It drives me absolutely nuts when my cat whines for attention too. We just moved into a new apartment and because we are sleeping on an air mattress currently i have banned Bean Bean from the room for fear that he might pop it on accident.The first few nights were horrific with the crying and pawing at the door but the trick really is to just ignore it. Don't make any noise to aknowledge him. Shouting, saying "STOP IT" and even throwing something at the door are all types of attention. And for heavens sake don't open the door. It might drive you nuts for a little while but he will eventually get that crying is NOT the way to get your attention.
Also while you are watching TV, working out, or eating ignore him as well. Ignore him until he is quiet and settles down, even if it takes an hour or more. If he jumps on your lap and paws at you, stand up to knock him back on the floor and then sit back down and continue ignoring him.
But as soon as he lays down at your feet or goes to play with a toy instead of bug you, praise the heck out of him and offer him a bit of scratches or playtime.
It takes a while but a month or two of training out of a 10-15 year lifespan is worth it in the end when you have a well-behaved animal. (And never forget that there is always plenty of time to sleep when you're dead
)And just to update on my situation, my cat no longer cries at the door. It may seem heartless but cat's don't have feelings the way that we do. They aren't "out to make you mad" by whining and getting into things that they shouldn't. It is a learned associated behavior and ignoring it is the quickest most effective way to nip it in the butt.
But cats ARE different than dogs in that they very quickly associate unpleasant things with something that YOU do. For instance, making a loud noise or squirting them with a water gun. It is virtually impossible for you to do these things without your cat realizing that you are doing them.
Which pretty much makes training moot as they will then only do bad things when you are not around.
