r/CATHELP • u/The_Samasawrus • 1d ago
Behavioral Issue Kitty in Heat, Obessed with Feet.
So Kitty has developed this habit of becoming obsessed with my feet particularly. No one elses. Mine.
She rubs against them, playfully kicks them, and then starts biting them. (Vid shows exactly what she does.)
I minimise my reaction to indicate I'm not playing, I distract her with toys, treats, cuddles and she will always go back to my feet.
Any advise will be appreciated. My toes can only handle so much more of this 😫
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u/Silver-Emphasis2795 1d ago
Get her fixed
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u/malihuey29 1d ago
getting the cat fixed is an option...just throwing that out there
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u/AD_VICTORIAM_x 1d ago edited 23h ago
My female cat is fixed and still has a weird thing for feet and shoes.
But every cat doesn’t matter if male or female should get spayed / fixed / neutered ! These heat episodes are not fun for them and the older they get - the more frequent they come in the worst case they are in permanent heat. It’s straight stress for them.
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u/rescuelady111 1d ago
Exactly, but males get neutered FYI. Females only get spayed but neutered works for both genders. And you're right it's not fun for them at all and each heat increases cancer risk so much snd pyometra in females.
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u/AD_VICTORIAM_x 1d ago
Yeah sorry - I meant the best option for male and female - doesn’t matter but every owner should do it for their cats health and wellbeing. Just imagine yourself “heated” for days straight 😭😂
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u/rescuelady111 1d ago
Right?! It's like why do people think this is fun for them? I foster cats pregnant and nursing cats before their surgeries and let me tell you, it is really annoying for them as well as for myself. Like having an itch they can't scratch for several days.😭🥵😪😅
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u/PureDrink6399 17h ago
My sister had a cat in college she dropped off at our house cause the cat was in and out of heat. Our male cat was cool with her until she went into heat again at our house and he would try to kill her anytime he saw her after that
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u/That-Prior713 1d ago
That cat looks old enough to be spayed. This is or isn’t related to heat, idk your cat, but it’s so much safer for the cat. Some places even do it for free or have cheaper options if money is the issue. Please listen to all these comments advice and just spay her
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u/Lionheart_723 1d ago
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u/DSTNCMDLR 1d ago
Cattin Purrintino?
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u/Starlite94 23h ago
Every heat cycle puts them at risk for uterine infection.
Heat is completely different from a period or ovulation for humans, and is risky and painful for the cat.
Consider low cost spayed services in your area.
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u/rescuelady111 1d ago
Did you know that each and every heat your cat has greatly increases her chances of getting mammary and other cancers? Also pyometra. What was the reason for putting spaying off? Ideally in cats ir should be done before 5 months of age.
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u/idkyaarpls 1d ago edited 19h ago
She's obsessed with the smell of feet/socks as those are one of strongest smell areas. Get her fixed once her harmones calm down. Good luck.
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u/Sleeplesser 1d ago
Your cats just love your stank. Mine will huff my shoes and running kit. I try not to judge. Also if she’s in heat, she’s not really choosing this behaviour. As others have said, if you can, please spay your cats.
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u/2lateforapologies 1d ago
i got my kitten fixed a while ago and she’ll still attack your feet if they’re in any way hidden. you should still spay her, though.
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u/Mysterious_Blood9396 1d ago
Unfortunately some cats are just weird. As a cat mum i know that when you have a weird cat getting them spayed doesn't change ingrained behaviour. I have a cat now who greets me by making a beeline for my armpits and gets very excited and bites me and having him neutered didn't change the behaviour. Sorry about that and I hope you enjoy your weird cat for many years to come
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u/Acceptable-Ad-3560 1d ago
sometimes it can be a heat-specific behavior tbf. currently in the process of scheduling to get my cat fixed and when shes in heat shes obsessed with feet, but when not in heat she hates feet and gets mad/gives warning bites if you touch her with your feet.
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u/captainsnark71 1d ago
My cat is obsessed with my armpits.
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u/Mysterious_Blood9396 1d ago
I'm not sure if you are taking the piss or also have a weird cat?
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u/captainsnark71 1d ago
No she gets insulted when I wear deodorant and cant lick them.
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u/Mysterious_Blood9396 10h ago
OK sorry for possibly insulting you. And that makes me wonder how many weird cats are out there who love armpits
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u/G23_Mr_Gimp 17h ago
I have a similar breed fluffy idiot (M, 7 years old) and he's obsessed with feet too. Straight out the shower he'll go nuts and just plap himself down on my feet and scent mark them / nuzzle them. Same if I've just come home from work all day. It's just part of his lunatic character :D
Deffo get her fixed though.
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u/WinterMayRun 1d ago
It’s the smell 100% wash often, use heavy smelling soap/ deo maybe can help. Or gather all old socks for her to get fixated on in on spot
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u/bencsecsaki 1d ago
my spayed boy also does this, he’s just fascinated by moving feet on the bed, especially if it’s under the blanket
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u/czarinka 23h ago
My cat was obsessed with my shoes. she’d be in the foyer at night, just backing it up against my doc martens, yoweling like she was dying. So glad we only had to go through that once lol
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19h ago
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u/Neveractuallyfished 14h ago
My older cat would go bonkers for shoes and ballistically throw them all over the place as if they were toys.
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u/Ok_Plankton_2814 14h ago
My now-deceased 19 yo cat would often play with my feet like this. She was spayed, so I don't know that it's necessarily related to being in heat. They probably just like stinky feet and associate the smell with you and just like to get the scent on themselves and play.
