All the Attention in the World and still Not Enough! Help!

Hello everyone. I have a concern about my cat, he's about 4-5 years old. I've had him since he was about 4 months old. He so sweet. Loves attention, loves to be held, carried around on my shoulder. Very vocal, always responds when I talk to him. He is a riot. 

We moved into our new home 6 months ago. About 3 months ago he started acting out. looking for more attention. The attention we give him just is NEVER enough. 

I believe, his problem could be partially, that we had to cut him down on food because he is less active now that he's getting older, so he was gaining too much wait. He hates that we cut him back from his food, but we can't have a fat diabetic cat!! He'll thank me one day.

The other reason I think could be because he always had another cat around to keep him company. Before we moved into this place, I lived with another person who also had a cat. He always had a companion around to play with and keep him company when we weren't home. Now he doesn't, so he sits by himself 9 hours a day while I'm at work. When i come home He greats me at the door, and we hang together for a little bit before I start dinner, then I eat dinner, then i clean up dinner... and he sits and cries at me the whole time I'm doing this. I try to play with him for at the least 15 minuted a day, I know it's not much, but I try! and he gets brushed almost every day too. 

After dinner I sit and relax watch some tube, he likes to sit on my lap which is fine. but the whole time he sits on my lap he stares at me like if he blinks, i might vanish. Or he will sit on the floor and stair at me for an hour without moving. 

Pretty much, If I'm doing anything BUT paying attention to him he will carry on, cry and yowl.

I have discussed with my fiance that maybe we should get a kitten to keep him company and so he gets some more exercise, since I'm sure a kitten will keep him busy. 

I feel that he may be acting out because he is lonely. Has anyone else had a problem like this? What are your suggestions for getting another kitten. 

 He has been around "strange" cats before, we had a foster kitty once, and they got along just fine. He also stayed with a friend of mine for a weekend while i was away, him and her cat got along really well. 

Should I get a kitten? Or a cat closer to his age? How about sex, should I get a male or female? Would it make a difference?

Is there ANYTHING else I can try to make my little boy stop being so anxious all the time?

Thanks

Welcome to TCS. A kitten will be easier to integrate into your household than an older cat.But, if you get a kitten, then an older cat might not get a home. I have adopted an older cat and a pair of kittens.

Introducing a new cat is a process that takes some time if done correctly.  www.thecatsite.com/a/introducing-cats-to-cats This method works almost all the time.

It really doesn't matter what sex the newcomer is. If an older cat, they must be spayed/neutered before you bring them into your house. If a kitten, they must be tested for all the highly contagious diseases, like FIV, FeLV and so on. Then they must be fixed as soon as possible.

The only alternative is play, play, play with him. 2 or 3 hours a day.

thanks for the help. I'll check out that link. 

I WISH I had 2-3 hours a day to play!!!!!!! I'd rather do that than go to work. haha

I realize you don't have the time. I was just making a point. I don't play with the ladies as much as I should, but they have enough others that there is almost always someone to play with. Sometimes, when the weather changes, I have all 5 running through the house, playing full-contact tag and follow-the-leader.

I am wonder what you are feeding him?  If it is a low fat dry food he is probably not being satisfied and the best thing you can do to prevent obesity and diabetes in a  cat is to feed them a wet diet high in protein. The high protein diet will make him more satisfied and he probably bug you less. Here is a great site written by a vet who knows a lot about feline nutrition (www.catinfo.org) and I would urge you to take a look.

A companion cat is a good idea and I second the idea of getting a cat that is closer to his age (1-3) because kittens can sometimes be too much for adult cats. 

I think a friend would be a good idea. When introducing another cat to a neutered male, I feel like gender is less important, female/female introductions are hard though. So whichever cat seems like he/she would be well-matched to his personality, regardless of gender, would be best. As for age, I think a youngish cat (2-3) would be good, but not too young. Young males, especially, kind of like to pick on older cats :tongue2:.

Until you can get another kitty, can you play with him while you watch TV? I've found that I can swing a fishing pole toy and watch TV at the same time quite easily :lol3:. It would be a good way to get him more exercise.

Franksmom said:

I am wonder what you are feeding him?  If it is a low fat dry food he is probably not being satisfied and the best thing you can do to prevent obesity and diabetes in a  cat is to feed them a wet diet high in protein. The high protein diet will make him more satisfied and he probably bug you less. Here is a great site written by a vet who knows a lot about feline nutrition (www.catinfo.org) and I would urge you to take a look.

A companion cat is a good idea and I second the idea of getting a cat that is closer to his age (1-3) because kittens can sometimes be too much for adult cats. 

Click to expand...

 This is exactly what I was thinking! My Brenna girl (in my avatar) gets really obnoxious when she doesn't feel like she's had enough to eat. Switching her to a raw diet has helped her feel secure about her food. I can feed her the right amount for her age/weight/body condition, and she feels like it's enough, because it's what she was hungry for. Worth looking into!

Hi everyone, i realize I have not been on in a while! I have read your post and considered them all. Not the food, tied that already. Thanks though! 

He was just LONELY!!! just what I thought, I know my little boy so well. I adopted another little boy back in October, took a few days for Apollo to warm up to the new family member, but once he did, they started playing like wild animals. He burning more energy now, since he has someone to play with. And he doesn't follow me around at night and cry, since he has someone to hang out with all day while I'm at work. So problem solved!!!! so we are all so happy now.