Needy cat?

I have two young adult cats, a male maine coon mix (Renfield) and a female long-hair mix (Lucy). Both are neutered. They appear to be great friends and spend lots of time playing and hanging out together. Both are fairly affectionate but not particularly needy most of the time, and are indoor cats. After we go away for the weekend Renfield seems absolutely starved for attention, and its hard to sleep with him crawling all over me and demanding petting. He's shy with strangers so I don't think having someone come in to play with him while I'm gone will help. When we don't go away, he typically will sleep with me for awhile but is content to lay down quietly. My prior cats were indoor-outdoor cats and were much more independent, so I'm not sure how to deal with this.

Any ideas?

Jake's mom

Hi Jakesmom,

My cats have always done this. My RB Gideon would follow me around like a dog after I would go on a business trip. When I was unexpectedly in the hospital for a couple of days, he watched me like a hawk once I came home and would lie on the back of the couch above my head, making sure all was ok. I believe it's just their way of saying "Mom! I missed you! I am soooo glad you're home! :)

You might be surprised about how Renfield might respond to someone coming in to pay attention to him. It might just reassure him to have a human checking in - he might not feel absolutely abandoned. Our cat Indigo always keeps herself scarce when people come to visit - unlike her sister Beauty, who is like a bad two-year-old showing off for guests. But when we go away, Indigo gets attached to whomever is coming over to feed and look after the cats. One time, we had my sister-in-law stay (she was in between houses), and Indigo became so attached to her that the attachment never wore off. Of course, with Indigo, you have to be sharp to discern the attachment: it consists of her turning upside down and curling her feet in the presence of my sister-in-law - a submission and invitation greeting to melt the heart. One of our previous cats, Tzigane, would take her emotional revenge on her favorite, my husb., by not speaking to him for two weeks after we returned from an absence. Once she greeted him by biting him on the hand - gently - and then not speaking to him for two weeks. Cats have their ways!!