Odd cat behavior

[thistlechaser]

Anyone have experience with this or know what it might mean? My cat is very much a "people-cat", she loves to be patted and to be in the same room as me, and she likes to keep as much physical contact with me as she can (sleeping on my arm or my foot, etc).

Of late, she's taken to sitting across the room from me, facing exactly away from me (which means she's facing a wall, just a few inches from it) and meowing loudly and demandingly. She keeps her back to me the whole time.

This does usually happen when I'm on the computer or paying some video game, but if it's a cry for attention it's a really odd one... (When she comes and rubs against my leg I do stop and give her a pat.) She always has food and fresh water, so it shouldn't be related to that.

She's on the old side (12-14 years old) and she doesn't play much anymore (not more than 30 seconds at a time, at the most). But still, that would be an odd way of telling me she's bored...

I thought about mental issues, since she's a little old, but she acts normally other than this wall-meowing thing.

Any thoughts?

Comments

[kirbyk.livejournal.com]

She's telling you, "There's mice in the walls, I'm sure of it. Please buy me a chainsaw so I can open them up and be sure. And while you're out, some tuna wouldn't be amiss."

At least, that's my theory.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

*laughs!* Oh god, my cat with a chainsaw. We'd all be doomed!

[tiranog.livejournal.com]

It sounds a little like she's angry at you for not paying attention to her. My older cat used to do something like that too when I was on the computer. I think it's because the cat doesn't really understand computers. To her, we're just sitting in a room ignoring them the way she, in turn, seems to be purposefully ignoring you while making her displeasure known. Any chance you can put a chair beside yours and move kitty to it so that she doesn't feel ignored? Cheers.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

You know, I did wonder if it was one of those "You're ignoring me so I'll ignore you" things, but that seemed like a little higher thinking than a cat would do... I'm not too sure about that sort of thing though.

But a chair next to mine is a great idea! She already has a bed next to my chair, but it's on the floor. I bet she'd like it if it was raised up to my level.

[metron-ariston.livejournal.com]

Our Ginger doesn't even pretend to not be an attention whore. Bad attention is still better than none to her. I think cats are smarter than people think. Ginger shows definite signs of knowing she's doing something wrong, and feeling guilty about it... but it may just be sentimentality or something.

(My first thought was that there's a zombie in the wall and that she's trying to warn you it'll eventually dig its way out with it's fingernails and eat your brains. But it's probably attention seeking. *hee*)

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Ack! Zombies *and* mice in my apartment walls?!

...well, maybe one problem will cancel the other out? Hee.

[tiranog.livejournal.com]

I used to think cats couldn't do much higher thinking, either. Then my sister got a kitten that her older cat did not like. One day the kitten went into the cabinet under the kitchen sink and the older cat ran up and pushed the door closed and held it shut with her paws. It was the most astonishing thing I've ever seen an animal do. So, I never underestimate them anymore. I just figure they know they're a superior species and don't really have any reason to prove it to us lower life forms. LOL :)

Hope the chair works!

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Wow, I think my jaw would detatch itself and drop to the floor if I saw that!

And yes, the chair seems to be working, at least so far!

[tiranog.livejournal.com]

My jaw was just about permenantly dislocated by that, especially since the cat that locked the kitten in the cabinet had never been what anyone would call a feline rocket scientist. LOL

Way cool about the chair working! I keep a little stepstool beside my computer when I'm working so that whatever fuzzy person's in need of some loving can come and sit beside me while I'm typing. That seems to keep everyone happy. Cheers!

Getting the Butt!

[spenceraloysius.livejournal.com]

In my household, we call this behavior, getting the butt. My male cat did it when he was very angry with me for having a child. I got the butt for a year.

My advice, suck up to your cat and figure out what you might have done recently that would have royally pissed off your cat.

Re: Getting the Butt!

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Huh! Wonder what I could have done to offend her... Maybe staying home for a long weekend and then going back to work? Oh well, extra attention for her!

Thanks!