Guinea pigs, not cats, but my Amelia also hates being picked up, and I have to chase her. Lexie isn't a big fan of it either, but it's generally much less effort to get her. I know for them it partly comes from being prey animals that could potentially be eaten by birds of prey, so the idea of hands coming to grab them from above is terrifying at an instinctive level. I generally have the best success picking them up if I get them to go into one of the "hides" they have (padded cave things), then picking that up. I admit I have danced while holding them before--they did not seem into it!