Rosa Maria
All cats love to lick their owners to show some love, affection, and to make a strong bond with them.
However, too much licking can surely disturb, annoy, irritate, and at the same time, make you conscious regarding this strange behavior of the cat. Well, this can be a sign of a clingy cat issue.
Table of Contents
What is Affectionate Cat – Cat Behavior:
Almost all cats can be possessive when they need to eat and want you to feed them with some great cat food. They will try to rub their bodies with your feet, will purr to seek attention, and do every single thing to have your eyes on them.
What is Super Affectionate Cat – Clingy Cat Behavior:
If cat’s attention seeking behavior remains just for some time, that’s acceptable; however, a continuous such behavior can annoy owners and make them do something inappropriate, such as yelling at their cats or closing doors onto their faces. This can worsen clingy cat behavior and disrupt the loving bond between you two.
How To Deal With Cats?
A second scenario:
You love your over-demanding and always-attention-seeking cats. You love having them on laps, rubbing their backs, and tendering their purrs; still, this over-obsessed behavior requires a solution as it can lead to severe mental and behavioral issues in the cats.
Of course, you don’t want your cat to suffer as not just; you’re his favorite human; she is your favorite animal too.
Q: Is Clinginess A Sign Of Pregnancy Or Do Cats Get Clingy When Your Pregnant?
Ans: some people take this question in the wrong sense and attach it to the cat’s pregnancy. However, a pregnant cat gets possessive towards her kittens and not the human mate or owner. However, do you know cats and dogs can sense your pregnancy? Yes, during owner’s pregnancy, cats become protective and overly affectionate towards their owners. So, yes, clinginess can be a sign of pregnancy.
You are a cat person and prefer her over all other animals, including loyal dogs. It shows you are a loving owner of your animal. Hence, the stigma of clinginess in your cat is maybe not because of your lack of attention; it can be due to any other past issue too.
Director of the Animal Behavior Clinic, Nicholas Dodman says:
“Male and female, both cats can show clingy behavior; however, if the issue is not addressed in time, the chronic clinginess of cat can lead to full-blown separation anxiety. She/he can feel stressed out that will not only keep you nagging but will also disturb their quality of life.”
You need to find out the reasons so that symptoms can be fixed regarding your cat’s obsessed behavior, called clinginess.
How to tell if your cat is Clingy:
Cats are independent animals and are less-clinging than dogs. However, most of the time, cats can go overfriendly, or we would say, fanatical for the presence of their favorite human, mostly owner.
At this time, before going for any sort of cures, you need to find out if the cat is really clingy or just friendly. There is a difference between clingy and loving behavior of cats.
Examples:
- My cat is lying on me all of a sudden – this is a clingy cat sign.
- My cat rubs herself with my foot when she in hungry – This is not a clingy cat symptom.
Friendly VS Clingy Cat Differences:
- Friendly Cat: Your cat doesn’t lick you too much.
Clingy Cat: Your cat licks you all the time, whenever she finds a chance
- Friendly Cat: Your cat doesn’t follow you at various places.
Clingy Cat: Your cat tries to follow you most probably everywhere you go and starts scratching the door if you are in another room; for example, using the bathroom.
- Friendly Cat: Your cat plays around the room when you are working on computers or reading something.
Clingy Cat: The cat tries to seek attention by putting herself on the keyboard, laptop, book, or whatever you are using to get your attention.
- Friendly Cat: Your cat doesn’t like staring your face and simply changes the direction of her eyes when you stare at her.
Clingy Cat: Your cat keeps staring at you, no matter what.
Ans: It could be, if you are pregnant or else, some change has occurred in your cat’s life, like they have grown to over-age or something in their surrounding has changed.
- Friendly Cat: Your cat comes and rubs her body with yours only when she is hungry or has a call of nature.
Clingy Cat: Your cat takes every chance to get a physical touch and loves rubbing her body with your legs, feet, and hands.
- Friendly Cat: Your cat doesn’t show different eating behavior.
Clingy Cat: Your cat doesn’t eat food unless you are around.
- Friendly Cat: She loves to sleep in her own space.
Clingy Cat: She treats your mattress, pillow, and body like her bed.
- Friendly Cat: She doesn’t get scared if you are not around.
Clingy Cat: Gets too much scare and clings with your feet due to being frightened all the time.
- Friendly Cat: She loves that you rub her but just for some time.
Clingy Cat: She is never satisfied with your rubs and love.
