Having a cat at home is something charming and kind at the same time. They are sweet, lovable, jolly, and adventurous. A cat can add extra joy to your home and family. They can turn your most boring day into an exciting one. After spending hours at work, the love of a cat can calm you down.
But a cat doesn’t always behave the same. They can also be bothering. Sometimes their behaviors make us think, why is my cat so needy? And that thought doesn’t come as usual. Some changes in your cat’s behavior make you think that way. Such as, wanting to have some extra attention, not leaving you for a second, and getting very clingy all the time. And a clingy cat can make you frustrated with its behavior.
There are so many reasons that can cause this kind of behavior. But to be specific, there are only a few things that can make your cats needy. It can be the previous experience, for a long time abandonment, unstable emotion, and many more.
So stick to this write up to know some more reason that’s making your cat needy.
But before that, you must figure out if your cat is demanding or needy? Because these two have a whole lot of differences.
Demanding Or Needy?
Whether your cat is needy or demanding, both of the behavior can bother you. But the reason you need to know about the differences is to make sure you are treating your cat fairly. Because both of these behaviors are different from one another.
A demanding cat usually behaves over-confidently where a needy cat behaves nervously. A demanding cat is the one who always feels secure. They tend to disturb you when you are working or doing something important. They tend to destroy things around the house. They yell whenever they need something. They never want to be disciplined at all, no matter how much you try. They will paw or yell at you for your attention.
On the other hand, a needy cat seems insecure. They will abide by what you say to them. They will stay with you all day without even disturbing your work. You can work keeping them in your lap. They lack self-esteem. Sometimes they seem bored. But the best thing is, a needy cat will never manipulate you in any means.
Now it’s your call to make. What do you think now? Is your cat needy or demanding?
If you think you have a needy cat, let’s find out why that happens.
What’s the Reason My Cat Is So Needy?
- The Environment Is Not Too Comfortable
We all want to be safe. Wherever we go, we ensure the safety of ourselves and our family. And this thing started when we were kids. We used to roam around the house or our neighborhood, holding mom’s hand. Maybe someone from the family. But we never leave their accompany out of fear. Even when we go somewhere, and we don’t know any of the people living there makes us leave that place as early as possible. Because unknown people bring discomfort sometimes.
And the same thing can happen when you adopt a cat. After adopting a cat when you bring him home, the cat may not feel the environment safe. As it only knows you, it will not leave you for a second to breathe. And that can make you out of your mind. And that’s when you ask yourself, “why are cats so annoying?” But it can be that new environment that causes this behavior, making your cat demanding attention from you. Sometimes the change of smell or the furniture that has been shuffled can also create discomfort for your cat.
So before you make any judgement and decision about your needy cat, you must ensure a comfortable environment where the cat will feel safe with every other member of your family. In this case, a bit of introduction with everyone can be a big help for the cat. If you already have cats in your house, let them be together. Don’t let the cat think that you are the only person who loves him.
- Having Some Health and Anxiety Issues
What do we do when we get sick? We seek for love and care. Right? Care is the only thing that can cure half of our illness. Your mom takes care of you. Maybe your dad. It can be your wife, sister or even your grandparents. Someone you love. They make sure you are in a completely comfortable state. Have you ever been in a situation when nothing goes like that? In a situation where you need to handle everything by yourself. I hope not.
But for a cat, that’s pretty normal. Most of the time, we stay out of home for our work. We come back at night with a tiring body and mind. Maybe it’s not possible all the time to check your cat’s state of behavior.
But when your cat is clingy all day that is obviously because he wants some extra love and care. So whenever your cat is needy, make sure you check his health. Maybe he is looking for your attention. Maybe he is not feeling well. And you know when you get sick, how much attention one needs to get over the situation. Same with a cat.
And not getting the love your cat wants, can cause anxiety. That’s when your cat will try to always be with you wanting you to hug him or a bit of extra care.
- A Feel of Abandonment
The cat that has been taken away from its mother right after his birth ( before 8 months) suffers from separation anxiety. Not being able to create a bond with his mother makes him clingy, like a newborn baby, with someone he has been staying. If it’s you, you will see the cat will always expect something more from you. And most times not being able to create a bond at an early age, they can not adjust with people comfortably. And thus they create a sense that.
