Why did the cat suddenly become so affectionate?

Sudden changes in behavior are always warning signs in cats. If your cat suddenly becomes affectionate, you may not mind at first. Most likely, it will be pleasant to receive emotional affection from your cat. However, there is a reason for this change in your feline's personality.

Anxiety may cause your cat to be more affectionate than usual. For example, he may be afraid of a new arrival (pet, child or partner) in the house and feel insecure. The loud noise might startle your cat, or she might realize she's unwell and get scared. Pregnant cats and cats in heat are affectionate due to fluctuations in their hormones.

Perhaps your pet requires attention because cats know how to manipulate people. Showing affection can be a way to get a tasty treat or even more petting. If your cat's needy behavior continues, you need to understand why.

My cat has become very affectionate

Cats have a reputation for being indifferent to their owners, but this is just a myth. Cats form complex bonds with people, but they are less likely to show affection than we are.

According to Behavioral Processes, cats often take behavioral cues from their owners. A neurotic, nervous owner will lead to a cat with the same temperament.

You need to evaluate whether your cat is truly affectionate. Some owners mistake a cat's affection for neediness. Your cat may simply be showing rare affection or gratitude. Signs of an affectionate cat:

Accompanies you around the house
Sits on your lap so you can't move
Grabs clothing and claws to maintain grip
Constantly circling and rubbing against legs
Preventing you from performing tasks such as lying on your computer keyboard
Verbalizing and worrying when you don't respond immediately
Crying, hissing and destructive behavior when you leave the room.

An occasional meow or light headbutt from your cat is normal. If you forget to eat or play, you will also be reminded.

Banal reasons why a cat is lethargic

To begin with, let’s agree that the reasons why a cat has become lethargic can be quite banal. So, the animal will look apathetic in the heat

when the air temperature outside the window and in the room is above +30 degrees.
A pet that is tired or has eaten a hearty meal
.
And there are simply phlegmatic cats
, which almost always look too calm and sleepy.
The following picture is also not uncommon: an old cat constantly sleeps and is lethargic. And it’s not at all necessary that the pet is in pain, it’s just that there is not enough strength left for cheerfulness
, no matter how sad it may be.

Cats often behave very calmly and even lethargically after estrus.

, more precisely, after mating, if there is a result of successful mating with a cat in the form of pregnancy. During the first 3-4 weeks, the expectant mother cat sleeps a lot and eats little (or a lot), which should not cause much concern to the owner.

In addition, medications prescribed by a veterinarian

(for example, the same antihistamines or sedatives).
Also, for 1-2 days the animal is unusually calm and inactive after anesthesia
, while the drugs used for anesthesia are removed from the body.

What is the normal level of affection in cats?

Some cats like to show their owners love. Others prefer not to show affection. They fear it will weaken their claims to dominance or territory.

If your cat never comes close to you, that's bad; it may be afraid of you. Your cat will live in constant worry. As Veterinary Clinics of North America explains, this can lead to health and behavioral problems.

However, a cat refusing to leave you is also problematic. This can be physically dangerous as cats may get underfoot. Your cat may also develop separation anxiety. This will result in your cat damaging your home in some way when you leave the house.

A normal, happy cat will not be clingy or indifferent. The cat will seek attention when it wants it. Most often these will be:

First thing I do in the morning
When you return home from work
When is the scheduled game time?

If your cat is affectionate during this time, you have a healthy relationship. Everything that more or less needs to be controlled.

Physiological changes and appetite

An insatiable appetite in kittens and young cats is considered normal. A growing body requires food and this is absolutely normal. Typically, kittens have several growth phases during which their appetite increases rapidly. This occurs at approximately 3, 6 and 9 months. Such changes are usually short-term and last no more than two weeks, after which the appetite returns to normal.

If a cat suddenly begins to eat a lot during the cold season, this indicates that the animal is constantly freezing. This phenomenon is observed in thin cats and young animals that have only recently stopped growing and have not yet gained enough subcutaneous fat to protect them from frost. You can help an animal during the cold season with the help of simple improvised means - pillows, blankets and heaters. It is necessary to equip the cat with a special warm place in which it would be safe and not freeze. For this purpose, special beds, baskets and houses for cats, designed for cold climates, are suitable.

