Cat unhappy when home alone

[Alaimo]

DH and I adopted two cats four years ago, a mum and daughter duo. Unfortunately the mother cat passed away last autumn, so now we have just the daughter. 99% of the time our remaining cat does not seem to miss her mum at all. If anything, the daughter cat seems to have become more happy and alive since her mum passed away.

Except when we leave the house. When we had both cats they seemed to have no problem with us going to work, or going on the occassional weekend away (when we'd get a neighbour to feed them). They didn't love being home alone, but they managed fine. Now that it's just the one cat left she seems really affected when we leave for more than a few hours. When we come home after having been out for the day she'll sprint to the door miaowing, when she used to just be fairly indifferent. Twice now we've been away for a longer priod - once for a weekend and once for a long weekend. On both occassions we've had a cat sitter come around once a day, but nonetheless the cat has made her displeasure known by pooing on the floor, something she has never done before.

We have previously used a house sitting website to find a 'live in' cat sitter when we go on holiday, and we're planning/hoping to increase our use of that. For weekends away we're hoping to find a cat sitter who can come twice a day rather than just once, so that will hopefully help too.

At the same time, we're slowly returning to the office so there will be 2-3 days a week that the cat is home alone from 8-5. Does anyone have any good advice or resources on how to help our cat overcome what seems might be a sudden-ish onset of separation anxiety? Would it help if we slowly build up our absences, e.g. by starting with half days in the office before full days (luckily we have flexible jobs where we can do this)? Any other suggestions?

I'd get another cat asap.

@JorisBonson

I'd get another cat asap.

I have considered this. However, a lot of the time (when we are home) she seems much happier being the only cat, so I'm not sure a 2nd cat would be the best solution?

Feliway plug-in. You could also try leaving out a jumper or other item of your clothing for her to sleep on while you aren't there.

Would it be safe for her to be out during the day if you are at work - do you have a cat flap? Some cats prefer to be outside really. Also, how often do you clean her litter tray out?

@caranations

Feliway plug-in. You could also try leaving out a jumper or other item of your clothing for her to sleep on while you aren't there.

Would it be safe for her to be out during the day if you are at work - do you have a cat flap? Some cats prefer to be outside really. Also, how often do you clean her litter tray out?

She can go out, but it's currently -5 outside most days (not in the UK) and she's refusing to go out because it's too cold...

We scoop the poo out of her trays (she's got 2) daily and then a full clean every 2 weeks. The cat sitter we had at Christmas forgot to clean her tray once or twice so we thought that might cause the pooping on the floor. But then last weekend she did it again even though we had cleaned both trays completely the day before and the (different) cat sitter said she had scooped out the poo on day 1, only to find poo on the floor the next day :(.

But will try the feliway & jumper!

I don't think one visit a day is enough for most young cats - I would go for a morning and evening visit if possible so she gets more company and isn't alone for almost 24h at a time (I say this as a cat sitter).

I would also second leaving some of your clothing out for comfort and using a Feliway plug-in if possible. You can also buy natural calming supplements for cats - things like Zylkene, Valarian and YuCalm could all be worth a look at. You start them a couple of days before you leave and the sitter would have to continue with medication during visits too.

@fairylightsandwaxmelts Perhaps I should have clarified, while she is the daughter cat, she is 11 years old, so not exactly a spring chicken :).

But yes, we will switch to two visits a day and see if that helps. I'm reluctant to switch her to supplements, or at least would prefer to try other options first. I've just ordered Feliway, so will give that a try first.

Leave the radio on. I know, I know, that’s what I did. Also something with your scent on, as in smell, not particularly perfume…like a sock or scarf. I also second Feliway…

Thanks all for your suggestions. DH and I are going away next weekend, leaving on Saturday morning, back Sunday night so a fairly short trip.

We've booked the cat sitter to come Saturday evening and Sunday morning. Feliway should arrive before then so we'll plug that in a day or so before we go. The cat absolutely adores DH, so I'll get him to leave one of his (smelly) t-shirts on the sofa as well.

Will give that a try first, and then perhaps try the radio another time.

I would use the Feliway as soon as it arrives, as it can take a while to build up in the home and in the cats' system.

How did it go @Alaimo?

I’m about to have the same issue (return to work and anxious cat) and I’m interested to see if these things worked?