My cat is very clingy

by Tommy King
(Arab, AL U. S.)

I have a middle aged Female cat that I've raised from the age of 3 days old, her mother died giving birth to her next Litter Mate.


I have notice that she wants to be around me constantly plus she loves to bump and rub her head on my arms and body when we lay down to take a nap or to go to sleep together, she'll start out laying curled up in my right arm, then she will move around the bed, but she is never more than a foot or 2 from me at any time, like right now while I'm typing this question she is sitting on my desk about 10 inches from me with her back to me and is grooming herself, I'm just curious what all this passiveness means, she is even jealous of my wife cause when she is sleeping with me and my wife lays down she will get between use and if my wife even just rolls over in my direction Peaches(cats name) will start kneading my wife in an rather tender part of the upper human womans body, so you can just guess what happens then and it insant Peaches who wins, my wife will run her out of the bed room, the reason I sleep with her is I have 85% hearing loss in both ears and without my hearing aids I am literally deaf and can not even hear a gun(.38 cal)fired in the next room and have it wake me up.

So Peaches is my emergency notification means when I am sleeping, my question is since I have raised her from such an early age does this make a difference in her bonding with me, as you see we have 3 other cats and they like to be around me, cause I am Disabled and don't work so I'm home all the time, but they don't act any where as possive as Peaches?


Reply
Hi
well there could be two possible reasons for her behavior. It could be that she senses your disability and so feels protective of you. Some cats are like this and can be a bit like a guide dog to a blind person.

However the more likely possibility is that yes because she has been with you the longest and you raised her that she has bonded with your more than anyone else. the trouble it when the bond becomes too dependent it is not healthy for the cat. they loose their independence and confidence and when things change i.e. when you go on holiday away from them they can suffer from anxiety separation. see this page for more on this
https://www.our-happy-cat.com/cat-social-behavior.html

all the best Kate

Comments for My cat is very clingy

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Calico cat
by: Amy

My 6year old calico is so clingy, I've come to the conclusion she's either retarded, a "Pain-In-My-Ass," or BOTH!!! Take your pick!
Clingy since day one!
by: Loki

Early last year my dad picked up a max 2 week old kitten in his garage abandoned, I jumped in and bottle fed her till she threw the bottle away at 12 weeks old. She was extremely clingy and we thought it was because we are all she could ever remember.We found out she is a Birman and named her Mia. This year Mia gave birth to her own and she was an awesome mother! Unlike other cats she took her chicken pieces she got given to her babies to eat. She favored one particular baby and I took him and name him Loki. Since Loki was 6 weeks old he would climb up our legs and claw his way on the bed and sleep on our faces. He would attack anyone picking up a cellphone to type or simply put his body infront of the screen,In the middle of the night when one sits on the toilet he will jump up and curl in your arms until you are finished, make his way back to bed and curl in our arms. He doesn't mind doing his own thing and he never complains, he will grab your hand at night and that is how he will sleep with a sense of touch. Loki must be held even while ironing and we don't understand why he does it. He will knock my lighter off the table to avoid me going outside to smoke and he never targets anything to knock off except the lighter. We are too scared to go away due to his clingy nature, they say between Birmans and Ragdolls they are lapcats, Loki is 7 months old and very hairy and heavy to hold him non stop in an ironing pile. He gets to fetch rope and plays soccer, chews bark with the puppy and they chase each other all day. Just not sure why he wants non stop human contact when we are at home. Is he just clingy out of nature or is he bossy from 6 weeks old to this day?

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