# Dependent Cat



## rzaleski (Sep 14, 2008)

I have a cat who is very dependent. He always has to be in the same
room as somebody. Also, in the morning he scratches at my bedroom
door at 6:00 AM. If I go out into the living room, he is happy, but
if I go back into the bedroom he will start scratching again. How can
I make my cat less dependent? How can I get him to stop scratching?
I got an "anti-scratch" spray, but it didn't work. Also, if he sleeps
in my room, he will wake me up at 6:00 as well. Any ideas?


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## doodlebug (May 13, 2006)

Wanting to be in the room with his humans is not "very dependent" he's just being a normal cat. Most indoor cats want to be with their humans and follow them around the house unless they're taking a nap. 

When he's scratching the door and you get up a shush him or whatever, he's getting attention, even if it's negative attention. And he'll keep doing it until eventually he gets what he wants. The only way to stop the behavior is to completely ignore it...don't get up, don't yell, don't push him off the bed (if he's in the room)....just roll over put the covers over your head and play dead. It may take a couple weeks for him to get the message, but it works. 

Another thing to know is that cats become active about 45-60 minutes before breakfast time. In the wild they would wake up and start hunting, in your house they wake up and start bothering you. If you feed him as soon as you get up, then he's going to be up and bothering you and hour before you normally get up. Waiting an hour after you get up to feed him, will adjust his wake up time to yours. On work days, I get up, shower, get dressed and then go downstairs and feed the cats. They never bother me to get up before my normal time on work days.


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## furmew (Sep 5, 2008)

Second doodlebug. Also, have you tried the cats on claws to prevent scratching? Or taking a towel to the door so scratching doesn't make noise. (Your cat may just meow, depending on personality.)

As doodlebug said, most cats like to be around other animals or people. It is your cat's personality, and not something you can change. All you can do is modify how it is expressed, and how disruptive it is to you. Cats are like toddlers sometimes, throwing tantrums to get what they want, and the best solution is ignoring them.


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## Dragonfly (Aug 7, 2008)

Personally, I feel honored that my cat wants to spend time with me. They are cats afterall :wink:


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## mstx (Mar 4, 2008)

I trade your scratching for licking at 6am!!! My Izzy is the same way but we just figure she was too young when she was seperated from her mom. I just usually tuck her into bed next to me and she usually falls back to sleep for a couple minutes then goes to bug her dad.


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## melysion (Mar 12, 2007)

Aww ... I'd love to see Izzy tucked in bed ....


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## Dave_L (Jul 31, 2008)

Slasher's been sleeping with me the last few nights. He and Ripper did that when I first brought them home, but after a while they stopped.

Usually he lies next to my lower leg. Last night, when I got in bed, I meowed a couple of times, and he came running, jumped up and found a comfy position inside my arm.


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## canismajor (Mar 9, 2008)

Maybe you could get him a cat buddy to keep him company. It sounds like he's just a social cat and likes to have someone near him a lot. 

My kitties are very dependent too, following me everywhere and making nice little trilling noises to get my attention, but I enjoy it.  They even wait to eat until they have company... they're separated right now due to health issues, and I have to go into one room so my first cat will eat, and then immediately after go into the other room so that my other cat will eat. 

...I'll trade your licking at 6 a.m. for attacking my hand at 3 a.m. because it moved and looked like a fun toy.


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## doodlebug (May 13, 2006)

Dave_L said:


> Slasher's been sleeping with me the last few nights. He and Ripper did that when I first brought them home, but after a while they stopped.
> 
> Usually he lies next to my lower leg. Last night, when I got in bed, I meowed a couple of times, and he came running, jumped up and found a comfy position inside my arm.


You'll find that as the weather cools down, they'll snuggle more and more at night. Maggie was plastered to me last night :lol:


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## seashell (Dec 5, 2003)

> Maggie was plastered to me last night


He he, Margaret Tiddler was plastered to us as well  But she couldn't decide who was the most comfortable mattress, me or Partner. So she kept shifting from one to the other all night, which didn't make for a very good night's sleep!

seashell


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## gunterkat (Aug 19, 2006)

Arianwen's sleep habits change with the seasons, too..It's just starting to get cool enough at night so she wants to snuggle a lot more than in the height of summer.  
When the weather is hot, she snuggles, then moves to the tile floor in the bathroom to cool off, making a restless night for a human.


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