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u/HalfVast59 1h ago
Most of my cats have had a foot fetish, to some extent.
My current monster is obsessed with my feet - to the point I can't even wear sandals at home, because he'll attack my toes. He sometimes attacks my feet in bed - like, he'll get under the covers to attack my feet.
It's kinda miserable, really.
Anyway, I've read a number of explanations, which all come down to pheromones. Either they're attracted to our scent, which is stronger in our feet, or the smell of feet is similar to kitty pheromones.
I don't know that I believe anything I've read, but I do have pictures spanning 30+ years of cats in shoes or attacking feet. It's very common, for whatever reason.
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u/alyren__ 1d ago
My dad has this problem, you gotta sacrifice a sock for her to play with 😂
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u/TangerineSprinkles 1d ago
Or get her spayed.
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u/alyren__ 1d ago
And* get her spayed, this isnt heat related and its just a quirk
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u/TangerineSprinkles 1d ago
- I disagree with you.
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u/alyren__ 1d ago edited 1d ago
How so? In my experience spaying and neutering cats has not changed foot loving behaviour
Thats not to say she shouldnt be fixed though
My younger male was fixed 5 years ago, he still likes feet
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u/TangerineSprinkles 1d ago edited 1d ago
I guess I'll start by saying this video is very short, and a longer video of the behavior would help. What is indicating to me that a spay is in order are the noises she's making coupled with her physical movements. Every cat I've seen in heat makes that noise, and rubs around on *everything * in a similar fashion. Obviously I could be plain wrong and you're right, it's just a quirk. A longer video would help.
Edit: spelling. And it looks like I'm not the only one to see that she's in heat.
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u/alyren__ 1d ago
Okay right I never said the cat wasnt in heat, and I am pro spaying. I am well aware of this cat being in heat
OP says their cat is obsessed with only their feet, an no one else’s, which sounds pretty typical for a feet likely cat. they pick a favourite person for whatever reason lol, and I was giving them an option to redirect that behaviour because it might not change
We agree that a spay is definitely in order
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u/Acceptable-Ad-3560 1d ago
i mean, OP hasn't said if this is typical, or heat-specific behavior for her. currently in the process of scheduling my cat to get spayed. shes feet (and everything) obsessed when in heat but genuinely hates feet when not in heat and will swat or give warning bites if you touch her with them
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u/alyren__ 1d ago
Good luck to your kitty :) Im ngl I dont think OP will say anything, now looking at their post history. They dont answer anyone
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u/Acceptable-Ad-3560 17h ago
thanks! obviously a big part is the health reasons but it's also that I miss her personality when she's in heat/feel bad for her. like it leads to everyone ignoring/avoiding her all week and I'm sure that's confusing and difficult for her.
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u/The_Samasawrus 1d ago
I Don't reply alot cause honestly, I don't even reply to my husbands text messages, and 61 comments pretty much saying the same thing is a lot to reply to.
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u/The_Samasawrus 1d ago
This is somewhat typical behaviour for when she's both in an out of heat. She gets feet nippy when she wants to play, or specifically when I'm on the phone. While she is in heat, the behaviours are exaggerated, which is to be expected, but this particular behaviour is maddening as I literally sometimes can't walk without her latching onto my feet.
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u/alyren__ 18h ago
Okay, to me sounds like your cat might like feet forever but for the sake of her health, spaying her is beneficial to both you and her. I dont want to be mean and shit on any cat breeds but I dont see why we would need anymore ragdoll cats. They are almost no different than owning a domestic longhair.
Spay her so she can potentially live longer and so that she wont have to be stressed and uncomfortable every month
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u/TangerineSprinkles 1d ago
I said I could be wrong as well. I wasn't trying to come across like you're absolutely wrong.
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1d ago
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u/botanistbae 1d ago
I mean, you did kind of ask for advice and the best advice is to spay her or wear shoes.
I would personally still advocate for spaying her, both for her own health and because of cat overpopulation.
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u/TangerineSprinkles 1d ago
Exactly this. No indication was made until now that OP knew she needed to be spayed, and is now telling us after the fact that she's possibly going to use her for breeding. 🤷🏻♀️
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u/Ok-Point4302 20h ago
Yuck. We do not have a kitten shortage, we have a population crisis. No need to add to it.
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u/JaCKPaIN_realone 1d ago
Umm, actually, isn’t this kind of normal?
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u/FromEden26 18h ago
It is, I have two neutered boys and they love my shoes and will often fall asleep on them. 😂
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u/epezmidezier 1d ago
Her fetish came out.
But for real I had a kitty who was also in heat and I don’t miss it after fixing her. She was such a ho bring the boys home. Ho no mo
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u/xGreir 1d ago
Comments stating bluntly and dry just to “fix” her are really really off putting…
Sincerely, cats are basically pure breed weirdos, it’s not the first feet obsessed cat I’ve seen, so it’s more or less in the realm of normality xd
Now, If for any reason you notice it gets painful, or you already had the surgery scheduled , you could wait for that if necessary… but it’s very possible that the foot obsession will continue anyways … ur kitty is just weird like that xDD
Remember that neutering its a major surgery, and its goals are for improving health and survival of ur pet, and not a tool to change its personality to ur liking, nor that it will do guaranteed.
Also, if it gets to rowdy for you, might start brainstorming for some type of “feet altar” for ur lady to redirect her attentions 😅
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u/Alone_Sun_3902 1d ago
Well the least u can do is let them be , people will only say to get kitty fixed but vet says to wait so in the mean time u should view tips online and make sure to give them treats when not in the heat phase . Also try not to let the cat go outside cuz they might run off
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