We recommend the article: What to do if a cat has lichen?

Quite often, an increase in appetite is observed when moving to places with a different climate, more humid or cold. Until the animal’s body adapts to the changed weather conditions, the pet will constantly experience hunger. This is an absolutely natural reaction that should not cause concern to owners.

Reasons for an affectionate cat

Many people believe that affectionate cats are simply spoiled or demanding. They were given too much attention as children and were too used to living their own way. They see themselves as in control.

This is unlikely. There is usually an explanation for the cat suddenly becoming affectionate. Cats become affectionate because:

He requires more attention than you provide
He is nervous, anxious and seeks reassurance
He has an insecure attachment to you
She's in heat or pregnant
Feels bad

You can determine the reason for your cat's affectionate behavior by observing her. In most cases, you will be able to fix this too.

Cats can have varying degrees of lethargy

Some cats may just be a little lethargic and not as interested in playing or being active as usual. Other cats are moderately lethargic and will not play at all and sleep a lot. Severely lethargic cats do not even want to move and sometimes refuse to lift their head.

Cats are creatures that hide their illnesses for as long as possible. Often cat owners are unaware that the cat has been sick for some time, and when the cat finally shows symptoms of the disease, the disease can progress.

Lethargy can be confusing, especially in older cats. As young, active cats reach old age, they tend to become slower and less active overall due to arthritis, muscle loss, and other normal age-related changes.

Attracting cats' attention

A cat may become more affectionate due to lack of attention. His needy behavior may be a call for more attention and affection. On the other hand, he may feel threatened or relegated to the background. If you've recently added a new pet or person to your home, this is common. In addition to being overly affectionate, signs that your cat needs attention include:

Destructive behavior (knocking a glass off the table)
Urinating outside the toilet
Tears up furniture
Wake you up at night
Hiding your belongings and clothes

In the short term, don't give in to an attention-seeking cat. If a cat learns that a certain behavior causes a reaction, it will repeat it. The only exception is if your cat requires attention for a specific reason. Did you forget to feed him?

Set up a time to meet your cat one-on-one. Play for 20 minutes at least twice a day. If you keep this up, your cat will calm down. He will learn to expect these play sessions and look forward to them every day.

Article Author: Richard Parker I'm Richard, I have experience in all matters related to feline health, behavior, grooming techniques and general pet care. Richard graduated with a degree in journalism in 2008. He is the proud owner of 5 adult cats (all adopted stray breeds), including an older cat who is now 20 years old.

Why does a cat urinate on its owner?

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An interesting question that we come across from time to time in letters from readers. Yes, everyone knows that cats “mark”, that is, they leave urine marks on some things and objects in the house. However, there are cases when a furry pet “marks” its own owner. Receiving such a “gift” is always unpleasant. The smell of cat urine lingers for a long time and is not so easy to eliminate.

What are the reasons? If we analyze our mail, the following thesis runs through the red line: behavioral problems came as if from nowhere, in the midst of complete well-being. Just yesterday the animal behaved absolutely naturally, but today it brought a surprise. But when you begin to unravel the tangle of events back, interesting details are revealed.

First of all, let's repeat one old thought. When you notice certain unusual behavior in your pet, always distinguish between behavioral problems and medical problems. That is, problems caused by the deterioration of the animal’s health. And the surest first practical step is a trip to the veterinarian. It is necessary to confirm or exclude the medical component. There is a disease - it must be cured. Upon recovery, the pet’s behavior will immediately return to normal. If the problem is purely behavioral, you need to move on.

Practice shows that, as a rule, adults and uncastrated (non-sterilized) animals urinate on people. Most often cats, but sometimes cats too. If the veterinarian confirms that your pet is healthy, you need to think carefully and analyze the situation. The most correct explanation is that the animal wants to draw attention to itself, perhaps to “complain” about something. It is possible that the cat is anxious, frightened or worried about something, and is experiencing prolonged stress.

