, well, do anything at all, really.