PackerFan79

persephonerose

Or any other animal specialist, 

Can I bother you with a question about cat behavior?

RondackHiker

Ask away!

RondackHiker

Packerfan79:

Yup, altho rondack seems to answer the packer posts quicker and better than me.

Lol.

I'm not stalking you through posts directed towards you while you are busy saving animals' lives. Not at all.

persephonerose

Thanks ladies!

I have a rescue cat. She is roughly 13 years old. When I took her she was about 1.5 years old. She had been rescued from a feral colony at about a year old. They had tried to rehab her and everyone who had taken her ended up returning her. They were going to put her down if I didn't keep her. She has always had some weird behavior issues.  Which I tried to cope with as best as possible. 

Before baby she was stand offish, we had kind of an agreement. I would feed her, pet her only if she came to me and let her outside if she demanded it (if I didn't let her out she had some nasty pay back). But she likes to play soccer ball. Rub from one leg to another as you are walking. She does this in between your legs, not on the outside. It was not a huge deal before because she didn't do it that often before the baby. Now she does it a lot, all day every day.

I have tried spending more time with her, petting her more, more treats, more toys, catnip! We have stairs and I pretty much have to take my foot and constantly nudge, push her down the stairs to keep from falling.

So my question is, is there a way to break her of this habit? Or is it pretty much too late? She is a cat and will do what she wants anyways?

 

RondackHiker

She may need more exercise and attention. I know you said you play with her, but could you step up her attention at appropriate times for a week? My friends have used laser pointers during BFing and snuggles while folding laundry to multitask.

Another reason she may be doing this more is stress. I would consider investing in feliway. You can get sprays and plug ins off of Amazon. That will help her feel less stressed.

Attention demanding is often a sign of stress or "neglect" in cats. Not true neglect, but kitty feels it needs more. I love cats for that exact demanding attitude!

I'm not sure about training her to stop. I often suggest stamping or walking away but would worry she'd be hurt by those. Don't give in and give her attention post demands. Then she thinks "all I need to do is trip the human for ten minutes and then she pets me!"