"You're an adult now!" Three "baby-like behaviors" of a cat that never outgrows its kitten phase

Cats raised by human hands since they were kittens often remain feeling like kittens even as adults. Such cats show "baby-like behavior," adoring their owners as if they were their mothers.

All three of my beloved cats were adopted when they were under one year old, but each has a unique way of expressing and the intensity of their "baby-like behavior."

My wary tabby cat is the biggest "baby"!

Kotaro, a tabby cat, is the one who shows the most "baby-like behavior." Kotaro is very wary; he wants to scratch everything he touches but is too scared and runs away.

However, perhaps because he was the youngest when I adopted him, he seems to think of me as his "mom." He not only follows me around, but he also climbs onto my upper body when I sit on a floor chair. 

In fact, this habit is something he used to do a lot when he was a kitten. Back then, Kotaro was only about one month old, so small that his entire body could fit around my neck and shoulders when he climbed onto my upper body.

Every time I lay down, he would toddle over and climb onto me, which was incredibly cute. I would "die of cuteness" every day. He made me feel so much like a mother that I would seriously tell people, "I might have given birth to this child without realizing it." 

Because we've built this parent-child relationship (?), Kotaro still tries to get on my upper body whenever he gets the chance. But he still doesn't realize that his body is now more than double the size it was back then (maybe even triple the size...?).

So, he climbs onto my upper body as if he could still "fit around my neck!" just like when he was a kitten, but that's impossible. His feet almost always dangle off my upper body.

Each time, Kotaro wiggles his dangling feet and gives me a suspicious look, as if to say, "Huh? I'm not perfectly on you...? Did you shrink...?" No, no. This is because you've grown up. Your size is different now.

I try to explain it to him, but Kotaro doesn't seem convinced and tries again. Undeterred, every day he climbs onto my upper body and attempts the "whole body on the neck" challenge.

This comical and endearing "baby-like behavior" is something I can only see because of the physical affection we shared when he was a kitten. Although I always laugh, it also warms my heart to know that he still remembers those days.

You'd think the affectionate orange tabby would be a baby, but...

Orange tabby cats are affectionate. I'm sure many people have heard that rumor, haven't they? Online, orange tabbies are often described as mild-mannered, affectionate, and friendly.

However, Leon, our orange tabby, is a "my way or the highway" type of cat. Among our cats, he shows the least "baby-like behavior."

I adopted Leon eight years ago in the spring. Since I was a teenager, I had always wanted to live with an orange tabby cat, so I adopted Leon from a rescue cat cafe.

保護猫カフェから譲り受けたうちの子、大変たくましく育ってくれました。 pic.twitter.com/bfJnsLoAkb

— ゆあ ｜ ライター🖊 (@yunc24291) September 17, 2021

Orange tabbies, with their soft, warm-toned fur, are incredibly cute. And indeed, many of them are affectionate, and I often heard my friends who live with orange tabbies cleverly complain about how "too affectionate" they were, which only fueled my longing.

Before adopting him, I was genuinely worried, "What will happen to my heart if he shows even more 'baby-like behavior' than Kotaro?"

On the first day of his adoption, Leon sat on the table with a somewhat anxious expression. I spoke to him, saying, "Well, it's like this at first. You'll gradually get used to it," and I continued to watch over him while calming Kotaro, who was hissing.

As a result, Leon seems to have established his own belief: "I don't get babied; I make others baby me." He doesn't climb on me like Kotaro; instead, he grew into a cat who inexplicably loves only my hair.

🐱きょうも髪はおいしかったです pic.twitter.com/JXxrGhXhDy

— ゆあ ｜ ライター🖊 (@yunc24291) January 11, 2021

When Leon acts like a baby, it's usually not with me, but with the kotatsu blanket. When I see him kneading the kotatsu blanket so adorably and desperately, I feel a pang of jealousy towards the blanket.

"Baby me too!" I secretly put my hand under the blanket, but he quickly judged, "Hey! This isn't a blanket!" and the kneading time came to an end...

I continue to offer him delicious food and treats every day, hoping that one day he will love other parts of me besides my hair.

Jiji, the calico cat, was late with both her "rebellious phase" and "baby phase."

Jiji was a cat sold cheaply at a pet store. Perhaps because she hadn't had much interaction with other cats or humans, at first I was surprised, thinking, "Can a cat really be this quiet...?" Whether I held her or petted her, she showed no reaction. Even when I prepared a cat bed or a handmade cardboard house, she would sleep in her litter box, which smelled like her.

子猫の時からこの貫禄である。 pic.twitter.com/gaqaRK4tiJ

— ゆあ ｜ ライター🖊 (@yunc24291) July 6, 2018

At first, I would often talk to her, saying, "You don't have to sleep there," and move her to various spots like hammocks and cat beds, so she could find a place she liked.

I couldn't quite figure out what she liked or disliked. That's why I wanted to understand her more and truly become her family.

子猫時代からたぬき(●´ω`●)#ジジ祭り #たぬきねこ #マンチカン #サビ猫 #誕生日 #ねこ #猫好きさんと繋がりたい pic.twitter.com/GyDoP4L3b6

— ゆあ ｜ ライター🖊 (@yunc24291) February 13, 2017

Our relationship changed about three to four years after adopting her. I think the catalyst was moving into a custom-built house designed with the comfort of our cats in mind, and starting a new life there.

After the move, Jiji became much more expressive. When I hold her, she purrs loudly, and if I touch her front paws, she resists with a "Stop clipping my nails!" She even started showing rebellious behavior, like pushing my face away with her paw when I tried to pet her, as if to say, "I'm not in the mood for petting right now!"

Her rebellious phase and "baby" phase came late, but I was so happy to witness them and that she showed them to me.

As she gets older, Jiji is becoming more and more like a baby. Now, she purrs while "supervising" my work next to me, or nudges my arm with her paw to "demand attention."

I hope this calm and gentle time continues for a long time. Jiji, thank you for being brave enough to trust me and become a baby.

Of course, some cats have personalities that don't allow them to be overtly affectionate, but the "baby-like behavior" cats show is, I believe, a sign of their trust in their owners. That's why, even amidst busy days, I want to fully respond to my cat's "baby-like behavior" without neglecting it.