Stressed out
One way cats show distress is by coughing up huge hairballs. This is usually due to excessive grooming; one behaviour that felines demonstrate when they’re feeling lonely.
Separation anxiety
If your cat feels that they are not getting enough attention, they may start to show signs of separation anxiety – all intended to know exactly how they feel. These can come in many different forms:
Destructive behaviour
Vomiting in your presence
Greeting you excessively
Scent-marking in your house
Urinating on your belongings or not using the litter tray
Clingy cats
If your cat is very clingy and constantly darting about your legs or if they are very demanding and very vocal when you leave the house, your cat is probably lonely. There are lots of ways to distract your cat, including giving them challenging toys and playing soothing sounds.
Home sweet home
A place to snuggle will make cats feel at home – a purrrfect pillow to sleep on along with a lookout post to keep an eye on the world going by.
Soothing sounds
It could be that your cat needs some background noise to distract them from what they’re thinking and feeling whilst they’re lonely.
Scent-searching
Try using balls of socks and marking them with a bit of perfume or spices to give your pet something to focus on whilst you’re away.
Feline friends
Some cats need social interaction and love a playmate to stop them pining for their humans – whether it be another ball of fluff or plenty of toys such as wind-up mice, they need plenty to keep them occupied.
Interaction
Food-dispensing toys could be your saviour – let your cats have fun while working for their lunch and satisfying their natural instinct to hunt. They also encourage slower eating, so can help maintain a healthy digestion tract and weight! Interactive toys will also keep your pet on their toes by giving them plenty of exercise.
