Needy rescue cat wants to be petted for hours

[Naranjo]

I adopted a 4 year old cat 2 weeks ago. She was in the rescue for a month (came from a loving home with 3 other cats) and was very shy and nervous in the rescue.

Spent 1 week in hiding, made it to my lap after that.

Since then her neediness has been exhausting. I pet her for 20 minutes in the morning. I work from home so make it clear I won't engage with her while at the desk - she pushes her luck with this, around my ankles, stretching up at my knee, appearing on table behind me and miaows a lot but it's do-able. I take a 10 minute break every couple of hours and get on the couch to pet her - she knows that this is the sign I will pet her and comes running over.

It's the evening that's the problem - she wants to be petted for literally hours, however long I do it it's never enough. She lies on my chest and wants to put her face to mine and be cuddled like a baby. sometimes she will move on to my lap but as soon as i pick up an ipad or phone she is back on my chest and wanting me to gaze at her. She will take quick breaks to eat or use the litter but will hurry back. If I get up for any reason she yowls the house down. It only ends when I go to bed (I don't allow her upstairs in the evening).

Does the neediness die down? I'm not massively into watching TV and it's the only thing I can do when she's on me. I'm glad she's happy, but I'd like to have a bit more of a varied evening than telling her what a good girl she is and petting her! She doesn't play with toys with me, it's always the cuddling she wants. Getting another cat to keep her company isn't an option. She's a shorthair crossbreed but I think might have a bit of Burmese or something in her, she is very vocal in general.

@JudyGemstone our stable cat is a ginger girl
I nearly lost a limb taking this photo

MaybeHeIsMyCat.
Oh the look on his face is adorable. I would love a cat like that.
Sorry, I can imagine it is tiring all the time.
My cat just walks past me with disdain, totally ignores me.
I'm jealous really.
😻

I have a rescue from a multiple cat house. He adores me but also adores his now one year old "sister" who I bought because I couldn't cope with his neediness. My and his life is now practically perfect now she's joined us. It's honestly far far easier with two who love each other

Do you have a microwave? If so, perhaps a wheatbag or ricebag under a blanket could work instead of a hot water bottle.

[quote MaybeHeIsMyCat]@Sparklingbrook this was about a week after I adopted him. My first cat so I prepared all the hiding spots etc
My cat "hello. You my human? Ok then" and sat on me within 10 minutes
Me [/quote]
OMG I love this! Your cat recognised you!

OP - no advice but it does sound exhausting.

Narango.
Haha point taken 😻. We can swap cats if you like, he will NEVER bother you at all, doesn't ever miaow, is quiet too.Free to a good home😁

@awesomekilick

I have a rescue from a multiple cat house. He adores me but also adores his now one year old "sister" who I bought because I couldn't cope with his neediness. My and his life is now practically perfect now she's joined us. It's honestly far far easier with two who love each other

Apparently the rescue decided to separate her from her previous housemates (one of which was her brother) as they weren't bonded. So not sure another cat is the answer (and am not willing to experiment to find out really).

@Yoyokitten

Narango. Haha point taken 😻. We can swap cats if you like, he will NEVER bother you at all, doesn't ever miaow, is quiet too.Free to a good home😁

Ah that's hard as well, to have a cat not make enough contact.

@Miaowse

Do you have a microwave? If so, perhaps a wheatbag or ricebag under a blanket could work instead of a hot water bottle.

Great idea. Will be doing some shopping tomorrow!

I know a lot of people answer on threads like this get another cat but I'm never sold on that solution anyway
It could just as easily go wrong as it could go right and I'm never convinced that that's what a cat really wants

[quote MaybeHeIsMyCat]@JudyGemstone our stable cat is a ginger girl
I nearly lost a limb taking this photo [/quote]
Beautiful cat!

Mine would never ever want another cat because I am HIS human. However he has found a friend sort of mutual tolerance who he brings home so that's helped a lot
He spends his time shouting at his mate now for doing things that are WRONG and trailing after him on cat adventures

I have a clingy cat and it's so bloody tiring at times. I was unwell a few weeks ago and shut her out of my bedroom because she was lying on me and made me feel worse. Did she not just sit there for over an hour meowing to be let back in. The dedication of her sitting there for more than 60 minutes!!!

