Can you predict an adult cat's personality from their behaviour as a kitten?

This is a question that is sometimes asked. I think you have to apply a bit of common sense. There would seem to be two distinct personality types (a) confident and outgoing and (b) timid, shy and retiring.

2 main character types for cats. Image: MikeB

Cat adopts person

Sometimes people tell us their stories when adopting a cat from a shelter. They say that the cat adopted them. The same applies to dogs.

When a rescue cat at a shelter comes to the potential adopter in any one of many ways, it indicates that they are a little bit more confident than another cat who stays at the back of their cage. The one that holds back is the more reticent retiring one.

You can tell the difference between two different types of cat in terms of confidence levels. This character trait will be with them all their lives. And that's quite important because the degree of confidence compared to the degree of timidity is quite an important factor in how the other aspects of the cat's character develop.

Developing character

For instance, a confident cat is more likely to come forward, interact and to explore and to have new experiences and therefore become more rounded and more able to deal with strange and novel things.

In contrast, the timid cat will enjoy less experiences and even might hide when anything new happens. Both cat types have their advantages in my opinion. 

But the point here is that you can tell how a kitten will develop on these broad-brush aspects of character namely confidence and timidity.

Confident cats are more popular

Most people like confident cats because they interact more. But the advantages of a timid cat are often not discussed. One benefit is that because they are more retiring and content to be less active, they are more likely to enjoy the benefits of being full-time inside the home.

They are less likely to want to go out and explore. They are, therefore, less likely to come to harm. And if they are indoor/outdoor cats they are less likely to wander away far and wide if they lack confidence. Getting lost is less of an issue.

Timid is better

I think a domestic cat which is slightly timid is perhaps a better domestic cat companion than a confident one.

The trend nowadays is to keep cats indoors full-time particularly if you live in an urban environment. You don't want to live with a very boisterous active cat under those circumstances.

Bengal cat

Example, the Bengal cat is known to be pretty active, confident and lively. Some people keep them in apartments full-time. I don't think that can work.

In fact, when I lived in an apartment block a friend of mine in a nearby block was the caregiver of an F3 Bengal cat, Daniel. This cat was climbing up the walls to get out.

And when the owner took Daniel out into the gardens for a walk it was impossible to contain him. If he was off the lead he was gone. The point is that apartment living for the confident boisterous outgoing cat might be too challenging.

But apartment living for a timid retiring cat who likes to hide is a good place to be. There is the advantage.

That argument goes against the general consensus that confident cats are better cats.

Young cats killed on roads

And let's remind ourselves that the cats most likely to be killed on the roads are young, immature and confident male cats. They are the ones who like exploring and taking risks.

What I'd choose

I'd argue that the better cat to live with is a slightly retiring, slightly timid, female. That's what I would choose if I was going to adopt a cat right now. Or even better than that you might adopt a disabled cat like a blind cat because you can then keep them indoors full-time without feeling guilty as you've got to keep them indoors.

Character nuances

As to the finer nuances in character, to go back to the original argument, I think you have to wait to when they become adult to find out what they are. Which, by the way, is one reason for adopting an adult cat over a kitten despite the fact that kittens are the most popular type of cat to adopt from a shelter.

If you adopt an adult cat, you know what you're getting, particularly older ones. When you adopt a kitten, you are adopting a cat companion which you don't know that well.

Hector

There is an interesting story on social media about a woman who adopted a male cat called Hector. When he was a kitten, he was sweet and funny but when he grew up "he became a cat that no one could touch, except me. He was easily overstimulated and would attack one's hand while he was being petted."

So, her male cat went from sweet and funny to too difficult to handle. You don't quite know what you're going to get when you adopt a kitten because you will not be able to really predict their adult character except for the broad-brush aspects as mentioned

Super-noisy cat with camcorder ventures outside with his feline friend

A cat's point-of-view.

This is a fun video from Instagram. It is a 'point-of-view' video as the camcorder is attached to the cat's collar. He's noisy. He' screaming but in a charming way. And I think he is talking to his feline friend.

