Affectionate Mom 'Catzoned' by Ginger Maine Coon Who Does Not Want Kisses

One of the reasons to even have a pet is to give it all the tender, loving care that your teenager won’t accept from you anymore. Or maybe that’s just me. Nevertheless, it’s a truth universally acknowledged that pets are there for snuggles, snoots are there to boop, and generally, the whole point of having a pet is to—you know—pet them.

And then there’s this ginger Maine Coon cat, who is having none of it.

For this Maine Coon and his mommy, kisses may be off the menu. In this clip, Teddy the Maine Coon is chilling when his human mom comes in for a kiss, and is roundly denied, as Teddy puts a paw in her face and pushes her away.

Related: Maine Coon Cat Clearly Says 'How Are You?' in Video That Has People Stunned

Teddy is what is called a polydactyl cat, due to the extra set of toes—and thus toe-beans—on his front paws. His person posts to his social media channels as “Teddy with Thumbs.” But it wasn’t his adorable and enormous front paws he used to push her away when she tried to kiss him. Instead, he went for the full, back-leg bunny kick.

Are Maine Coons Affectionate?

Maine Coons are known for being one of the more affectionate breeds of cats, but every individual cat has its own personality, whether it is a purebred cat or a half-starved kitten you fished out of your neighbor’s trash. Just because you get a supposedly “affectionate” breed of cat does not mean that your individual cat is going to be particularly lovey dovey.

I have two cats. The first was rescued as a starving, pregnant stray. She’s super affectionate and chatty, and likes to cuddle in bed with her favorite person. The other is her daughter, who was raised in the lap of luxury and never knew a day of hardship or mistreatment, and not only decides when she’s in the mood for pets (once a day, late at night) but also hisses at strangers from her perch under the table.

If there’s one thing to know about cats, it’s that they have their own opinions.

Cats Love Consent

Though the debate on cats versus dogs seems like a never-ending one, with both camps firmly entrenched in their particular opinions, an interesting strain has emerged. Many cat owners have told me that the people in their lives who seem to least like cats (and be liked by them in turn) are those who also refuse to accept people’s personal boundaries, and have problems with consent.

“Cats like consent,” one animal rescuer told me. “It’s not that they don’t like to roughhouse, or get cuddled, or anything else. Some of them really do. They just like to choose when and where those things happen to them.”

I’d never looked at it that way before. All of a sudden, my younger cat’s strict 10:30 p.m. nightly snuggle seemed less of an uncharacteristic neediness and more like a woman who liked to keep a schedule.

Teddy here is just enforcing boundaries. There may be other times he loves to get a kiss. But right that moment, he was not in the mood.

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