She's not always so bad but she's getting old now and it's getting worse! You have my sympathies.

Also Amazon sell toys - search puppy toys with heartbeat, they have a realistic heartbeat and a heating pack in them

https://www.amazon.co.uk/All-Paws-AFP-Little-Buddy/dp/B01HZB2950/ref=ascdfB01HZB2950/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=343324484327&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=3410652433523017923&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1007000&hvtargid=pla-569817768196&psc=1

My cat is quite needy. She sleeps on my pillow beside me, sits on my desk beside me all day and is on my knee now.

She doesn’t like anyone else- just me!

I do quite like it though! She cries a lot of she doesn’t get what she wants, which is quite annoying at 5am when she wants to play.

But that’s what I signed up for! Dogs are much worse

Narango.
Sorry, didn't mean to come across as snarky, I just couldn't believe it would be a problem.
I hope she settles soon for you

I also think it is so sad her last owners gave her away. She is probably still very upset about being in the shelter.

I went on holiday a couple of years and put my cat in a cattery - she hated it, became very ill and was incredibly clingy for weeks after (even more than normal!).

Maybe this poor cat is still reacting to all that upset.

I have two opposites. I adopted them from a pet rescue. They came from the same house (crazy cat lady with approx. 30 cats) but we don't know if they're related. One is a total lap cat and the other is quite nervous and aloof. Lap cat is like a little baby. He'd sit in your lap 24/7 if you let him. Although he also likes going out to explore the neighbourhood. Nervous cat doesn't like being picked up or handled. However, she's a lot more relaxed than she was and will sit on one end of the sofa if I'm at the other end. Occasionally she'll nap beside me, but never on my lap. If she's feeling especially affectionate, she'll hop up beside me on the arm of the sofa and rub her head against mine and purr loudly. The first time she did it (we had her about two years at this point), my heart just melted. She rarely goes outside in winter. I don't think she likes the cold. The cats have a bit of a love hate relationship with each other. Right now they're curled up together, having a nap. But at other times they hiss and snarl and lash out at each other.

To cut a long story short, the lap cat is less needy than he was when we first got him. The nervous cat is less nervous than when we first got her. But their basic personalities haven't changed. And a second cat might make things better for you. Or worse, if they don't get along.

It takes months for a new cat to settle. My latest rescue wouldn’t come downstairs for ages but now he thinks he owns the place. I’ve now ended up with two cats who both think I am THEIR human and they do tiff over who gets to sit closest to me I try to split my time evenly!

She’ll settle down I’m sure. Agree with PP about making sure she’s got soft, warm, safe places to curl up

As soon as I started to read your post I was wondering if your cat had some Burmese in them. I have two gorgeous rescue cats who are exactly the same and have some Burmese in them, it’s very typical behaviour for this breed. They are very loving, adore company and very vocal. I adore mine but I know what you mean about the neediness. One of mine absolutely loves to snuggle up on my chest whenever I’m sitting down too and follows me around the house.

Very normal I think. Our rescue cat was very needy and followed us everywhere for the first few weeks, demanding to be petted. Then she went all aloof on us for a few weeks, and eventually settled into a happy medium!

Mine is like this and it’s rather annoying. Basically if you sit down, she has to be on you. Standing up she cries until you pick her up. When I’m working she’ll try and climb on my shoulders and lick my head!

She does like furry throws - I’d recommend that next to you in the sofa. Otherwise I just suck it up - I don’t always give her my direct attention but she just sits on me while I watch tv or play on my phone. She’s cute!

Mine wanted to sleep wrapped around my head. The cats were evicted to the kitchen overnight.

My cat is like this after I’ve been away a couple of days- needs to be on my lap even when I’m eating my dinner. But she settles back into her routine after a day or so. Maybe she thinks I go because I don’t think she loves me!

When I rescued my first cat the woman told me that cats doing this are demonstrating their superiority over you, and that the way to deal with it is to refuse to have her on you when it's her choice, and to pick her up when it's your choice. It took about two weeks to stop my cat doing what yours does. She was the friendliest cat in the world, and became very easy to live with.