This is not a job for the timid or unathletic cat. In fact, to the chagrin of their people, Shoulder Cats are often large and muscular. This means we have to be careful what we wish for.
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It is often the cat themselves who indicate their wish to be near our faces by rubbing heads with us, wherever we may be. It can be an outgrowth of the Drape or an ooze down from the back of the couch.
However the cat indicates their desire to view the world from our own vantage point, we must remember that they will wish to do this all their lives.
No matter how big they might get.
Yeti’s person has some good training tips:
Kittens are cute. They’re adorable. And with a little incentive, they *love* riding around on a human’s shoulder, as long as the human provides a slow, smooth ride so they can take in the view of their domain. I trained both of my Maine Coon cats to do that when they were four months old.
Yeti is a silver tabby, male, and weighs about 20 pounds. (I weigh about ten times that, so I’m not staggered by having him on my shoulder.) All I have to do is pick him up and put his front paws on my shoulder, and he’ll happily climb up there– and once he’s up there, he wants to find a relatively stable position, so he puts his fluffy britches up against the side of my head like some bizarre, purring earmuff.
When we decide to accept the Shoulder Cat’s overtures, we must remember that they can decide to climb aboard at any time. If we lean down in front of them, they will often see it as an invitation. And they will act on it.
So try to work out some signals to let our Shoulder Cats know when it’s safe to jump up. But remember that they get excited and then forgetful, especially when they are young and impulsive.
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I’ve had shoulder cats who learned that a particular jacket or sweatshirt was the invitation to climb aboard.
This will also protect us from their claws if they are still searching for their balance and proper position on our shoulders. Some cats will flop over our neck like a scarf, letting their legs hang down on either side of our chest, but these cats tend to be long-bodied Oriental types.
More stocky cats prefer to stay upright, as seen here. Chuju’s person needs to be alert. He’s only 9 1/2 months old in this shot!
This is my snow savannah, Chuju. He loves to jump on my shoulders when I least expect it. Luckily I was wearing a thick sweater!
So if you have a Shoulder Cat, be prepared to be aware of their presence, especially if they are on their feet. That is when they will make their move.
What if the cat wants to be a Shoulder Cat, and we are not thrilled with the idea? We must remember that the cat is expressing a desire for closeness and parity. It is a tricky thing to discourage that.
If the cat is too heavy for us to manage in that position, we can make their weight sink us slowly to the floor, where we lie down. This will quickly and safely give them the message that this move is just not possible.
Even if they are tiny now, we have to look ahead.
We’ve all seen how grown cats overflow into the same spaces they fit in as kittens. They are slow to recognize their own changing mass, especially when it comes to us. We still loom as large as they did when they were younger.
Make it up to them by marking off places where they can hang out and still see eye to eye with us. A bookcase, the top of a cabinet, or the back of a couch are all ways we can safely have the closeness the cat is asking for.
Even non-Shoulder Cats will enjoy seeing eye-to-eye with us.
With a halter and leash, it can be one more training move that actually lets us go places with our cats. Many cats prefer to see the outside world from our shoulders than from our arms. They feel more in control of the situation, and meeting people as an equal actor; not a helpless creature.
It can be a wonderful experience to walk around with the cat in this way. Shoulder Cats love to view the world from our view, to share face space, to be as one with their person.
The person likes it too.
Socks, the White House Cat during the Clinton Presidency, was quite the shoulder cat.
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There’s more to raising and training a cat with The Way of Cats than the article you are reading now. See my CAT TRAINING TIPS.
Also note that having a shoulder cat will give you excellent incentive for keeping their claws trimmed, front and back.
Hi Pam…
Are you on Facebook???
Shoulder cats are kool but we want a lap cat – neither of our two are cuddly.
Barb >^..^<
No, I’m not on Facebook… but thanks for thought.
Well, if you want a lap cat… maybe it’s time for another kitty. As happens so often, the solution to your cat problem is… more cats!
One of my cats is a shoulder cat, lap cat, and an under the covers next to me always cat. He insists with sleeping with me all the time and he has to be under the covers. Is he cold? I can’t figure it out. I have other cats for him to sleep with, but this method is his preferred method. It has reached an almost ridiculous level where he will try to dig his way under the covers in order to get under. It bears mentioning that his way of shouldering is more a shoulder draping rather than a shoulder stand. All this and he is a long-haired cat, so I am not so sold on the him being cold theory.
He sounds like a natural shoulder cat. They love being close to our faces, and seeing the world the way we do.
My cat likes to ride on my shoulders at home, but I live in a small apartment with no yard and no patio for safe outdoor time. And my cat loves to feel the wind and see the birds and roll around on the ground. So I bought a harness, and I really want to train him to ride on my shoulders, down a very short walk to a river with grass and treess and a bridge. I know he would love it, even though I’ll look silly walking down with a cat on my back.
But I’ve flown with him, taken him in my car even though he doesn’t like that one much, and he’s a very calm, well-adapted cat. He loves most people (except for some men) and other cats, and he’s just a fun loving guy, I want him to be able to enjoy the outdoors.
He’s escaped from my window a couple times, and that was scary, but he never went far, and stayed on the apartment steps until I found him the next morning. I could tell he would be scared and lonley by his meow when I called to him to find him.
Aaaaaanyways, he’s a big shoulder cat scarf-draper, and I just want to take advantage of that this summer, hopefully.
My shoulder kitty began getting up there this year. She is 13, but she immediately decided she loved it up there, and so I am wearing her several hours a day. She’s there now, purring and happy with life. I will agree that you need to be sure you actually want to spend extensive amounts of time with a cat on your shoulders BEFORE encouraging the behavior. If your cat likes it, you’ll have her up there a LOT.
I love riding my cat on my shoulders! She too, has been doing this since a kitten. I just wear a thick hoodie, because she really likes to do the “superman” off my shoulders. So fun!
Our cat Jezebel, is small, lucky for me. At 12 she decided she wanted to be a shoulder cat. She does not climb on ,she will leap from any where to get on my shoulders. As I am not always aware she is jumping I can’t stop her. She can laep a good 4-5 ft and make it. How can I control this if I am cooking & don’t even know she is coming? We also think she may be going deaf or is just real good at ignoring us.
Does anyone know what the official term is for training a cat to ride on its subject’s shoulders is called?