According to Dr. Dodman, the line between clinginess and separation anxiety can be fine. Any of the following signs can indicate that your cat is becoming dangerously dependent on your constant presence:
- Refusing to eat unless you are present.
- Spraying or urine-marking on your belongings, especially things you leave near the door by which you ordinarily leave the house.
- Clawing at door frames and window screens.
- Frantic attempts to escape if confined away from a favorite human, to the point of self-injury.
- Excessive, obsessive self-grooming and other frantic behaviors that betray anxiety.
- Excessive nervousness, pacing, yowling and activity when you are preparing to leave the house.
- Extreme displays of joy and affection when you return home, even after very short absences.
- Constant following of you as you move about the house.
- Vocalizing and insisting on repeated interactions throughout the night.
- Insistence on constant, close physical proximity, such that it interferes with ordinary human activities.
