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Welcome Crazy Cat People
So your little kitty seems to be following you everywhere, constantly watching you and you just can’t have two minutes to yourself and now your asking ”Can cats become obsessed with their owners?”
Below I answer your question and we look at some of the reasons why cats may become clingy or ”obsessed”.
As a general rule if a cat shows signs of obsession with its owner this can just mean that the cat loves you and is curious about what you are up to. However if a cat becomes too clingy or the behaviour is destructive in any way, this can be for several reasons such as boredom and anxiety.
So there are reasons why your cat follows you everywhere and why they appear to be head over heels in love with you. There is a lot more to this topic though and there are some ways to tell if your cat just values your time and being around you or if your cat may have issues with attachment and insecurity.
Let’s examine some of these below and let me provide you with some helpful tips on how to deal with cat anxiety.
How to know if your cat loves you?
So before we start wondering what is wrong with our cats due to their behaviour have you for one minute thought that your cat may just actually really genuinely love you?
To your cat, you are the centre of their universe. You looked after them as kittens, while providing for them, you made sure their food was waiting for them when they were hungry.
If you are like me, a crazy cat person then you also spoil your cat with love, treats and you engage in active playtime with your cats.
So after all that love and care why would they not be obsessed with you! A phrase we like to use here in the UK is ”They know where their bread is buttered”. 🙂
The lucky little cherubs!
Signs your cat loves you
- They bring back their prey/gifts for you – This is one way to really know they love you because a cat who has been looked after and fed will one day want to return the favor to its beloved owners.
- They give you a ”thumbs up” with their tail – Cat body language! You can tell a lot about a cat by looking at its tail. A happy cat will walk towards you with its tail held up, pointing up to the sky with it waggling from side to side.
- They blink slowly at you – I love this one, it is called a Kitty Kiss. How cute! When a cat feels content and safe it will look at you and slowly blink its eyes. They feel safe with you so they don’t feel they need to be hyper-vigilant of their surrounding area.
- They give you a Head Butt – Cats have scent glands that are located in their foreheads and cheeks. This is Kitty marking you as her own. She is letting you know that you are her’s and nobody else’s!
- Giving you a little love bite – Don’t confuse this with an angry bite and tell your cat off. Some cats like to give you a little nibble to say ”I love you” or I am here so please give me a little stroke or a tickle.
- Presenting her behind to you – Ever wonder why cats suddenly just decide to show you their ass? – Well apparently it’s a cat handshake. Cats will often sniff each other’s bottoms and she is saying she trusts you to sniff her’s. Eeeeew!
- She may decide to knead you – This kneading motion is cute. As kittens, they did this to their mother to stimulate milk before suckling. Does Kitty see you as her mum or dad? Well, she must love you!
How many of these cute behaviours does your cat do?
Some people say cats are not affectionate animals but I don’t agree with that at all. Cats can be very affectionate and loving animals.
They are just like people, some people are more affectionate than others.
How to deal with clingy behavior in cats?
So we have looked at what to look out for with a cat that just loves you but what happens when your cat is too clingy or starts to show destructive behaviour when you are not home?
Sometimes your cat might just become more clingy when they are fearful or there are big changes within the household such as introducing a baby into the home – some cats may get jealous when a new baby is introduced, although this is rare. See my blog post for more tips on how to introduce a baby to a household with cats.
Some cats may become bored so it’s a good idea to make sure they have lots of toys to play with around the home, your cat may be trying to tell you they are bored and want someone or something to play with.
So time to get the fishing rod toys out or even better the laser toys!
You have to check out this amazing laser toy on Amazon, click here to have a look!
It has a camera so you can see your cat on your phone, you can talk to them and even play music and the best part is you can control the laser beam at the same time.
How cool is that!
Some cats may suffer from separation anxiety when you are not around which can cause them to be clingy when you are home. Below are some things to look out for.
- Eating fast or not at all
- Destructive behavior such as scratching doors
- Vomiting often
- Not using the litter tray and instead using the carpet
- Excessive self-grooming
- Trying to escape
- Distress as your about to leave the home.
There are multiple causes of separation anxiety. Kittens who were orphaned or weaned too early may experience this type of anxiety.
I will leave it up to a very good expert from Youtube called Jackson Galaxy to explain a little more about separation anxiety or you may wish to read this article by PetMD.
Tips for dealing with Clingy behavior
Below are some ways in which you can deal with Clingy behaviour when it happens. Some people may decide to tell their cat off and discipline
- Rather than pushing away give two minutes of attention – Sometimes your cat may have just missed you so giving a few minutes of attention maybe all the cat will need.
- Ignore bad behaviors – Gently pick your cat up and move them rather than telling them off which can make them feel more insecure.
- Be ready to distract them – Use toys to distract them from engaging in destructive behavior.
- Provide toys so they are not bored – Lots of toys to play with such as cat tunnels, food puzzles, and entertainment.
- Ignore door scratching – Make sure that if the cat scratches the door when you are in another room to completely ignore, teach kitty that they don’t get attention from doing this behavior.
Let’s not forget Pheromone plugins and collars!
These are worth the money you pay for them when it comes to helping your cats to relax and stay calm especially if their clingy behaviour is due to stress and separation anxiety. They mimic the natural hormones cats release from the scent glands that signal them to relax.
You can buy plugins or cat collars that are infused with synthetic pheromones.
Conclusion – Can cats be obsessed with their owners?
If your cat is showing destructive clingy behaviour then there are ways we can deal with this, the big takeaway from this is to ignore any clingy behaviour or distract your cat.
Making sure your cat has lots of stimulation and regular playtime is very important though and I cannot stress this enough.
As discussed in the video above getting a friend for your cat to play with is a good idea, I wrote a blog article titled ‘‘Is it cruel to have one cat?” where I did some independent research and is worth reading if you are thinking of getting two cats.
Hopefully, by now you have a good idea if your cat just loves you and worships the ground you walk on or if there are anxiety issues that may need to be dealt with.
