Oliver doesn't like being picked up... :-(

[lisa77]

Leo is coming round to it.. he struggled to get down after 2 seconds when I 1st got him. Now I manage at least a minute.. its weird having a cat who doesnt like it .. all my cats before I have held like babies for ages & the loved it!

 

[berties mum]

Same with Bella - the only way you can pick her up is by putting her on your shoulder and letting her wander up and down your arms.  Try to hold her and you'll get a nasty scratch!  Bertie will tolerate being picked up but doesn't really like it.  Minnie loves it!

[karenjet]

My Belle is like that, loves to be stroked but absolutely hates to be picked up. You'd think he was being murdered cos he just screams.

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

 

Yes I think if you puuuuuuuusevere as you have done , it will work 

have to say my Misa hates being picked up and at the size of a two year old Maine Coon he is too big and heavy to try 

[dolcetta46]

Just thought to let you know... Oliver is getting much calmer these days in my arms, well I wouldn't dare say he begs to be picked up or anything, but he doesn't tense up like he used to and sometimes even keeps on purring... not for a very long time yet, eventually he gets enough of it and wants to get down but no more frenzied struggle.  Slowly slowly, maybe there is a hope if I keep on at it...
Well, he keeps on growing and pretty soon it may become rather like...   

[Bazsmum]

One of my cats "Yagga" is the same....i can do anything to him apart from picking him up.....he has scratched the OH a few times, not in badness just getting out of his arms 

[Catjane]

My Sabby was an extremely unfriendly kitten and protested vehemently whenever I tried to pick him up.  He'd struggle and whine until I put him down.  But over time he's come to accept being picked up and will tolerate it.  I just pick him up every so often for no apparent reason just to get him more and more used to it.

Meesha used to dislike being picked up, she'd tense and strain to get down.  But with perseverance ... and always letting her go before she really started struggling ... she now actually enjoys being picked up and carried around to look at things!  she now rests her little forelegs over my arm with a little bit of grip from her claws - not enough to hurt - and quite happily allows me to carry her around

[dolcetta46]

I guess the trickiest part will be, trying to train him and at the same time not to make him feel being trained... as soon as he will realise that he were being trained all will be lost... you know how the cats are!!

[clarenmax]

Max will be picked up, but it depends on his mood    Most of the time he puts his paws over my shoulders when he's relaxed, but sometimes he's such a wrigglebum I give up 

[carl (billy and baggys dad)]

Bilbo hates being grabbed and picked up, because he's not in control. Very independent cat is our Bilbo.  Baggins doesn't mind, but he's quite hefty so it takes three of us to get him up 

[dolcetta46]

Thanks guys for the input!!  So Oliver is not such a weird case after all ... maybe I will continue to have a go ever so softly, probably see if I can get him to stay on my lap as he seems to feel more comfortable and stable in this position, and see if I can slowly get up from there...  The last cat I had, Hobbes loved to cuddle in my arms and so did I, and I miss that sort of interaction, but I know every cat is different...

Well in any case I will try not to badger him too much, and good to know so many people can relate!!

[Sabrina (Auferstehen)]

Our rescue girl Smoke doesn’t like being held, I’ve been slowly over the past months trying to get her used to it and it works to a point. She normally meows at me when she’s had enough and meows as soon as my husband picks her up

Our Burmese adores it and will let you lay her in your arms like a baby, or she likes being draped over your shoulder. Unless she’s in a mood then she’ll nip at you.

I’m trying as well to get Harley our touchable foster kitten to like it as well but it’s a very slow process.

In time your Oliver might tolerate being held or he might come to love it.

[em1209]

Polly doesn't like being cuddled but is the most friendliest purry little tractor. Fergus on the other hand is more than willing to just lie in my arms, upside down like a baby, and then I can just walk round with him, he's starting to get a bit heavy now though!!

[Mark]

Kylie didn't use to like it but doesn't mind too much now. Willow loves it - on her terms!. Clapton hates it and 5 years on, he will suffer it for about 30 seconds max - if I need to bring him downstairs, as soon as we get to the bottom, he starts struggling.

[Susanne (urbantigers)]

I think a lot of cats do not like being picked up as they feel vulnerable and not in control.  Jaffa hates being picked up, but he is an affectionate little love bug in every other way.  I wouldn't worry about it too much.  If he's only 4 months it might be worth trying to get him used to being picked up (as he'll have to be picked up sometimes, eg to be put in a carrier) by picking him up for very short periods of time, but I wouldn't force the issue too much as that might just put him off being picked up even more.

[Marie]

My Maisy is the same, she follows me everywhere and always has to be next to me on the sofa but will not sit on my lap and struggles if you pick her up to cuddle her.  She is now nearly 18 months and we have just accepted this is her way.  She was left at a rescue as a kitten so we do not know what handling she had but I suspect none!!!

[alisonandarchie]

My lovely ginger tom did not like being picked up, but he was avery independant cat. Achie is very affectionate and a softy but he does not like being picked up. My two visiting females will be picked up for a cuddle. I personally feel it will vary from cat to cat and would not push it if he obviously does not enjoy it.

[Dawn F]

one of our cats is very affection and loves being stroked but hates being held, she struggles and screams!  Her mother was supposed to be a show cat but couldn't be shown because judges couldn't handle her so it may be something in the genes!

[dolcetta46]

My 4 months old Oliver is a highly affectionate, sweet boy, practically a "purring velcro".  He constantly rubs himself against us, and plops down right by us, cuddles with us... nonetheless, he doesn't care for being picked up and held.  Most of the time he jumps right down, at the very most he would "tolerate" for some moments but it is obvious that he is not enjoying it at all.    I found it rather strange, as all the friendly cats I have ever known loved being held in the arms.

I asked the former owner about it and she told me he was always like that, as were all of his siblings.  She also suggested that they didn't get the chance to be held much after all (in that household there were 6 other cats besides the little brothers) and maybe they just never got used to it.

So I have been trying for about a week, not being too pushy so as not to overly annoy him, to get him used to it, without much improvement.
I have also read somewhere that there are cats, even if they are friendly and affectionate, just don't like being picked up by nature, and prefer staying by/near you.
If Ollie falls into this category, it is not too much of a problem for me as he is so loving in every other way, and I don't want to persist and bug him in vain.  But if it is, as his former owner said, just a matter of getting used to and he will learn to enjoy it, that would be great.
Does anyone have been in a similar situation?  Should I leave him in peace, or try to "train" him, is there an indication to look out for in order to determine one way or another?  Any advice and experience sharing will be so appreciated!!