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Old April 21st, 2011, 10:27 AM
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erykah1310 erykah1310 is offline
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Bizarre Behaviour

Just curious if anyone can help figure out why Miss Mia my (best guess) 6 or 7 year old kitty who wants nothing to do with people what so ever Tortie is so obsessed with Kita.
She routinely will find Kita sprawled out on the floor which is Kitas most desired position for 20+ hours a day. Mia will come up to her, snuggle and rub herself all over her and then proceed to try and nurse from Kita. Who I may add is spayed and has been for the past 6 years of her life so there is no way its a milk related behaviour.

I love that Mia has a bond with something in this house because it sure as heck is not one of us. She acts almost feral in the house hiding in the basement in the ceilings most of the day. As soon as a new voice is heard here she is GONE. No matter how hard you look for her she is hidden. Many people who frequent here do not believe me that she exists (because if you have 12 pets around its so tempting to make up another one lol)

Her nursing thing baffles me, and what baffles me even more is Kita will lean over while she is sucking away purring her little heart out and start grooming her like Mia was a puppy of hers or something.

Any insight to the odd animals i have would be greatly appreciated
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Old April 21st, 2011, 11:45 AM
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Not sure if I can help, but I have 2 cats in the basement who refuse to come upstairs. Their only link to the outside world is Antonio. He will go there and hang out with them, but they refuse to acknowledge me in any form...I've had them for over 4 years now...they will come close enough for me to touch their nose but that's it....I guess some cats just prefer other cats.
As for the nursing, was Mia removed from her mom too early? She isn;t getting any milk, so I would guess its just a soothing/grooming ritual that they both enjoy. If there is no harm, I guess it should be ok.
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Old April 21st, 2011, 11:50 AM
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Miss Mia was one of the kittens I found in a shed we were tearing down at our old place, her and her brother Larry were pretty young so it could play a part.
It is completely harmless that they do this, and I have no desire to stop it, it just baffles me as to why. But I guess it could be a soothing thing for such an easily stressed cat
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Old April 21st, 2011, 11:56 AM
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Antonio who would be considered the "baby" in the family of 4 cats will not nurse but he is groomed by the kitties downstairs....he is actually pretty spoiled. I try and go downstair often, but that never helped with them getting use to me...Antonio will make cirles around me and purr which I hope in the next 4 years will get them to trust me finally.
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Old April 22nd, 2011, 09:35 AM
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Erykah,I think it's really sweet that she finds comfort with Kita,I would too,Love Kita
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Old April 22nd, 2011, 06:41 PM
Longblades Longblades is offline
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Insight? No, but I can offer a similar story. We only kept our little feral because she fell in love with the dog. We live trapped her, she was like a mink in the cage. Had her spayed, the VEt said she'd never make a pet, was too old to adapt. Probably people chased her away and dogs too so why she was so enthralled with our dog is a mystery. She would do anything in order to get to our dog and rub up against her, including going close to me and she gradually transferred, no make that included me in her affections.

Little feral kitty is still extremely shy with most other people but, get this. She would make herself shown to folks who loved the dog. Like my Mum. And a friend of the OH who wasn't all that keen on cats but he liked the dog so she let him see her as well, but not touch. My cat loving friend who cat sits rarely sees much more than the end of her tail when she streaks for cover. Why? Because when we are away and cats need sitting the dog is usually with us. Silly little cat.

All of our cats used to like to snuggle with that dog but after little feral kitty came they couldn't. She wouldn't let them. It was HER dog. LOL, I'm surprised she let me pet the dog.

Is Mia new in your house? Hopefully she will grow to include you as mine did.
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Old April 22nd, 2011, 06:46 PM
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Mia has been here since she was a wee little thing that we found in the shed, her and Larry were only about 6 weeks old. There is no reason for her to be feral-ish, she will come in bed in the middle of the night to lick our noses and then take off.
To get her into the vet for her spay a few years ago we had to trap her in the spare room ( at the other house) with a dog crate and take her in thatway.
She will humor us from time to time and come into the living room to have a discussion about something by sitting in the middle of the floor and talk away until either of us make a move of any kind.
I dont mind that she is shy and withdrawn like she is. She never really liked being fussed over one bit even as a kitten.
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Old April 23rd, 2011, 08:04 AM
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Erykah,Mia sounds like a mysterious little girl,I would not be concerned,she is probably very happy the way she lives,with Kita by her side and the occasional talk with you
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Old April 28th, 2011, 09:55 PM
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Mia sounds like what I call a "cat's cat". She prefers the company of other cats to people. I had one like her at one time when I was breeding. Jazzy came from a breeder that really didn't spend much time with her other than to feed and clean their litter trays, so she never got a lot of handling. She didn't like being picked up, didn't crave attention, didn't enjoy being stroked, but really just wanted to be with the other cats. They were company enough for her and she was content.

As far as Mia nursing on Kita, as others have said it is just a comfort thing.....she enjoys kneading into the furry soft belly as it reminds her of her own mamacat and nursing on her as well. Some cats are just inclined to want to do that. It's nothing to be concerned about as long as they're both enjoying the experience, and she's not making Kita's teats sore.
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Old April 28th, 2011, 11:31 PM
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Kita will actually give her a little grooming session during this.
I would say though that she is indeed more an animal cat than a human cat. We love her anyway
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Old May 12th, 2011, 12:35 PM
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MyBirdIsEvil MyBirdIsEvil is offline
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Quote:
Mia sounds like what I call a "cat's cat".
That's actually what I came to say.

I've seen quite a few, even some that were raised from babies, that only really came to people as a food source and preferred the company of cats.

And as far as the nursing not odd at all, especially if the kitten was fully weaned by 6 weeks, which is a bit young. I've had cats that would try to nurse on my hair or ears to the point of drooling everywhere. I've seen it more often with kittens that were weaned a bit too young, but also with cats that were raised and weaned normally. I think it gives them a sense of euphoria just like it would a baby that is nursing. You notice you will see baby kittens happily suckling on a moms belly or other areas when they're not even hungry or getting any milk and falling asleep while doing it. It makes them feel good and it comforts them. You also see it with other animals that nurse, including humans. I think you could probably relate it to a child that sucks on a pacifier when they're passed nursing age, or sucks their thumb or other objects like a special blanket.
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