Separation Anxiety

[karleem]

My cat Jackal has Separation Anxiety from me. I can not put on my makeup without him meowing and getting in my face to give him loves, or when I shut a door with him on the other side. He will cry and paw at the door until I let him in.

 

[molldee]

Welcome to the world of cats. They never leave you alone!

 

[karleem]

But it is so foreign to me. I've had cats all my life and only one of them was ever nice and wante attention. My boys now crave for my attention and only mine. It's so odd to me.

 

[kittybeauty22]

Different cats, different personalities

 

[betsygee]

Enjoy it.  

 

[karleem]

I'm enjoying it but I'm getting made fun of by friends. They don't understand that they are my children and I have raised them.

 

[betsygee]

Well, some people are "cat people" and will understand and some just won't.  It's one of the reasons we join sites like this--nobody will ever make fun of you for loving your kitty children!  

 

[MoochNNoodles]

 
Well, some people are "cat people" and will understand and some just won't. 

That's for sure!! 

One of my cats growing up was super affectionate.  She loved everyone.  She was an awesome cat!  One of my girls now; Mooch, lives up to her name.  Most of the time; if I'm on the couch, she HAS to be on me.  And usually it's as close to my face as she can get.  As a kitten it was up on my chest.  She still tried that when she was full grown and over 10lb!  I'd nap with a face full of fur!

 

[karleem]

Haha I get a face full of fur as well. jackal is my baby. He even likes to be held like a baby. But he only sleeps on me. He won't listen to anyone else and will move to wherever I am of someone tries to sit with him. He is sweet but prefers to only be with me.

 

[karleem]

So I bought some of the calming pheromones for my boys and it doesn't seem to be working. They actually seem a bit worse. They are ripping my bathroom apart. (Chewing up the rug, unraveling an entire roll of toilet paper, knocking everything into the ground.) It's maddening. They are exactly like children.

 

[betsygee]

Do they stay in the bathroom while you're gone or something?  How old are they?

 

[shoshanna]

LOL I can no longer go to the bathroom and close the door unless both cats are with me.  They do not let me sleep with one of them in the bed with me and if one gets in the other is there either fighting with him or trying to get under the covers to show that he is the closest one.  

When they wrestle soon I will have one of them sitting between my feet and daring the other to do anything about it.  

It is funny and fun but can be annoying when they chase each other across the bed at night.  They each have a bed and yet find time in the middle of the night to need my attention.  

I told my friend when I first got the second cat that I was the toy they both wanted.  Some days they share me and other days I am up for grabs to the one that wins out.  

BUT I will say that when I have to go out to do anything away from home, it is not the same as it was.  One cat in the home and he would sit in the window and I could hear him crying until I was far enough away to not be able to hear and he would still be there when I got home, now with two cats they watch me go and then before I am even at the end of the sidewalk they are jumping down to go about the other activities they have with each other.  

I do not know what you do to calm them completely and not sure that the cure would not be worse than just accepting that this is the way it is.  They both get separate attention and love so maybe that is what it calls for.

I am just so glad they do get along together and that they seem to enjoy each other even if it is in wrestling and chasing.

 

[stax]

I read in one of the other forums that when a cat isn't fixed and doesn't get to go outside he might get overly affectionate/insecure sometimes may bite or scratch you just cuz he can't control himself.

 

[karleem]

Both of my boys are fixed and they are about six months old. Simba isn't as bad as Jackal. Jackal is the one who rips things apart. And the bathroom is where the littler box is and the one place that they are allowed in the counter, so they like it in there. And I can not shower, or use the restroom alone. They have to be with me 24/7. With Javkal being so clingy, I thought that maybe it's due to his chest deformity? I've had them since they were about two months old and Jackal and I just had a bond like no other. Maybe that is why? Or maybe it is due to the breed?

 

[MoochNNoodles]

It may be their breed; but they are kittens!  I think that is a lot of what is going on now.  I used swiss cheese toilet paper for quite a while when M&N were kittens and even into adulthood.  It was mostly Noodles.  Fortunately we didn't have their litter box in the bathroom we used so we could just shut her out when we weren't in there.  Actually; Noodles will SILL do this a bit if she gets locked in the bathroom!  We get reflections from cars passing through the window and those get her all worked up and she takes it out on the TP! 

  I would remove your bath mat when you are not using it.  Some cats really like those for scratchers too.  My mother cannot keep them in her house because one cat thinks they are great to pee on.

  They just use a towel for the floor and hang it over the side of the tub when they are done.

As for using the bathroom alone.  Not in almost 9 years now.  Noodles thinks 3 am is the best  time to curl up inside my pj pants and purr.  And give my ankles love bites occasionally.  Mooch usually dominates the cuddle time; but that is when Noodles looks for it!

 

[karleem]

I used to have a cat named Mooch! And I think the breed may have something to do with it. They are Half Highland Curl and half Siamese. And they are good with the bath mat but not so much the litter mat. They rip it apart. Maybe it's because it's rubber like? Or because it's textured weird? Who knows. They have been better now that I'm home at night.

 

[betsygee]

Yeah, they're YOUNG.  When we adopted our two cats, Rico and Zoe, they were three months old.  We thought our house would never be the same again.  We played with them a LOT, moved anything that was important to us out of reach, and waited it out.  They're five now and of course much more chilled out than they were then.  But Rico still follows hubby around like a puppy.  He's just a daddy's boy.  

As for the bathroom, yikes.  I have to keep my electric toothbrush put away because Zoe thinks it's a chew toy.  And of course she has to supervise our showers and getting dressed in the morning, every morning.  

 

[karleem]

Yeah I have a see-through shower curtain and Simba loves to sit in the others ice while I shower. He is a weirdo lol.

 

[prowlingkitkat]

Both of my cats are extremely clingy, and they're jealous of each other. They get into fights over my attention. If one is getting attention and the other sees it, he/she will come running over to steal me. The youngest one especially follows me around. If she's not with me when I go into the bathroom, then she is sitting outside the door when I come out. EVERY time. I call her my little stalker and shadow. And sometimes, like when I'm putting on my makeup, she will climb up my front and lay on my chest, keeping herself on with her claws until I hold her. .

They both like to sleep with me on and off throughout the night, so I have to keep my door open or they'll be crying at it all night. The older cat always thinks he needs attention very early in the morning, so he takes a paw and starts poking me in the face until I pet him. They're both lap kitties, and they have literally stayed on me for HOURS at a time. When I do finally try to move them so I can get up, they cling to my clothes with their claws.

Then there's the family cat. She doesn't really have much of a bond with anyone in the house, and she only comes over for attention maybe once a day. But she's very insistent when she does want attention! The other cats only act clingy with me, so I think it all depends on whether or not the cat in question has developed a deep bond with their person. If you're cat is like that with you, then you should feel extremely flattered. Unlike dogs, cats are choosy about who they bond with!

 

[karleem]

My boys are exactly what you described! Jackal, the clingy one does the same with the makeup. And the same with all the attention. I call him my love bug.