The circumstances of its appearance can be very different. The most common reason is simple and banal: they began to pay less and less attention to yesterday’s favorite. They don’t stroke, they don’t caress, they don’t notice, they push away in every possible way. The behavior of cats rarely deteriorates “just like that”; you can always notice some accompanying signs. For example, the animal has become withdrawn or, conversely, obsessive. It hides or follows the owner's heels, vocalization has changed, it has become much more demanding.

It’s easy to knock a purring pet out of balance. Cats love routine, an established routine. In addition, they become strongly accustomed and attached to certain people. A new family member may appear in the house - an adult or, for example, a newborn child. You can move to a new apartment. Carry out repairs, put up wallpaper, and finally rearrange the furniture in one of the rooms. This is enough for the cat to experience, as young people say, a “break in the pattern” and experience severe stress. A cat lives comfortably exclusively surrounded by familiar and familiar smells. Something has changed - and the mustachioed friend begins to inhabit the territory in a new way, conquer it, and gain a foothold. Urine tags come to the rescue. In rare cases, the owner also gets it - by applying the mark, the cat asserts ownership of him too.

Will castration or sterilization of a pet help if the operation has not yet been performed? In most cases it will help, although adult animals most likely will not give up the learned behavior patterns. But the severity of the problem will certainly lessen. Calming cat synthetic pheromones have proven themselves to be quite effective. They come in the form of a spray or diffuser. In some of the most advanced cases, you need to talk with a veterinarian or animal psychologist. It is possible that the doctor will prescribe sedatives to your pet.

Our other article will tell you how to deal with the smell of cat urine.

Based on materials from: Why a Cat Is Urinating on People & Things. Author: Cheryl-Anne Jenkinson. Source: cuteness.com Photo: unsplash.com

Causes of night meowing

If you start to figure out why a cat meows at night for no reason, it becomes clear that she still has a reason to do this. It could be:

a riot of hormones, which is regularly observed in unsterilized cats and uncastrated cats;
acute pain that our pets may experience, for example, due to an intestinal disorder, or exacerbation of chronic diseases, for example, urolithiasis;
intestinal parasites, whose vital activity is activated at night, which causes serious discomfort and causes severe anxiety in pets;
attracting the attention of the owners in order to demand something forbidden from them - permission to sleep on the bed or some kind of delicacy, in a word - manipulation;
feeling of anxiety - cats have the ability to anticipate certain events that may threaten their serene life, for example, the arrival of guests;
battle for territory - pets show restlessness at night when moving to a new place or even spending the night in another room;
sadness and melancholy, characteristic of little kittens who were separated from their mother and taken to a new home for further residence.

Quite often, old cats and cats that are more than 10-15 years old begin to meow at night. It's hard to believe, but it turns out that elderly pets, just like people, can suffer from Alzheimer's disease, which manifests itself in increased restlessness at night. Unfortunately, it is impossible to cure this disease, but you need to try to smooth out its manifestations as much as possible, providing your old and sick pet with maximum attention during the day.

Gets your attention

In some cases, a furry pet, showing excessive activity, tries to attract the attention of its owner. An intelligent animal, therefore, requires that it be either fed, played with, or shown affection and tenderness towards it.

Many owners, in order to quickly fall asleep again under a warm blanket, try to satisfy the whims of their charge: feed, play, pet. This should not be done: the cat is a very smart and quick-witted creature. If you follow her lead at least once, she will understand that with her nightly antics she can achieve what she wants next time. You won’t be able to simply ignore this behavior of the animal; you should try to correct it.

A few tricks that you can use to wean your cat from excessive nighttime activity:

Before going to bed, you should give your pet a little attention and affection, and play with him.
When playing with a cat, you can use toys that simulate hunting.
It may be necessary to expand the range of toys.
After the game, you should encourage the animal by rewarding it with something tasty.
You can install an automatic feeder. Set its mode so that it opens once or twice a night. In this case, the cat will not have to wake up its owner when it wants to eat.
When the cat becomes more sedate, you need to encourage it with affection and praise.