Needy cat

My kitten (not so much a kitten anymore, she's almost 4 yrs old) is SO SO SO SO SO needy. She has a playmate who is a few months younger then her, and they run around all day long and play, and love each other quite alot, but it's not enough for her.

She has very high anxiety it seems. When we go away on trips, she used to scratch up her face. That behavior stopped, because I guess we proved to her that we will come home and be with her...

Now we have a new behavior...Scratching the carpet at night. The two cats are very active at night, and keep us up when we let them in (I have cat allergies too, and try to keep the bedroom a "free" zone for me). So we lock them out at night. Tessy sits by the door and scratches at the carpet all night, and then bangs her head against the door trying to force her way in.

What can I do about this? Does anyone have any suggestions? I'm at such a loss.

My cat did the same thing, but only because she wanted her breakfast at 3:30 a.m., not because she was needy. I used to pile huge pillows in front of our door so I wouldn't hear her "picking" at the carpet or scratching the door. I also tried the X-mat to keep her from even coming near the door, but realized I might need two to cover the entire doorway. Finally, I resorted to getting up in the night when I hear it and locking her out in the mudroom (heated, with cat bed, litterbox and water) until we got up. That works the best. Good luck!