I have two sister cats who have been with me since they were young kittens - two and a half years old, spayed, ~9lbs, and very sweet, sociable, and playful. However, I'm concerned about the increasing behavior problems from one of them. When my spouse and I are relaxing together watching TV, or I am working at my computer, she will incessantly jump onto the kitchen counter or table and knock anything she can to the ground, while meowing dramatically. It is clearly a bid for attention, as she never touches anything when humans are not around. She knows I do not like it and jumps down as soon as I approach to remove her (just to rub up against my ankles and yell some more).
I know that I should be ignoring her behavior, following the extinction method of behavior conditioning, but we're really struggling with it on our end. Our kitchen is small, we cook a lot and have a lot of equipment, and it's hard to keep everything perfectly clear all the time. She's broken quite a few dishes. If she tires of the kitchen, she moves on to other things in the house to catch our attention. We've had to put away artwork and lamps and generally design the apartment around the cat. It's stressing us out.
When I can't stand ignoring it anymore, I'll offer her wet food, dry food, play, pets and attention, in varying orders. I'll usually need to cycle through the whole list until she's satisfied that she has everything she needs and leaves us alone for a while, or settles down for a cuddle. In a few hours, she'll start back up. I'm torn every time by the decision to placate her with food and attention so that we can enjoy our few hours together after work in peace, and I'm worried that she's gaining weight since we feed her more frequently (and she steals her sister's food, too).
I'm also concerned that there could be some underlying medical issue at play here. She's had blocked anal glands several times over the last few years, and is now on a GI-focused diet at her vet's recommendation (Blue Buffalo Natural Veterinary Diet GI Support dry food + Wellness Core Grain Free pate wet food). I've noticed she has bad breath (strong fishy odor), and we try to give her dental treats, but she won't tolerate brushing well. I've noticed some slight inflammation along her gums.
A few other notes:
- We've tried Feliway Classic Spray, and it occasionally seems effective, but sometimes not. It seems equally effective to just give her a good sniff straight from the catnip jar.
- This behavior has somewhat existed since kittenhood, but it's really ramped up since we moved in with my spouse. She seems jealous.
- I'm home all day and she gets plenty of attention, play, and one-on-one time unprompted from this behavior. She is quite the spoiled cat.
- Sister cat doesn't do any of this bad behavior. Problem cat is the alpha.
Any advice to help my dear kitten and reduce the stress level in my household? Thanks in advance!
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from Pets https://www.reddit.com/r/Pets/comments/l4ggbs/advice_for_attentionseeking_cat_behavior/
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