Can imprinting take place between young kitten and human?

When a person raises a newborn cat, does imprinting take place whereby the kitten sees the person as his/her parent? It may not take place but this article is about whether it could take place and whether it does sometimes take place without the knowledge of the person.

Kitten imprinting? Do we know or realise it?
Kitten imprinting? Is it taking place? Photo by Sam.

I am not referring to the usual close bond between a good cat caretaker and her cat. No doubt there is a close bond in that situation. I am referring the biological process called “imprinting”. There is a short window of opportunity for imprinting to take place.

Imprinting can only occur between a newborn or very young kitten and a person. It need not be a person but I am discussing the human/cat relationship. If imprinting does occur between a person and a newborn then the newborn cat will firmly recognise the person as her/his parent. It will be a hard-wired relationship.

This normally won’t occur because nearly all newborns are parented, initially, by their biological mother.  However, where a person raises a kitten from a very young age it seems plausible that the person could be imprinted on the kitten’s mind that she is the mother.

This may account for some exceptionally strong bonds between cat and person. This sort of relationship goes beyond the usual. It is pure biology. The well known example of animal imprinting is ducks flying with a person in a light aircraft when migrating. The video below (sad, in my opinion, as it is in China) shows a duck that has been imprinted with the notion that a puppy is his/her parent.

Let’s assume kitten to human imprinting takes place. On that basis, shouldn’t people be aware of it? It places the person in a greater than normal position of responsibility. The person genuinely becomes the cat’s parent. This is not about good standard cat caretaking but a person being the parent of a cat.

I have not seen this discussed on the internet. It does present a delicate question. If a person is a known excellent cat caretaker might it be a good idea if, under the right circumstances, she is imprinted on a cat’s mind as the parent because it will create the best possible bond. It could result in better relationship and better cat caretaking.

Foal imprinting
Deliberate foal imprinting. Photo by Sundance Stables.

Horse imprinting sometimes take place in some stables. It is done deliberately and it makes the foal that much….

….braver, calmer, more trusting, inquisitive and willing, and who see us, and their future owners, as friends and partners…(Sundance Stables)

Now, I don’t know if imprinting is a good thing. After all, it is taking some of the naturalness out of life for the young animal. However, if the animal is a domestic animal and therefore has to live in the human world, imprinting would seem to make the animal better adapted to being a companion. This is a tricky ethical question.

SOME MORE ON IMPRINTING:

26 thoughts on “Can imprinting take place between young kitten and human?”

  1. I walk in a pet store and quickly petted some very young black kitten.
    When talking with the staff, someone says whatch her, she was climbing a 4 foot fence to run and climb on my shoulder. The staff pick her up to get her back in the cage, Minwi escape the grip and ran back to my shoulder and fix me in my eyes like o cat ever did to me.
    I crack and brought her home.
    She is now 5 month old and I ve never a connection like that with any other cat.
    Yes a cat that choose you is fantastic

  2. Ive had Arie since he was 2 days old. So adorable.goes with me every where. Church stores that let him in ect. When i leave him with my husband Arie wakes up meowing right away. He has to sleep with me. Right now he’s on a pillow having to touch me. He’s 4.5 weeks old. I’ve raised 3 other cats but never had this kind of a bond.

  3. I think you are correct Judi. Although your husband might feel the responsibility, I’d beat he is proud of the relationship. He should be. It sounds like a great relationship.

    I’ll turn your comment into an article. It’s nice and interesting. Thanks for sharing Judi.

  4. We adopted a two year old cat who suffered brain damage from getting hit by a car. We brought her home two weeks after the accident when she was still having trouble with vision (blindness) and walking. After we brought her home she suffered a severe upper respiratory infection that she picked up at the shelter. She needed veterinarian care including nebulization because her immune system was already compromised from her previous injuries. It took her 5 weeks to recover from the infection. During her URI illness we had to sit with her and try to get her to eat because she was losing weight rapidly. My husband spent more time sitting with her during her illness than I did. To make a long story short, she seems to have imprinted herself with my husband. We have now had her almost 2 years and I have never seen such a close bond. She needs to be always on his lap when he’s sitting, she yells at the door if he goes into the bathroom or goes to bed. She suffers separation anxiety after his days off when he goes back to work. She ingnores me when he is around. It is a very intense bond. She is obsessed with him. I have had cats my whole life and a few that I have had special bonds but nothing like this. I think she was reborn after the accident (she was near death) with brain healing being delayed because of the URI so she imprinted on him. Or maybe she has an mental illness from the brain damage? I have told my husband the she acts like a bird who has imprinted on a human.

  5. Hi, there is a subtle difference between imprinting and a strong bond. I think with imprinting you have to raise the cat as his mother and regards you as his mother whereas for a strong bond the cat regards you as a ‘friend’ an a ‘surrogate mother’ to use human language. That’s the way I see it. I’d say you have a great relationship and a close bond. Thanks for sharing and well done in rescuing him.

Leave a Comment

follow it link and logo