Expert: Norman Auspitz - 8/11/2010

Question
Dear Norman,

I have two cats named Tootsie and Michelle.  They are sisters, and I adopted them from the Human Society a year and a half ago.   They are very loving and affectionate towards me, especially Tootsie.  

Tootsie seems to get very jealous when I pay attention to Michelle.  She shows it in a very loving manner, by coming over to me and rubbing against me, purring and kneading. But if I ignore her long enough,  she will eventually turn her back to me, or run away if I try to pet her after giving Michelle attention.  She doesn't like to be ignored and I'm not doing it on purpose. (Michelle is usually in my arms if I ignore Tootsie.  I acknowledge her, but it's not enough )  If I see Michelle is laying on the floor, or the couch, I will pet her, and give her lots of love—(hugging and kissing) and Tootsie is usually nowhere in sight when this takes place, otherwise, they'd both get the same amount of attention.  But when Tootsie hears me, she comes over and makes sure I pay attention to her, and to her only!

Yesterday, Michelle was curled up asleep in her basket (I didn't know where Tootsie was) and I petted Michelle and talked her.  The next thing I know, Tootsie is right there, getting in the way, and purring.  When I ignored her (just to see what would happen)  she curled up in a ball and leaned hard against my feet, and purring.  She kneaded on my legs.  She walked all around me, too.

My friend has two sibling cats, and she said that her cats don't display this kind of behavior if she happens to pay more attention to one cat.

I've never had sibling cats before.  Is this typical behavior?  I try to show the same amount of attention to both cats.  

Thank you for your time.


Answer
Christine,

The behavior is perfectly typical.  However, like people, cats have various personalities, and inter-relationships are all different.  It sounds as if these two give you hours of enjoyment especially with their little quirks. What your friend is talking about is also typical. Variations in cat behaviors from one to another are part of their charm.

Best regards... Norm.