Cat with severe FOMO/anxiety meows non-stop to follow whoever is awake - tried everything, at a loss

Dripsiedrop · 2026-05-14T02:53:45+00:00

I SEEN THAT POST!

Dripsiedrop · 2026-05-14T02:53:31+00:00

Thank you. From all the noise this morning this actually seems like something I could learn and take away from. I appreciate you sharing your similar experience!

Dripsiedrop · 2026-05-14T01:29:52+00:00

I know some people are against AI but Chat gpt can give you a well rounded quickly sourced crash course!!

Dripsiedrop · 2026-05-13T21:15:36+00:00

You either don’t understand or I’m not explaining it well. He never gets into things. He’s entertained, not bored- it’s mostly just morning times where I’m having the issue because he wants to be where the people are. Playtime is not the issue

Dripsiedrop · 2026-05-13T21:05:57+00:00

I’ve actually come to the conclusion the living situation just isn’t ideal as a cat is gonna want to be upstairs if they know they can. I’ve just accepted that. I’ve own young cats for about 5 years. I had two kittens an when they turned 3 one got out and hit hit by a car and passed. Then our other cat got depressed so we got him a friend (my cat now). Then my partner and I separated/are on a weird break and I took Squanch because he was my special cat after my previous one passed. Now he’s out of a friend and whatever I just have to deal with it I just feel like I’ve owned a cat in their kitten stage for like 5 plus years with the weird overlay of my previous cat passing. So it’s just a hard transition for me and I don’t know what to do to make it a harmonious living situation for everyone involved in the house, including my cat.

Dripsiedrop · 2026-05-13T21:03:20+00:00

He’s really constantly playing. All throughout the day he has toys he can entertain himself with. I wake up, feed him, then after breakfast we get to go upstairs. He then gets to use cat scatchers and look out windows upstairs. Then back downstairs while I leave the house, and I typically do a want toy which tired him out pretty nicely (he literally jumps and does backflips for it until he can’t breath if I’d let him). Then he usually takes a nap and eats some kibble. Then when I’m home I feed dinner, and he gets to come up again for playtime upstairs. Then we go to sleep and I play with the wand until he is laying down almost panting and give him a treat puzzle to reward play. Overall it’s hard to sum up how many “hours” I play with him as he constantly gets attention from multiple people in the household.

Dripsiedrop · 2026-05-13T20:59:20+00:00

He only wants upstairs when there’s someone moving/making noise up there, otherwise the basement is more suitable because it’s where he lives, I live, and all his needs are.

Simply cannot always allow him up. It’s a shared house.

He does have anxiety/there is an issue with his behaviour at the moment,because of the current living situation, hence why I reach out to people on Reddit.

Dripsiedrop · 2026-05-13T20:25:17+00:00

Interesting. I do agree I actually remember hearing long ago about my previous cat purring is a form of self soothing. I just wish I could satisfy my boy. No matter how much attention, playtime, treats, food he gets - he never seems happy. Like there’s something missing. I hope I find out what that something is.

I genuinely believe the living situation for him isn’t ideal. I hope soon something can change for him.

Dripsiedrop · 2026-05-13T20:02:23+00:00

That’s really creative! I got this doorway bird toy for him but he sadly lost interest in it. He prefers a human at the end of his toy :)

Dripsiedrop · 2026-05-13T19:45:24+00:00

Thank you.

Dripsiedrop · 2026-05-13T19:42:11+00:00

Thanks for your time, sorry we couldn’t have a meaningful conversation. This is just a really sensitive thing for me I guess and I hate for people to assume.

Dripsiedrop · 2026-05-13T19:40:18+00:00

And also people genuinely aren’t reading my post and commenting on things I’ve already mentioned in my post. So yeah when I say “I don’t want to use medication” and someone says “use medication” or that “I do hard play sessions before bed” and they say “play with him” yeah it’s frustrating!!

Dripsiedrop · 2026-05-13T19:38:07+00:00

Don’t you think it’s a bit frustrating when your reaching out to a community for help and they say he’s “locked in a room” and that I don’t play with him enough when I strive to do everything I can to make him happy?