- Friendly Cat: She doesn’t get scared easily.
Clingy Cat: She gets scared of strangers, fellow animals, even hens, and kittens.
Clingy Cat:
A possessive cat wants you to be around every time, whereas a friendly cat would demand your attention only when she needs something.
Ans: She is suffering from clingy cat behavior problem. In this, cat’s become overly needy.
If you find all ten signs in your pet, you need to move towards curing the issue:
Why is my cat so clingy:
Dealing with such a cat requires you to find out if there are some respective causes behind her overly loved behavior. Does it happen due to your way of treating making her so? Find out!
- You let your cat jump on you, and now she is habitual to do so.
- You are always there to treat your cat with belly rubs and back rubs.
- You haven’t marked any territory and let your cat follow you around by keeping doors open.
- Whenever your cat comes on your lap even when you are working, you start treating her with love instead of shushing away.
If you do these, it is your fault that your cat is now fanatically demanding, AKA clingy.
However, if that’s not the case and you have treated your cat with boundaries and manners, reasons, why your cat is grabby, can be:
- Cats were separated from their mothers at an early age, such as clingy cat new babies. However, if your mature cat is showing the same thing, she may have lost her baby.
- A cat baby can show obsessive behavior even when mature if she was detached from her littermates too early.
- You have changed your apartment or place of living, and your cat is unable to get used to her new home.
- Recently, you have gone too much busy and doesn’t cater to your cat with some attention as you used to in the past.
- Loss of the loved one, such as their loving owner or parting from littermates and parents.
How to stop cat from being clingy – Some OTC (Over the Counter) Natural Cures:
Do not see the vet or doctor, at the early stages of clingy behavior in cats. Try to bring some changes in your attitude and the way you treat her. It can help your cat against separation anxiety as well as against developing chronic possessive behavior.
My Cat Is Super Clingy – addressing the issue:
Stop reacting to every demand:
Cats can be stubborn and determined to seek your attention, and even if you love her such attitude, still, to keep her from chronic symptoms of the problem, you need to be a little head-strong and stop reacting to whatever she asks for.
- Simply remove them from your keyboard, laptop, or book when reading.
- Keep doing so, even if she jumps again and again – remain consistent!
- Reward them when they accept your triumph and don’t jump on you anymore. (rewards should be in the form of a toy instead of tapping or rubbing her.
Give her the cold shoulder:
Your cat, whenever it feels isolated, would do every single thing to have you around. If you are trying to get some privacy by keeping her out of your room, keep doing so. It is an excellent natural cure for treating such cats. She would even scratch the door; however, remember the cat’s mental health and your satisfactory bond with your pet is more important than a door.
- Ignore if she scratches the door.
- Remain consistent; the clever cats would definitely understand it as a shame to scratch a door that won’t open.
Ans: No, you can attach needy cat issue with breed. Any cat can be clingy however female flines are loving and love cuddling in owners’ laps.
Lessen Your Attention from Her:
You love patting your cats’ back, rubbing her head, and caressing her belly, but by doing it continuously, you are simply spoiling her and her habits. The same goes for male cats. You need to go a little strict with yourself, not just with the cats.
- Do not pat her back for every mew.
- Do not caress her fur for every lick.
- Attend them when it’s the time, not when the cat asks for.
Minus You from Her Most Routine:
We know your heart missed a beat here as your cat loves you but that’s okay:
To cure this behavior and keep it from getting worse, you will have to make her independent.
- Bring toys for her.
- Let her have independent meals.
- Bring changes in the environment to kill her boredom.
See a Vet:
As a last option, if you see no changes in your cat’s clingy behavior and she keeps on showing signs, she is maybe at stake of a severe outbreak of depression. In this situation, see a Specialist Veterinary, without wasting a second. Make sure:
- The doctor has a great legacy in treating such cats.
- He/she does not cost much.
- He/she has a good reputation.
Bottom Line:
In the end, you need to get yourself free from all the myths and rumors regarding your cat’s obsessive clinging behavior. Such as most of the time, people think that cat is getting clingy due to pregnancy, nurturing, periods, ailment, gender, or specific breed. Well, this is wrong.
We have no scientific shreds of evidence regarding specific breeds or genders to show grasping behavior. A cat can be demanding due to any reason at any stage of its life. The cure is possible, and if you start early, it will take less time, fewer efforts, and even less money to help your clingy cat.