Note: these embedded videos tend to go wrong after a while so if that has happened, sorry.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Scott Irwin (@mr.kitters.the.cat)

Female cat of 14 years keeps wetting herself when she sleeps. Cause?

Matsa has urinary incontinence when sleeping. Image: Reddit. com.

'My elderly lady of 14 years keeps wetting herself when she sleeps. Is this common in older cats or should I take her to the vet ASAP?' The person is asking the question on social media. I don't really like that. But anyway, I answered the question as follows:

"The age may be significant. My top-quality vet book states: "Geriatric cats may lose some or all of their control over urination and leak, especially when sleeping."

That seems to cover your cat's problem but it could be something else as the guys below have mentions such as FLUTD. Normally urinary incontinence is caused by a neurological problem or a recurring urinary obstruction causing a distended bladder.

But the fact that it happens when sleeping...plus the age indicates an old age problem. I guess malfunctioning anatomy due to age. Last point. Your cat is obese - no criticism intended but obesity is a risk factor for urinary incontinence. Diabetes? Kidney problems? 

The source for that response is: Cat Owner's Home Veterinary Handbook Third Edition. It is a great book. Very comprehensive and very readable.  But no substitute for seeing a vet in a timely manner.

Also, I noticed the cat is obese and queried it. Obesity causes all kinds of health problems. Especially in old cats. Obesity in old cats is likely for shorten their lifespan.

I expect this to be a rare problem. There may not be a lot the owner can do to improve things if it is due to old age and the only way to find out is to take the cat to the vet as soon as is convenient.

I sense that age and obesity are behind this problem.

It's the kitten dumping season. A minority are cruel to cats through their ignorance

The kitten season, as they call it, is upon us. This is the time when negligent and frankly ignorant people which represent a tiny minority of the whole allow adult cats to breed because they have failed to sterilise them.  This is my rant.

And so, thousands of kittens are brought into the world when they should not have been. Often, they are dumped at shelters or anywhere considered convenient to these ignorant people. As long as the can remain anonymous. Hidden from the eyes of the public.

Abandoned cat outside RSPCA Wirral branch. Image: RSPCA

RSPCA announce kitten season

The RSPCA have said that the kitten season is upon us. The RSPCA in Bedfordshire say that many people do not have their cats neutered and they are seeing kittens of 6-7 months of age having kittens. And in these homes where they don't spay and neuter their cats, they can go from a couple of cats to 10 in a matter of months.

We've seen horror visions of cat hoarders where they have failed to spay or neuter their cats and you can see the parents and the offspring, all with similar coats, huge families drowning the cat hoarder to the point where they are highly negligent of the cats' welfare causing ill-health and often death.

Dumping season

But this is the season of dumping cats as well. The photograph on this page comes from the RSPCA Wirral branch. An 11-year-old cat was left outside the branch offices. A classic picture of cat abandonment through carelessness and stupidity. Yes, I am angry; that's why I am calling these people stupid and ignorant.

That is the truth of it. There is no need for it. It just takes a little bit of common sense and thought. It requires a person to be a little more self-disciplined and a little less self-indulgent. Often, they fancy having a cat but they know nothing about cats or what to do in order to be a good cat caregiver. That is being self-indulgent.

For example, the RSPCA Wirral branch was called to reports of abandon cats at a Liverpool property. They found 40 cats there in very poor conditions. Just another typical story.

Importance of spay and neuter

Caroline Allen, the Chief Petty Officer at the RSPCA said:

"We have long been highlighting the importance of neutering for cat welfare. Getting your cat neutered protects them from certain diseases, and prevents unexpected and costly litters of kittens being born."

All common sense again. Why does the RSPCA have to lecture the public about this? You don't have to be a brain surgeon to understand that you have to neuter and spay domestic cats if you have a male and female living with you.

Surge

Caroline Allen confirmed what we already know namely that during kitten season they see a surge in abandon kittens sometimes found in cardboard boxes or dumped by the roadside because their owners can no longer care for them. They did not budget. They did not project into the future as to what was required. 

They just self-indulgently grabbed a cat or two because they thought they'd have a cat. Rescue charities like the RSPCA come under intense pressure during kitten season and over the summer months. And in the UK people are facing financial pressure at the moment because of the cost-of-living crisis. There is likely to be even more kitten abandonments than usual.

