I need a little help figuring my cat out

Polydactylkittermom

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Hi everyone, I'm looking for a little advice or help with figuring out my cat haha. To start off with, about eight months ago my husband and I adopted a very sweet and lovable polydactyl cat (seven toes on right front paw and six toes on left front paw). Her name is KitKat and I absolutely loved her from the moment I saw her. She's about 3 yo now and a couple months ago, just out of the blue one day, she started getting really vocal and clingy, literally following me everywhere I went, meowing at me if I didn't let her in the bathroom with me, and chattering at me when she could see me. I had a thought that it might be some sort of anxiety and went through all the behavior advice from my vet, but after about four days of doing this, she went back to her normal self of hanging out with us whenever she felt she needed and keeping to her normal routine. Now again, two months later, she is starting the clingy behavior again and will not leave my side. I am a stay at home mom and I rarely leave the house so I'm not sure why she would have anxiety. I'm just wondering if anyone has a cat that does this as well and if they know of what might be causing it. If it helps, I do have epilepsy, could she be picking up on seizures? I'm just not sure about it. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!!
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Smokey1987

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I think this is normal. Certain cats just love us and want to be around us. I felt the same clingyness and got a second cat to help. It has helped.

I got smokey the day he was born. His momma had to abandon litter....

Smokes gets mad at me when I close doors, be it office or bathrooms.

I'm not a cat expert but I think cats can sometimes get clingy. Smoke is 100% clingy with me , like all the time.

I got him another cat (kitten) and that has helped. My baby smokes cares for her, gives him a reason to let me work/use bathroom in peace hehehehe

But still, I've had all kinds of pets and I have to say, cats can be clingy.

It's cute though to me....I'll be watching the game and smokes realizes I'm not working (only time I yell at him) and just jumps in my face (heart melt)

Maybe your cat is like my smokey who needs that reassurance?

What's your cats story? I chose smoke when he literally popped out of his mom and she fled. Smokey needs me and I'll never get tired of giving him attention.
 

di and bob

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Look at those toes! What a beautiful cat! with her white spot on her back she looks liek my feral, Stewart.
Yes, it just could be her personality, but it is interesting it is not all the time. Cats and dogs do indeed pick up on subtle changes in our physiology, such as an epileptic seizure coming on or a drop in blood sugar for diabetics. The seizure may even have been too subtle for you to feel, but enough for her to pick up on. I would record these 'clingy' times and see if they ever correspond to a seizure that you know is coming. If so, she will be a valuable friend to have around to warn you. She will be just learning in the beginning and the extended clingy days that follow could mean she is worried and concerned about you.
 

ArtNJ

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I totally agree that cats have variable personalities and changes in how affectionate they are is normal. However, sharp cycles up to full velcro cat for days and back to a normal somewhat distant cat for a month or two, well yes, that does strike me as quite extreme and a bit weird. It does sound like this has only happened twice, and this cat is still relatively new to you and your home so I don't want to read too much into it, but if it should keep happening, this type of sharp cyclic change makes me wonder if something medical, environmental or even psychiatric is going on. Environmental could be something like the smell of another animal or the sounds of construction making her nervous. Cats have great senses. Medical, I don't know exactly, but numerous folks report there cats being much friendlier/cuddlier when sick. I wouldn't be too worried about it at this point, but if its as sharp a change as you are describing, make an effort to keep track of when it happens and any circumstances that you note.
 

susanm9006

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I wouldn’t be concerned that it is anxiety. It strikes me as just the normal behavior changes And moods that cats sometimes go through. The other thing that can change a cats mood is a change in temps. On a foolish day they want nothing more than to sit close and share our warmth and on a warm day, to snooze by themselves. If she is eating, using the litterbox and not showing signs of illness, I would not worry about her.
 
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Polydactylkittermom

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Thank you everyone for your input on this!! She has been eating and using the litter box regularly, so her vet also wasn't concerned about health issues. What my husband and I did notice about her, however, is that, when this behavior started a couple days ago, I began MY ovulation cycle, which I thought was odd haha. She has, no doubt, been a huge help when it comes to my epilepsy, I suffer from mostly Petit Mal seizures and when I "zone out" with one, she always comes running to my side and head butts me until I come back to earth. When she is around, these seizures only last about maybe a minute opposed to when I'm away from her they last about 2-3 minutes. I will most definitely still be keeping track of her clingyness haha and keep you all and her vet updated!!! Again thank you for all the advice!! I truly do appreciate it!!!
 
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