Help! My ragdoll is becoming unmanageable

[christinecatgod]

I have a 9 month old ragdoll named toast who I've pretty much raised. She's been a great cat until the last few weeks. She's very social and we've moved quite a bit and she's immediately adapted to every situation quickly. However we just moved a few weeks ago into a apartment that had 4 cats. They all got along great. However, a week later those tenants with the cats moved out. All she does now is meow non stop and beg for food, and do anything she can to get it. Now she was obsessed with food beforehand and would eat any food left out immediately. Every night now she climbs on my desk (tall one), knocks things up high off shelves, has fallen off my desk many times now and broke many things. Digs in my trash to lick the can of cat food clean that I've already let her lick clean. She'll come on the bed and walk across me and lick my skin non stop, but won't let me pet her. I should mention that she's fixed and I'm writing this very fusterated after no sleep last night so excuse the grammatical errors. she eats organic dry food with wet food once a day, I feed her morning and night and sometimes more if she won't stop begging. Even after she eats she still cries. I got her a huge cat tower that she loved at first and still likes but isn't as entertained by it. She has two. Please help me. She has all her shots and appears healthy.

 

[catpack]

Are you saying that the previous tenants (and their cats) lived WITH you and Toast?

 

[christinecatgod]

Yes, they had been living here for awhile and their time together equaled a week. Then they moved out.

 

[catpack]

It's certainly possible that all this new behavior is her way of mourning the loss of her newly acquired buddies.

I suggest more play and cuddle sessions with her for a while and maybe investing in a few Feliway diffusers (Amazon has the cheapest prices) or maybe a calming collar. Give her 2 weeks or so and see if these issues subside.

I don't advise doing it now; but, if she really enjoyed the company and is still having problems in a few weeks, maybe consider getting her a buddy (if feasible for you).

 

[Columbine]

If there's a hunger element you might find she does better on all wet food, simply because she'd be getting a bigger portion size. I'd also consider flower essences (eg jackson galaxy's spirit essences) to help her adjust to her friends no longer being around. As catpack said, Feliway diffusers could help. I also agree that, longer term, a second cat could be the answer.

 

[christinecatgod]

I got her the calming collar and the spray. I hope I see a difference.
Unfortunately there's no way I can get another cat.

 

[detmut]

can you find new apartment mates with cats to move in with you? 

 

[christinecatgod]

Can someone tell me why my cat is such a massive weirdo? I get home and witness her going to great lengths to get to the top shelf and stick her head in my plant and eat it and drink the plant water. This is just after I fed her. Then after getting her down (I squirt her with water) she goes right back up and tries to get into the canned food. She's always meowing for food especially at night and eats trash / licks weird things and knocks over glasses just for fun. I would think she's bored if I didn't spoil her with a huge cat tower and fun laser toys that she hardly cares about because she's a little cross-eyed. Also anytime you try to pet her, or even if you don't pet her, she tries licking your hand over and over. It sounds cute but it's not, I'll wake up to her licking my leg or eating my hair. She does this to everyone as well. I raised her from kitten hood and she was such a nice cuddly kitten and now she just meows all the time and climbs things she's not supposed to. Helpppp!

 

[tabbicat2010]

I just recently got a ragdoll as well. He is about 7 months now. I have noticed a big change in his behavior. Meows all the time, is constantly getting into things, licks me constantly. I actually have to keep him locked out of the bedroom at night or else I wouldn't get any sleep at all. I think this is normal for kittens. I'm pretty sure I read that this is the teengage period for them where they start to test boundaries and act out. Also, ragdolls are much needier than most cats. Do you set aside time to play with her every day? This is REALLY important.

Also, some of those "cuddle" toys might help since she keeps wanting pets and to lick. We have a couple of these that our cats love:

 

[handsome kitty]

If she is only 9 months old she may still be growing and need a little more food now.  I've noticed my cat going through phases and growth spurts just like my kids did.