clingy cats

Question
QUESTION: I have 3 cats, all indoor only, all about 5 yrs of age.  In the past couple of weeks they have become extremely clingy.  They have to be right on top of me, litterally.  Any time I sit down there is a cat on my lap.  When I go to bed 2 if not all three of them will get on me and refuse to sleep else where.  One of them digs her claws in to keep from being removed.  There has not been any changes in diet, activities, people in house, etc.  I have had cats in my home for 40yrs. and I just can't figure out what is going on.  Also, there is a feral female that lives on my front porch with her brother. She has never let me touch her[in almost a year] but last week she birthed her first litter, all still born, and she brought them to me.  All the other ferals go hide to birth a litter.  Why did she bring them to me when she doesn't even trust me to touch her?

ANSWER: Hi
Firstly about the feral cat, she obviously does trust you but being a feral they find it incredibly hard to be petted etc. I think that it was lovely of her to bring you her kittens, even though they were dead. She was obviously in need of some comfort and taking them to you was perhaps something that helped her, who knows. She obviously has some connection to you as she lives on your porch.

Regarding the clingy issue, well you never know but the birth of the kittens on the porch may have made your cats feel insecure about their territory and don't forget you are part of that territory, so they are reaffirming that you are theres and no one else. This behavior may die down when they realize that there are no other cats coming into the home.

Best wishes
Kate
http://www.our-happy-cat.com

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Wow, I blew it without even trying then.  Just yesterday we were able to catch the 2 front porch ferals and had them fixed thru the feral cat society.They were returned to us today & are in my house [caged] right now. Now my cats are any thing but clingy!  The ferals will be returned to the porch in a cpl. days when they feel better and the weather is a little better. But what can I do to restore status quo in my house now that I have upset the balance?  All of my cats are rescued & have been with me at least 3 1/2 yrs. Also, do you think I can tame the ferals ?  I'd love to get them adopted into forever homes.

Answer
Hi
well you may have to give your house a bit of a spring clean to try and eliminate as much of the feral cats smell as possible once they have gone, this will help your cats to feel secure again. Apart from that they just need time to readjust.

Regarding taming feral cats. in my experience it doesn't really work. My sister took in a feral kitten and it remained a most vicious unfriendly cat its whole life to everyone except my sister, but even then she had to be carful with him. If you get the kittens before seven weeks of age you can try to socialize them by introducing them to lots of different people, situations and other animals like dogs etc. The first seven weeks of their life is key to them being able to be domesticated pets.

Kate
/kitten-care.html