So if your cat has a past like this, it’s very natural to behave needy and clingy. And to overcome the situation, let them live with other cats from an early age. Living among his own species from that early stage of Abandonment can revive what was lost.
- The Cat Loves You
Some cats are cuddly by nature. It’s their normal behavior if they seem needy. But actually, they love you. Sometimes cats do stuff that may seem clingy, but they do that out of love. That behavior can also come from your love and affection. We do love our cats that can make them trust us.
When your pet trusts you, they never want you to leave, and that is what makes them love you more out of separation anxiety. That’s why you always find your cat under your blanket and on your reading table when you are reading or working. Even they tend to eat when you are feeding them. These extra attachments of your cat may seem cozy sometimes.
But don’t forget that that coziness gave you relief after a long tiring day. You can not deny the unconditional love of your cat for you.
- Fear of leaving
We tend to love those people who we think will leave us. So we try to keep them in our life by loving them more than ever, more than anyone else has ever done. And this kind of insecurities are also felt by a cat and which is quite normal for a cat who was never loved before. Maybe the cat had a tough experience of being abused. And all of a sudden when you treat him well, feed him good food and give your time they firmly believe that you only can protect him. So they don’t want to lose you.
You will sometimes notice that your cat is behaving differently when you don’t give him your time and love like before. And at that time the cat wants constant affection. They start behaving clingy out of the fear that maybe you want to leave them. They want to get overly attached. And a too attached cat tries to express their love for you all the time. And that’s what makes them needy.
And all they want is a bit of reassurance that you still love them.
- Lack of Attention
In many cases, your lack of attention towards your cat can encourage this needy behaviour. Maybe you are too busy to notice. But that lack of attention to your changes your cat’s behaviour steadily. And one day all of a sudden you will see your cat is clingy. He is expecting your full attention. The longing for love from you can make the cat needy and cosy. And when that happens, you find your cat roaming around your room, staring at you, waiting outside of your door, sitting at your table, not taking food properly unless you feed him and being nervous.
Though it’s been said that we have nothing to do with this behavior, but we can not just completely deny the fact that we sometimes are responsible for our pet’s change of behaviors.
How Can You Solve Your Needy Cat Behavior?
Some people still love that needy behaviour of their cats. They love that extra affection and attachment. But most people want to get rid of that behaviour. They want to find a way out because that behaviour seems to bother them. And if you are like most people, let us assure you that it’s possible to get rid of those behaviours.
- There are so many reasons that accelerate this kind of needy behavior of your cat. So to treat them accordingly, you need to understand why my cat is so needy all of a sudden. Among all the options described above, you may find one in your cats. Maybe the Abandonment caused this behavior. Maybe the environment or any traumatic experience before you adopted. But whatever that reason is, you need to be specific in this matter. Otherwise, you won’t be able to make your cat behave properly. You can’t have a perfect solution unless you identify the problem.
- Try to set up a place near your room for keeping your cat so that you can always keep an eye on him.
- Make your cat more socially engaged. Take him for a walk in the park sometimes. You can also take him to any social gathering where there will be a lot of people. Arranging a kitty party at your house inviting other neighborhood pet cats can be a very approach to make your cat adjustable with the new environment and people.
- Try to see a veterinarian monthly for a general health check-up.
- Your consistent behavior is also important for your cat. When your cat behaves needy try to stick to the same reaction. If anything unwanted happens, try to ignore him. And to distract him from being needy, you can give something to play with. There are a lot of cat PlayStations you can buy in this regard.
- Sometimes treat him with something he loves. Find out what makes him happy. And try to do that more often.
Conclusion:
In this article, we tried to answer the most common question that we get from cat owners-why is my cat so needy? After doing a lot of research and understanding cats behaviour, we saw that there is no single specific reason for a cat to be needy. There are several reasons, and any one of those can be the reason for your cat’s clingy behaviour. So we compiled the most common causes so that you can understand in a better way.
We also tried to suggest some way out of this problem. Hope, it will help you to treat your cat’s behaviour kindly and adequately.