Jealousy over owners?

[wright878]

Abby gets really upset when my nephew or 10 y/o granddaughter are over. The last time my nephew was over (he is 5) he was just sitting on the couch, he was not making any loud noises, and Abby came over and started swatting at him and hissing. It was really unprovoked, he hadn't done anything to her. Scared him to death and we ended up having to put her in the bedroom until he left. She has done the same thing with my granddaughter and now she is afraid of Abby. Fortunately Abby never puts her claws out so she hasn't really hurt them, just frightened them.

Any suggestions on how to get her to be around kids? I have tried to let them give her treats to see if that would help, but she won't even take a treat from them. Little snot!

She is fine with adults, it is just children.

 

[Brooke]

Abby gets really upset when my nephew or 10 y/o granddaughter are over. The last time my nephew was over (he is 5) he was just sitting on the couch, he was not making any loud noises, and Abby came over and started swatting at him and hissing. It was really unprovoked, he hadn't done anything to her. Scared him to death and we ended up having to put her in the bedroom until he left. She has done the same thing with my granddaughter and now she is afraid of Abby. Fortunately Abby never puts her claws out so she hasn't really hurt them, just frightened them.

Any suggestions on how to get her to be around kids? I have tried to let them give her treats to see if that would help, but she won't even take a treat from them. Little snot!

She is fine with adults, it is just children.

Here's a technique I used, successfully, with a colony of feral cats. I know Abby isn't feral, but her behavior sounds like she is fearful of the kids and this would help her get over her fear...could be worth a shot, but it will take several visits with the kids...

Try having the kids sit quietly on the floor close to a plate of canned food and just allow Abby to approach and eat the food. (If she won't approach the food, then have the kids back away from it until she does, and then have them move in slowly) Do just that a couple of times and nothing else. If that works, then have the kids talk softly to Abby while she's eating, but don't try to touch her yet. After a few times doing that, if Abby's eating comfortably around the kids, have them try to gently pet her while she's eating. She'll eventually begin to associate the kids with yummy canned food instead of fear.

I've done this three different times with feral cats, and it works perfectly every time. They are especially friendly and lovable with me now, but also friendly (although still cautious) with everyone else they encounter, too.

Good luck!

 

[wright878]

Thanks Brooke, I will give it a try! Normally we can't get her to leave people alone, but in a good way.

 

[PitRottMommy]

I second Brooke's suggestion. The most important thing here is to build trust. Even if it wasn't these two particular children that made her distaste for kids, they're obviously going to be the ones that have to deal with it.

 

[ilovemysphynx]

Also without making the kids feel like they have done anything wrong, just remind them to talk A bit softer and most of all move A little slower, kids have this thing where everything they do is at 100mph and that will put any animal on edge.
Our 2 sphynx are used to our kids and all their friends but when Athena has babies she is still more alert and if A adult looks to see them she is fine but A kid she is on the watch and much more defensive even when she does not have to be, I think it is all in how kids move!
Best of luck, I am sure you want your family to enjoy Abby just as much as you!

 

[ellie4-12]

When our white devon lived with us.. we swore she was jealous of me!
She liked me for a while.. but then fell happily inlove with my fiance Ben! She would wake him up in the morning and be purring all over his face.. then I would roll over and put my head on his chest. Haha.. she would FREAK out and dive to the end of the bed and just watch me and slap her tail around aggrevated while I innocently slept.

I still have old scratches on my chest from her desperate attempts to get away from me :-( We could never get her away from Ben though. She would sleep on his shoulders while he studied and constantly follow him EVERYWHERE with her googly eyes! One time-- she actually escaped out of our apartment when she tried to go to work with him! I ended up finding her in the building an hour and a half later.. I guess she never made it past one of the exit doors.

She is living at my Moms house now ( her original mommy). But it would have been interesting to see if she would have started to get defensive over him. I was always nice to her and bought her many toys.. so I can't think of any other reason why she would dislike me besides jealousy? :-(