Can cats have separation anxiety?

[jinxie's mom]

Hi. I am new to this forum.

I found you guys on google and am hoping for some input. I am going to give the long version!! We adopted a male kitten from the animal shelter. He is roughly 12 weeks old and has all his claws. He was neutered on 10-13. We have had him just over two weeks. We did make some mistakes initially when we brought him home. We let him have run of the house and only put him in his bedroom (spare bedroom) at bedtime with his litterbox. The shelter said he was litter trained so we felt it was safe. Within a few days we found he wasn't using it. So, when we left the house or were unable to monitor him, we put him in his bedroom with the litter box and food and water on the other end of the room. This went on for about a week. He was using his litter box (and sometimes the lid that we removed) and seemed fine, but meowed just a little when we shut his door.

Over the weekend he was out all day and pooped on the living room floor. So, we have determined that we need to try and add another litter box on the main floor of the house. ANYWAY, now when he goes into the bedroom he totally freaks out and throws himself at the bedroom door meowing like crazy. This morning we discovered he bloodied his back claw from jumping at the door!! There is tiny spots of blood up the wall and on the door where he had jumped.

The vet has found no medical reason for not using the box. We did not discuss the issue of him wanting out of the bedroom, since it wasn't to the degree that it is now.

I am a new cat owner and honestly don't know what to do. He seems to be a free pooper (doesn't care to cover it with litter, so will poop/pee anywhere). Honestly, even if we are upstairs he will not go to his box -only if he is in his bedroom. Of course, he may hate that room now. We try to keep our closet doors closed (he likes to poop in the laundry and even in the middle of our bed) We have changed litter types twice, but have not tried a "fine" litter. I just read that they sometimes prefer that. We can't leave him out while we are gone if he won't use his box. We can't put him in the bedroom if he is going to hurt himself.


Please help -

 

[howtoholdacat]

Yes, cats can have separation anxiety. It's not unusual, though, for a young cat to really want to be with you. I think your kitties real issues may lie elsewhere though. It's a bit strange that he isn't using his box to poop. Cats usually learn to use the box quickly. Do try adding another box or two and give him a couple types of litter to try. There's one called Cat Attract that works very well. Also, you might try getting a Feliway plug in if you haven't already.

 

[linni]

Probably he just doesn't like being locked away in a room by himself. Do you not allow him to sleep with you?

Our cat doesn't like any closed door, and even when we're in the bathroom, if the door is closed, he'll paw at it. (Since there is only my husband and me who live here, we usually leave our bathroom door ajar.)

I just think he's lonely for you!

lin

 

[stephanietx]

Do you have any other kitties? If not, you might want to look into getting another kitty of similar age. They can keep each other company!

I also suggest the Feliway plug-ins and many litter boxes. When they're that young, they're like small children and when they have to go, they have to go NOW!! You can use the aluminum cooking pans (9x13 cake size or the larger/deeper size like for casserole or roaster pan). I'd place one in just about each room of your house. Ideally, you want to have 1 more litter box than kitties, so you should have at least 2 permanent boxes anyway. You might also want to try Dr. Elsey's Cat Attract litter for awhile until he's using the box consistently.

Be sure to treat the spots where he's soiled inappropriately with an enzymatic cleaner.

 

[strange_wings]

Add other boxes in the rooms he goes in, especially if those are rooms that he spends time in with you. When they're young they can forget.


And yes, it's normal for a lot of kittens to be clingy. You replaced mother cat. The only solution is a cat (or a dog) companion or let them follow you around and be stuck up your butt until they're around 5 or 6 months old - when if you're lucky, they'll become more independent. If you're not lucky, a kitten will keep it up longer.

(I have one that took a while to grow out of that - he drove me nuts because he'd be in another room and start crying at the top of his lungs for me instead of coming to find me.

)