Separation Anxiety

Hi,all.. I wanted to find out if anyone had any advice on this. My cat Ash, whom I rescued from the dumpster has this REALLY bad. He cannot stand to be away from me, or for me to be away from the house. He's about 2 almost 3 now and hes been this way for atleast a year or so. When I leave to go work, hubby says he will sit in the window and cry and cry for about 20 minutes after I leave. But when we BOTH leave the house, it gets really bad. He get on things he should't, knocks over stuff, has broken things in the process, Pees yes PEES on the bed(and mind you this same cat trained himself to pee in the toilet!) and generally messes the house up! I do not want to resort to giving him away(would break his heart AND mine) or to chemicals(i.e. tranquilizers) but what CAN I do? Anybody got any advice? I thought of buying a roomy indoor kennel(one that can be broken down when not in use) and putting him in that with his litter box, food and water, toys and a blanket to lie on, but Im not sure even thats a good idea. Any ideas? I love him to death but this is driving me bananas! he doesn't have any medical problems such as a UTI.

How about getting him another cat for company? Cats that have been abandoned, have PTSD which turns into the type of behavior that you are describing. When you leave them alone, they panic, because it doesn't matter what age, they NEVER forget the bad stuff that happens to them. So that is the trigger for the abandonment issue. Your cat is afraid you will never come home.

I would look into perhaps another feline for company and also get a comfort zone room diffuser and plug that in. Look into the many Bach Flower remedies as well.Look into mimulus, Larch or Rock Rose

I had another cat, but he recently passed away. Even so, while I had him Ash still was doing all of this. Ash was the second cat brought to the home and him and my older cat Bobby got along wonderfully. Ash is a sweet, loving, great cat, except for this behavior, which has been going on since he was about a year old, even with Bobby for company.

Then I would look into the other two suggestions I made. I deal with abused cats quite often as well as abandoned/orphaned kittens.

I wonder if sound wouldn't help in this case. Maybe you can give him his own room when you're away (one without a bed in it). In you can put the room diffuser, lots of toys, shirts and blankets with your scent on them, litter, food and water. You can then record your voice and play it back for him. Make a recording of yourself talking to him in a comforting way, and let it play after you leave so he hears the sound of your voice. I've heard from a lot of people that when a cat is in a new environment you should play the radio or tv for them when they're alone. I know he's not in a new environment, but maybe the sound of your voice, along with the feliway diffuser and your scent will help him calm down a little.

That sounds like a good idea! Although right now its not possible, for him to have his own room, he may respond to hearing my voice.

I definitely think you should go for the kennel idea rather than give him away. You can get a large wire dog crate (with a pullout tray on the bottom to catch "accidents") for around $100 from petsmart that will easily fit a cat, food, toys, and litter and leave him in there while you're gone. Puppies are crate trained so they won't destroy houses and it sounds like that may benefit your situation, too.

Just to second MusicTeacher's opinion on adding sound...

I just read a great article by Carole Wilbourne, a "cat therapist", who highly recommends making a relaxation tape for your kitty to help reduce stress when you can't be there. She talks about making the tape during a "recording session" with your kitty. You'll need a cassette player-recorder (one with autoreverse is recommnded so that it will play continuously while you're gone), a 60-minute tape, some soft music (she has had the greatest luck with New Age, though I've found my cats prefer classical) & cat toys, brushes, and catnip (if your kitty is so inclined). Ms. Wilbourne says to relax with your cat in an area where you are both comfortable. Think happy thoughts, breathe freely & turn on the recorder. For the next hour, you talk gently to your kitty as you pet & brush him. Use his name frequently & talk about what a great kitty he is & all the good times you've had together (that shouldn't be hard ). She says you can even include your favorite song or poem if you run out of things to talk about.

Good luck with your baby!
Amanda

That sound slike a great idea too! I am seriously looking into the kennel idea as well. I definatley will not be giving him away, I love him too much and he is highly attached to me.

I've actually run into this with a new kitten we just got on Saturday. She's a yowler. We can't mix her with the other cats yet, so we put her in a roomy crate in the bathroom with bedding, toys, etc... She's fine if she's in the bedroom with us, but the minute we put her in the crate, you'd think someone was killing her - she just gets louder and louder.

She came from a litter of five rescued from a kill shelter, the last kitten to not be adopted. She still suckles on her bedding.

My fiance and I both work during the day, so I'm hoping that she grows out of this. It will be at least a few weeks I think before we can mix cats, and we're in an apartment complex.

My fiance has been sleeping next to the crate at night! That can't last...

I'll try Feliway, but didn't notice much effect the last time I bought it.