Expert: Norman Auspitz - 1/13/2010

Question
I have a four year old cat who lost his brother seven months ago.  We have since moved to a new home.  He seemed to be dealing with it fine, was a lot more affectionate and wanted to be around me literally all the time though.

Then about two months ago, he started yelling throughout the night.  I make sure to put him outside before I go to bed so he can do his business and I also feed him wet food at night so I know he's not hungry.  He'll wake me up every few hours during the night by sitting on the bed and yelling (this is different from his normal meow which is actually quiet).  At first I thought he just wanted some attention but that doesn't seem to be helping at all.  I'll pet him for a little while but then I try to go back to sleep at which point he'll sit on the bed and yell some more but when I don't respond, he goes away only to come back a few hours later.  He will also yell throughout the day and I've tried playing with him (he doesn't want to) and bringing him to where I am so he can sit with me (jumps down after a few minutes and leaves).

The second problem is that I can't have him on the bed unless the blankets completely cover it.  If there's an edge of the blanket there, he starts to scratch his paws under it and "burrow" almost.  However when I lift the blanket for him to go underneath, he doesn't want to.  He's started to do this to my legs as well if I'm sitting on a chair.  I have no idea what's up with this as he's only started doing it recently.


I'm planning on getting another cat to keep him company but that won't be for a while as I will have to move first (this place doesn't allow more than one pet).  How can I get his behaviour under control until then?  

Answer
Seanna,

I am assuming you have had him to your vet to make sure there is no medical condition.

It sounds to me as if he has found ways to manipulate you. I would ignore all of his behaviors.  The problem you now have is that once they start such beahviors and have modified your behavior, they will be incredibly persistent.  It is very hard to get these behaviors to stop once they start. In time, if you ignore themn, he may stop.  I am not sure a buddy will make any difference.  

I am afraid I cannot be very helpful on this.  The best behavior modification techniques I know of for cats is "clicker training"

(see Karen Pryor's clicker training website at www.clickertraining.com )

Other than that, I know of no surefire way to change your cat's behavior.

Best regards... Norm