People should realise that abandoning their cat by the side of the road or even at the RSPCA is an act of animal cruelty.

'Chaos' this year 2023

The Wirral Animal Samaritans' co-founder Corrie Plumpton urges people to look inside carrier bags in case there is a kitten in there that's been dumped. She says that many people throw away unwanted litters. 

Just throw them away as if they are rubbish. Ms Plumpton told the Liverpool Echo that they are seeing a rise in injured, dead and pregnant cats. And they see this every year but this year, 2023, "is chaos" she said.

Corrie urges people to think about the veterinary bills when they adopt a cat. And the cost of cat food in every other cost. It is not cheap.

She added:

"People need to take more responsibility for their pets. We are seeing a lot of cats fighting, cats with abscesses, injured cats, heavily pregnant cats. There's pressure from all sides. We are having to turn away non-urgent cases; we try to keep one space free for a major need."

Yes, that's my little rant for the day. It needs around because people aren't listening. It is just a tiny minority but it is significant because it amounts to hundreds of thousands of people in the UK who simply do not take responsible attitude towards cat ownership. It's time they change their ways.

The lady who shaves all her seven cats every month

One of the perhaps minor irritations of living with a domestic cat is that there is normally a lot of fur around the home. It is swept into corners like tumbleweed where you hoover it up. And it's on your clothes and on your bedclothes. You know what I mean. You get used to it. You don't see it. That's the way you deal with cat fur but not everybody has the same opinion. If you have 7 cats the 'problem' is magnified times 7.

Image: MikeB

Some people are very particular and houseproud. They don't want fur lying around upsetting their beautiful vision of an immaculate home. And I sense that a lady whose name is Elida Shiry is one of those people.

She says that she is the mother of seven beautiful fur babies a.k.a. domestic cats! She said that cat hair used to be a problem until she took the drastic step of shaving them all every month.

She used to have Miracle Brushes and lint rollers behind pillows on sofas and in every room. She had her cats professionally groomed every month at great expense: $350. It seems that she had them all barbered in the style of the lion cut.

She decided that it was too expensive and it was all too much trouble so she resolved to shave them all herself. She purchased some grooming shears which I presume means cat or dog grooming parlour professional shears.

As she had never handled grooming shears before she started with her cat that had the best temperament and "slowly learned secrets".

She proudly states that "Today I can do all seven in 1.5 hours. I shave them at the beginning of every month and they love it. They purr, while I shave them. Their coats feel like velvet or chenille and there is no hair in my home."

Comment: she is the first person that I have met on the Internet (not personally) who does this in order to get rid of cat fur. It's a brave thing to do. It's an unusual thing to do. You can't guarantee that the cats will like it or accept it but after a while they probably will and in this instance they did.

A big advantage of giving your cat is a lion cut yourself is that you know what's happening. If you take them to a professional grooming parlour and leave them there while you go shopping, you don't know what is happening. 

You don't know how well or badly they are being treated. There have been some terrible stories of cat deaths at grooming parlours for various reasons one of which was when a dog attacked a Persian cat and another death occurred when the drying cage overheated the cat and killed him.

So, this woman's cats are all hairless - well sort of. I have presumed that they have a lion cut because you can't shave the hair from a cat's head and feet. And in any case, it looks quite attractive.

I guess that once you done it for the first month the next month is much easier because they can't have been much regrowth by then. They'll have a very low-lying (short) coat to shave off. I wonder how the cats feel about it?

That is a question that she appears not to have asked herself. Are the cats upset? Do they feel that they have lost their coat? And how does that affect their psyche? A cat's coat, is after all, a part of their essential anatomy. It keeps them warm.  I think they may be upset and she doesn't realise it. You know how cats hide their feelings.

And that is another problem. You are going to have to make sure that the heating is at least reasonable or possibly turned up in your home which will add to the expense of running the home particularly in the UK where because of the Ukraine war energy costs are incredibly high.

I am rambling and wandering off onto a different topic but you get my drift.