Cat Suddenly Doesn’t Want To Be Touched : Here’s Why

Let me guess – You love your cat so much but Cat Suddenly Doesn’t Want To Be Touched. He neither likes to play or anything.

Sounds familiar?

Well in this article, we are going to explore some possible reasons that might have happened with your cat and probably the reason of not letting you touch him/her.


It is difficult to fully understand our feline friends. They act weird often. For example – they sniff owners eyes suddenly.

First-time cat owners often make the mistake of expecting the same kind of reaction from dogs and cats when we pet them.

Dogs like to feel the affection of humans. Whereas, cats often despise the touch if they are in stress. Researchers say that genuine cat lovers should avoid touching the cat often because it induces a high level of distress.

Cats who tolerate, rather than enjoy or dislike being petted, seem to be the most in stress. Cat owners cannot force their affection on cats.

This article will help you understand the situations in which you should avoid petting a cat to maintain a happy cat household.

Possible Reasons Why Cats Suddenly Don’t Want To Be Touched

 

We cannot predict a cat’s behavior all the time. So, we have given a list of all the probable reasons why cats suddenly don’t want to be touched.

  • Touching the cat when they don’t want to be disturbed
  • Petting the feline at the wrong places
  • Some kind of hidden trauma
  • Personality changes 
  • Cat is in pain

So in short, your cat suddenly do not want to be touched because of some possible pain, or you’re petting at the wrong place. 

Cats often don’t want to get touched when they are pensive or stressed. Petting the cats in those moments doesn’t help them with their stress.

It agitates them more, and they might retaliate by scratching or running away. If a cat is watching outside a window and crinkling hard, it signifies that the cat has anxiety.

Petting at that moment can frustrate them more, and the cat can run away. Any change in schedule or home situation can also trigger such behavior.

If a cat owner gives a different type of food or if there is a new animal or human in the house, cats take some time to adjust to these situations.

During the adjustment period, they don’t like humans to pet them. One should wait for them to behave naturally before touching them again. 

Cat owners should consider another aspect while touching a cat apart from the mood. One should always check the location of the cat where one is petting. According to experts, there are four good and one bad. The four places where you can pet are –

  • Base of the chin
  • Cheeks, behind the whiskers 
  • Base of the ears 
  • Base of the tails

One place you should always avoid is the belly of the cat. While cats show their belly if they are comfortable with cat owners, they don’t like belly scratches at all.

Adopted cats often have emotional trauma and innate distrust for humans. Cats from shelters take some time to get habituated with other cats or humans, and during this period, it is better to refrain from touching the cat.

Cats can even become aggressive if they have any trauma of danger or pain. It is advisable to take the help of veterinarians to make cats more acceptable.

Every cat is unique, and their situations may vary from one cat to another. If there is a sudden change in their reaction to petting, one needs to look closely at what has changed.

Another neighborhood cat may be bullying, and the cat is probably dealing with anxiety. Kittens show a sudden change in behavior as they reach a certain age because of the hormonal changes.

They can get aggressive to excessive touching or petting. Older cats can also suffer from feline dementia, and this can be the probable reason too. This type of behavioral changes is often responsible for this change in petting reaction.

The sudden change in behavior can also be an indication of some kind of physical pain. There are several reasons for pain in felines –

  • Presence of wounds 
  • Osteoarthritis 
  • Burns 
  • Healing from medical treatment

If the cat is suffering from any of those problems, they can be in a rough mood. Touching the cat in a painful part of the body can make them respond in pain, and they can run away.

One should also accept the possibility of an internal infection, which is painful for the cat. It is better to take the cat to a veterinarian for a health checkup. Not wanting to be touched can be an early sign of a deep-rooted problem.

Knowing the cause is the best thing one can do if the cat does not like to be touched. One needs to make sure that the reasons mentioned above are not bothering the cat.

If it does, remove it from their living situation. If the cat is still not letting one touch itself, then take it to a veterinarian or feline ethologist to deal with helping your cat get habituated.

But one should also consider that there could be distrust towards humans, and one needs to accept a distant relationship with the feline in that case.


References:

  1. https://www.animalwised.com/my-cat-doesn-t-like-to-be-pet-2273.html
  2. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2448932/Want-cat-affection-DONT-stroke-Our-feline-friends-stressed-touched.html
  3. https://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2017/03/18/best-worst-places-to-touch-cat.aspx

 

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