Demanding cat - to want some time to myself??

[Nymeria6]

This is going to sound ridiculous but here goes.

Me and DP have a 14 month old cat. I have completely babied her which I will admit. She sleeps on my bed with me and she is lavished with attention from us both.

However it's now getting too much. She follows us around the house meowing at us constantly, when we are watching TV she sits staring at us like every single day, all day. She freaks out when we close a door if we need the loo or I'm on a work call for example.

She has everything she could possibly want. I walk her in the garden (she's house cat) every time she wants to go out. She's entertained by us etc.

I just want some time to myself after work and I've cleaned up. She has poo DP harassed when he sits on the couch after 12 hour shifts.

She's neutered. Vaccinated. Eating well etc.

What do I do? I'm giving up watching a film atm. She's eyeballing me...

Have probably owned cats in total for longer than you've been alive. But you're the one who takes their cat out into the garden on a lead... You have trained her to be as she is. So be it. Enjoy.

Of course they can, it's just people don't want them to fit various reasons.

That's fine to an extent, but if you insist in keeping a cat alone and shut inside for its entire life, you need to be prepared to spend extra time and/or money on keeping your cat happy.

All cats, regardless of breed of ever humans have decided for them, are hunters and explorers. It's not natural for cats to spend their lives shut up alone in a house with just humans for company.

So, if you do choose to buy an "indoor only" breed you need to get prepared to put in extra work to keep your cat happy and fulfilled as it has no way of fulfilling its natural instincts otherwise.

My cat is the blue bsh who came from a local rescue just over a year ago whilst the ginger male is my ndn's cat whose been a regular visitor ever since I had to look after him when my ndn's were flooded. He often sleeps over. My little one weighs just under 4kg and is a lot smaller than the male. She took my spare room over in the summer as it was cool in there and she has a window sill to bird watch.

I have a large garden and she's happy running about when I'm outside, she likes to sit on my lap, often is on my bed when I wake up. I don't think she's overly demanding. Yours probably would be happy with a companion and if you do please get one from a small local rescue

So she doesn’t sleep? 🤔

normal catnip has no effect on mine but she goes mental for valerian catnip! Try that

I have the door open without her being on a lead while I'm standing in the garden try to encourage her to come out and she doesn't. I will be getting the garden sorted next year

Yes course. I was being dramatic for that example.

Both beautiful x

I can't believe some of the comments on here! She doesn't look overweight at all, my boys are 7kg and no complaints from the vet.
My boys love balls, the breeder described the breed as quite dog like. They actually calmed down a lot once they were approaching 3 years old. Ones currently flat out in front of the radiator and the other sat next to me on the sofa.
Look for a BSH group on Facebook if you have it, loads of tips etc on there. Also great ideas for catios as most BSH are indoor only.

I have two BSH and they cant cat.

I have only ever heard that BSH are reserved and liking their own space, so the fact that you have a little soppy madam is a blessing.

Regarding letting her out and about, I would recommend giving it a go when you can watch her. I used to walk my cat round the garden with the lead on, but now they have supervised garden time and get called in with food. Always make sure you let her out before she is fed so she is hungry enough to run back. Being on a lead doesnt have quite the same freedom as wandering round the garden and investigating.

I understand that she is timid but having you there watching her may just be enough. I totally get the worry about how clumsy and uncatlike they are. I do wonder about how my girls have managed to survive being indoor cats even.

Also, can I just say that getting another cat is not always the solution. My baby girl who very much has only child syndrome does not get on well with the new cat. Even though we took all the time in the world introducing them properly. She is very much a little madam.

It may work but it may not. Just giving you the other side.

Ignore @mauveskies they know nothing and incapable of reading obviously. My Ragdoll is 6kg and he's a perfect weight for his breed.
Must be hard reading some of these comments when it's like insulting your child/parenting.

You obviously care very much for your cat and I hope you find a solution that works for you both.

Have you tried Valerian? I have valerian tea anyway, but I give the little envelopes the teabags come in to my cat and he goes crazy over it.

She's bored. Cats need freedom to roam outside.

I would never keep a house cat

You need to realise that if you keep a cat in the house, then you are it's whole world, they have nothing else. Cats get bored easily.

That is so cute! I’ve genuinely never heard or seen this, but all my family and social circle are dog lovers, I actually don’t know anyone who has a cat!

I also knew from your description that she would be a BSH. I have one that's fawn coloured and I got her from a rescue shelter. They told me before I had her that they are a very demanding breed who are happiest if they know where you are. She's not a lap cat but will sit quite near me.
If I leave the room for more than ten minutes, she comes looking for me whilst 'shouting' loudly.
Rescue centre said they suspected she was a house cat previously, beautiful looking cat who escaped and got totally lost outside on moorland. Survived but in a bad way physically.
I have trained her sleep in her box in the kitchen at night. She has the run of the house when I am working.
Mine also will do the staring, I think she's telepathically trying to say "Give me more fooood..." I suspect it's part of their nature so don't let it get to you.
They're beautiful looking cats, naturally quite sturdy and as the vet told me can weigh up to 5.5 kilos.
I agree that they're not the brightest of cats but very sweet natured.

Fab thanks so much for the tip. She seems alot more calm today. She's been eyeballing the window because it's foggy out. She's now sitting on top of my make up box watching me work away.

@Reallyreallyborednow rescues give kittens in pairs as then they only need to find half the homes

Utter bollocks and the sort of crap that can only be spouted by people who have never worked in a rescue. Rescues home small kittens in pairs as they become terribly unhappy and distressed when removed from their siblings and their mother, and when they are small they need the comfort and companionship of siblings/mother and ideally a kitten playmate.

We would actually home kittens more easily if we were prepared to home the small ones singly, as there is a significant demand for just that, but we don't feel able to sacrifice the happiness of the kitten in order to just get it out of the door more quickly.

Once they get past around 4 months then they can cope alone, so they can be homed singly.

And with adult cats, some cats really love the company of other cats and would be unhappy without it, some aren't bothered either way, and some really dislike other cats and want to be an only.

OP, I don't know the answer to your problem. Yes, another cat might solve the problem, but it also might not. I think you're just going to have to ignore the pestering.

It’s a cat.
Ignore it when you don’t want to engage.

Ignore it at your peril! 😱

Cats have a longer memory than elephants, and they also have claws.

I have two indoor cats. Just regular moggies nothing special but in Australia where I live best cat owning practice for the environment is to keep cats indoors. They decimate native wildlife. One of my cats is also pure white and vet strongly advised keeping her inside as she will develop skin cancer on her pink ears and nose otherwise. Indoor cats also live longer as they don’t get hit by cars. So OP you are not torturing your cat by keeping her indoors. I think mine are probably happier as they are together but they are siblings. Introducing another cat doesn’t always go well.

I tried lots of toys and different things and my cats weren’t that interested but two recent purchases they absolutely love. One is a cat tree so they can sleep or hang out nice and high. The other is a tunnel. They are 8 years old so quite mature but they race through that tunnel a hundred times a day, hide in it and jump out at each other, chase the little strings that dangle inside it, they absolutely love it. It was really cheap, it’s an expanding one that you can put away but we never do as they are always in it.