Cat needs constant attention

One of my cats, a 6-year-old Ragdoll mix, suddenly wants almost constant attention. I work at home, and her insistence on attention has gotten to the point that it has very nearly cost me my job. She's constantly climbing into my lap, jumping onto and off my desk, knocking things over, walking across my keyboard and ruining my work, etc.  Last week, she closed my laptop lid while I was giving an online presentation, knocking me offline.  She's jumped into the middle of my lunch several times.

I've tried everything I know to do to keep her entertained so I can work. I have a screened-in porch that she can go out on. I've put bird feeders outside literally every window in my house (and they are well used), and I keep all the blinds and curtains open so she can see out. She has tons of cat toys, from the basic things like catnip mice to a Turbo Track to motorized toys like Panic Mouse.  I keep a radio playing classical music all day, and even bought a couple of CDs that were supposed to have pet-soothing music.  Nothing has helped.  I've tried putting her off my desk when she jumps up, but before I can sit upright after putting her on the floor, she's back on the desk.  I've tried stacking things so that they block her access to my desk, but she just jumps over them or into them.

She hasn't always been this way.  This behavior just started within the past 7 or 8 months, and I have no idea why.  There haven't been any major changes in the house -- no new pets or people, no furniture rearranged, no workmen in, etc.  No new neighborhood cats have wandered up outside, as far as I know.  I have another cat, a 7-year-old Ragdoll mix, whose behavior hasn't changed at all.  I took her to the vet for her annual checkup, and he found nothing physical that could be causing her behavior.  He referred me to an animal behaviorist, but she only works with cats who have litter box issues, and mine doesn't.

I'm at the end of my rope. I live alone and am fairly quiet, and I keep thinking she'd be better off in a more active household, but I can't find a friend or shelter that will take her.  I don't want to drop her off at animal control, where she'd no doubt be euthanized. She's a sweet kitty and I love her, but I cannot be available to her 24x7, and I can't risk my job any more. Does anyone have any suggestions? (Please don't tell me to get another kitten to entertain her.  I can't take on another pet right now. And renting office space or working in Starbucks isn't feasible for me.)

Thanks for your help!

I have a cat like yours who sometimes is more clingy. Are you sure she is in perfect health and nothing is wrong- no vomiting or anything like that? If not- 

It sounds like her current routine has somehow become where she is awakened and hears your voice and comes to your work area for petting, attention, whatever. It may be that she is used to following the sound of your voice in other situations and for whatever reason she now wants to engage you during your work hours. In cases like this, even negative attention will attract her. Also, she may have made a connection between her new toys and coming to bother you during the day, i.e. she comes to bother you, and you take her away to her new toys and she is reinforced to come back for that the next day. 

I'm not sure why she has changed her routine, but I think since you are the mom, you can institute a new routine to get her back on track where you need her to be. If it were me, the new routine would be to get up a little bit earlier than usual, feed her before you do anything else. Then, since cats are very often more playful right after eating, I would invest in some play time right after feeding. Really get her running and chasing toys, string on sticks. Create some mazes with boxes and engage her running through them, the idea being to use up that energy. Get her a cat tree if she doesn't have one already and use that as her play area, throw toys to her while she is in the tree and let her bat at them, and get her running up and down the tree. I would consider putting it her cat tree an area where you don't work, a separate room if possible. 

After that, take your morning shower etc. and very quietly start to go about your business, pretty much ignoring her. 

If you take any breaks during your work day, I would squeeze in a mid-day kitty break where she gets a small snack and another play time, again, not in your work area (you don't want her to associate that with any good things). Then you go back to the work area. After your work day, make a big fuss about dinnertime and another play session after dinner. Bedtime should be another ritual where you put her to bed just like she is a toddler, give her her own fleece or whatever and put her there the same time each night.

I said in one of my other posts on this board, with kitties the best way to get them to stop doing something is to give them a more attractive alternative, hence the situation where YOU are initiating the play and setting time aside for that. 

In a worst case scenario you can always use a spray water bottle if she comes near your desk, or one of those sccccattt products. But I think you will be most rewarded if you slowly introduce a pro-active routine. You can do a combination of both, but definitely you need to pro-actively engage your little girl so that she knows she can get your love and attention, at the same time each day, per the routine that you have established.

My routine with my one boy cat is such that, if I don't put him to bed, he comes and gets me and cries until I take him to bed. I am late to do it tonite and he has come up to my desktop and is asleep beside me! Good luck and I hope this helps.  

I am in the same boat which is how I came upon your post and I can sympathize because I also have a cat who needs constant attention and often drives me crazy.  But I love her so much and cannot imagine my life without her so I've decided to get her a playmate and hopefully that will help me out. 

But getting back to you, before getting rid of your cat, please close the door to your office for however long you need to be in there to work!  I know you may feel somewhat cruel doing it, but if your cat is really interfering with your work to the extent that you almost lost your job, I would say it's the only solution.  Believe me I have done the same thing, blaming my cat for not being able to complete a paper on time, etc., but it's really an unfair burden and blame to place on the cat. 

I would suggest if you don't have a door to your office, contact your local hardware store and they should be able to easily install one.  And if your cat constantly meows, then get some noise blocking Bose headphones.  Your cat will survive without 24/7 access to you.

Good luck!
 

My cat needs constant attention when I am home all day. She wants me to play with her all day.

I bought her the Lazer toy that stays on by itself for at least 15 min. I play with her at least 2 hours a day in the morning and

night. i brush her also. You can also Shut the office door and do not let her in your office while you are working.

I would set a time in the morning and lunch time and bed time to play with her/him.

My cat crysand get tears in her eyes when I leave my house, she sits and watches me.

Then she bits my legs when I get into the shower she knows I am going out and she hates that.

Not sure what to do?

She wakes me up every morning to feed her Sams Club all white meat chicken from the can. She does not get

cat can food she does not like it.

She will walk around meowig then she wants the attention but is still off standish I have to go and get her

then she is happy and stops meowing.

When I go out and come home she follows me everywhere.

She is a long hair demistic cat.

@ Ibanez

l'm not sure what Sam's Club chicken is, but you made it sound like canned chicken for humans. lf this is so, please buy your cat canned CAT food as the human canned chicken is not going to give your kitty the nutrition it needs. Cooking depletes taurine, and there is no taurine added to human food. Canned meats for humans are notoriously high in sodium. There is no calcium in just meat. Cats need a very specific balanced diet - please add cat food to your kitty's diet - maybe it's the reason for needing to get attention.

*lf Sam's Club chicken is not what l understood it to be, my apologies