Does my cat not like to be pet..?

[Upirium]

I know we don't really know what animals are thinking but perhaps there is someone who understands cats better than me...
I have an antisocial cat named Sammy/ Sammy Butthead/ Samuel L. Catson/Samiast...

He just seems not to care for human interaction. Whenever I pet him he doesn't pur half the time but the thing is, I know he CAN pur. So does that mean he doesn't like it when I pet him?

I mean I not only pet him because he's soft but I pet cats because they like it, but if he doesn't like it it feels a bit one-sided....

Any ideas?  

[Celestial Fireflies]

cєℓєsтιαℓ ғιʀєғℓιєs:

I noticed that my boyfriend's cat became much easier to please after I took the time to show him that I wasn't going to hurt him or hold him down against his will; he's a pretty nervous cat. I did this mostly through brief hugs when he was in a good mood, whenever he was laying on the couch or something. I slowly went from letting go right away to hugging him for a little bit longer, and then longer. I always tried to stop before he got mad to show that it wasn't necessary to growl in order to be let go. Now that he trusts me, he regularly comes up to me for pets and cuddles and will readily purr loudly (whereas before he would usually just lay there and eventually walk away).

I don't know if it's the same case for your cat, but that's one explanation. I'm sure that there are cats who just don't like pets- or at least don't care one way or another for them. If that's the case, I'm not sure there's much you can do to get him to enjoy being petted. But even if he doesn't purr, I'm not sure it means he doesn't like it; he could like it (or at least be neutral towards it) but not enough to purr. I dunno, cats can be weird sometimes, haha.  

[Des_Gato-The Warrior]

Where are you petting your cat? A few spots I would suggest, the spot on his back just before the tail, it will feel flat. Just kind of softly scratch him there. Another spot, just under his head between his chin and neck.  

[Upirium]

Des_Gato-The Warrior

Where are you petting your cat? A few spots I would suggest, the spot on his back just before the tail, it will feel flat. Just kind of softly scratch him there. Another spot, just under his head between his chin and neck.

He bites people when they touch him there.
He somewhat enjoys chin scratching though  

[Des_Gato-The Warrior]

Just stick to that then. Don't forget to speak softly to him while doing that. My kitten loves it and it helps me build a stronger bond with my kitten.  

[CrissAngelLover12345]

another idea is to hold out your hand and let him sniff you before you pet him. If he just walks away after sniffing you, then he might not want you to pet him. If he does want you to pet him, he'll "pet" you, generally with his head and rub it against your hand. After he's done that, then it's good to pet him. Allow him to pick where he wants you to pet him, he'll move his head and body around to where he wants you to pet him. Talk softly to him while petting him. He might eventually start figuring out that you're not gonna force him to let you pet him and start allowing you to pet him more, for longer periods of time, and in more locations. He might even get to where he'll go to you and ask you to pet him. biggrin I've been doing this for my cat ever since I saw this on "My Cat from Hell" (a TV show on Animal Planet (one of the few I'll watch, the other main one I'll watch if I can catch it is "It's Me or the Dog" both for some training techniques, and new ways of approaching things) and it is working quite well. I pet her where she tells me to lol. If I pet her when she doesn't want me to, then she won't purr, and eventually either walks away or bats at my hand. When she has had enough of being petted, she'll walk away. If she wants me to hold her, she has a way to signal that too. biggrin Ever since I have started this, my bond with her is much stronger and continues to get stronger and she'll allow me to pet her more often and for longer periods of time and in more locations too. biggrin