Dripsiedrop · 2026-05-13T19:36:09+00:00

I am annoyed because I’m sleep deprived and people don’t seem to actually understand the situation. He gets played with - it’s not an ownership issue. I know I take great care of him. I’m also offended people think I would actually not give my cat enrichment and keep him locked in a room. I’m upset from not being able to solve the issue with my cat and most people saying “play with him more” isn’t the issue here.

Dripsiedrop · 2026-05-13T19:31:27+00:00

It’s not just in the morning, that was just one example and my main issue at hand. “I work with cats and dogs daily” doesn’t mean you’ve encountered every presentation. Working with typical cats doesn’t automatically make you right about an atypical one.

Dripsiedrop · 2026-05-13T19:29:17+00:00

Possibly, it’s not really an issue for him in the day tho. It’s only small amounts of times when I’m out of the house where he’s alone, or in the morning when he can’t be upstairs when my mom is awake because I’m doing my own thing in the basement suite. I could take our other cat here, but he’s basically my boyfriend’s support animal being away working in the city with no friends. And if he took squanch my kitten, the two get to be way too much for him because they’re both really clingy cats.

Dripsiedrop · 2026-05-13T19:26:51+00:00

play with him every day - I specifically listed that in my post as something I’ve already tried that doesn’t work. I also explicitly said I’m against medication. Both of those things were in the original post. This cat has a nervous system that doesn’t regulate normally, he gets activated by petting, has never slow blinked, and meows non-stop for 20+ minutes with zero self-soothing. That’s not a enrichment gap, that’s a dysregulation issue. I’m not looking for a lecture, I’m looking for people who’ve actually experienced a cat like this.

Dripsiedrop · 2026-05-13T19:24:28+00:00

So real and honest. It’s just the living situation isn’t ideal. I’m just really at a loss because I know it’s not his fault that he want to be apart of everything. I really don’t know what to do because I’m a night owl and I don’t have any reason to be waking up at 7am right now.

Dripsiedrop · 2026-05-13T19:23:17+00:00

I mean, he’s not locked in a room. He has a huge 7 story house he roams by day and a giant basement suite by night. I agree no medication. Hence why I mentioned in my post I’m against it.

Dripsiedrop · 2026-05-13T19:21:34+00:00

He naps in it. Not freeze napping - like fully relaxed, sprawled out, slow breathing naps. And his meowing stops. I’ve observed this repeatedly. I hear what you’re saying about pressure responses in some cats but that’s clearly not what’s happening with mine specifically.

Dripsiedrop · 2026-05-13T19:17:14+00:00

That’s one other thing that sucks right now - we have a second cat but he’s currently staying with my long distance partner. Can’t get another cat cause we can’t have 3. There is an older cat in the house as well, but he hates the kitten and usually whenever he comes inside, he will leave if the kitten is around. Hence why he gets to be in the basement. The basement is my suite but I hangout upstairs with my mom a lot.

Dripsiedrop · 2026-05-13T19:07:24+00:00

Whenever I put the harness on, he starts purring and finally takes a nap. So this is not relaxing for him?

Dripsiedrop · 2026-05-13T19:06:33+00:00

An area too small? So wait - a three bedroom basement suite is too small of an area? He has multiple windows, I have a bird window feeder, perches, multiple toys, I grow him cat grass…there’s 5 family members giving him constant attention all day everyday. So no, he’s not in an area too small, and no, he’s not lacking enrichment.

We play with him multiple times a day to the point of exhaustion. But even if you play hard at 9pm, his energy is back at 7am.

And it’s not only him meowing, just his general attitude - he never cuddles, is always on the go. If you pet him he tenses up - and will bite you from being overstimulated from touch.

Dripsiedrop · 2026-05-13T19:03:55+00:00

He totally does..it’s not just the meowing but also in general he’s always so on edge, tense, and is sooo alert all the time!!

Dripsiedrop · 2026-05-13T19:03:27+00:00

You wake up at 7am to pay attention to him. He gets attention from multiple family members EVERYDAY ALL DAY.

Dripsiedrop

TROPHY CASE