Expert: Karen Craft - 9/26/2010

Question
A little over a year ago my girlfriend asked if I could watch over her cat for
her because she was moving and couldnt take her cat with her. I said yes. Her
cat lived with me and my cat for about a year before she decided she wanted
her cat back. Now her cat is gone and my cat is miserable. She wont eat dry
food anymore and INSISTS on wet food. When the other cat was still here my
cat would eat dry food every day, wet food was only a treat for them. Now my
cat is clawing my couch and waking me up at 6am to feed her wet food. She
only has two modes of function. The first is lazy, lethargic, and lifeless. The
other is needy and overly affectionate. Is there anything I can do to help my
cat get over this? Its been about a month and still no change in her behavior
since the other cat left. I dont really miss the other cat, but it makes me sad
to see my animal so miserable. How can I help my cat?

Answer
Hi Justyn,

Cats miss others like we do. She needs help. There are a couple of things you can do to change the situation. First off, and this may sound harsh, your cat has you trained. What do you do when she is after you? You feed her. You need to stop that. If she claws the couch and such spray her with a water bottle. You need to call the shots. Set a certain time for feeding her the wet food. You can also transition her back to dry food by slowing mixing in dry to the wet. However I don't recommend this. Feed her both wet and dry food. But make sure you set the time. I have thirteen cats here. Could you imagine what it would be like if I fed them when they wanted it? They get fed wet food in the morning at when I get up.

Here is a good link about cat nutrition. She may be lacking in what she was getting and this may be why she wants the wet all the time.
http://www.catinfo.org/

Now onto the other problem. Most cats do better in pairs or more. They have a healthier life with another cat. You either need to get another cat,(preferably a kitten), or give her more quality time with yourself. And quality time means play time. Get a laser pointer. Cats love these. Groom her. She will adore it. Chase her around,(make sure she knows you are playing). You need to get her charged up about being with you. Personally, I would get another cat. You go out to work and leave her alone. Another cat would keep her company and keep her entertained. Use a cat intro protocol when you bring them together.

Hope this helped. Good luck in what you decide to do.

Ciao, Karen