Separation anxiety???

On Aug 29, 3:14?pm, "
wrote:
My spoiled baby Hercules has the worst case of separation
anxiety I have ever seen. He is not distructive in an way, but he
cries and yowls from the depths of his soul when he does not have
total access to me. He does not need to be in my lap, he just needs
to know I am near.

My mother and I (she's 83) recently had to move into a
townhouse together. I have converted the lower part into a nice, small
1 bedroom apt for mom and I have done the same on the upper floor for
me. I decided that the cats could poss a threat of falling to mom if
they were under foot, so I put up a small barrier that they could
easily jump over or knock down----they don't This barrier has
multiple holes in it, simular to a wrought iron type gate.They can see
me and have even learned that "go up" means to go back up stairs. But
Hercules is a different story. When I am downstairs he proceeds to
enter into this fit of extreme panic/anxiety because he can't be with
me. He can see me and has learned that I do return. Nothing will
ease his anxiety untill I return to the top floor. Once I am back up
stairs he is fine. In fact, most of the time he will go off to his
spot and go down for another nap. But let me go down stairs and he is
awake and yowling for me at the foot of the stairs.

This also happens anytime I leave the house. He cries and
yowls till he simply has no voice left. Has any one out there ever
heard of a cat with extreme separation anxiety and if so what can be
done-----AND I DO NOT want to medicate him !!

So help if you can guys! Hercules would appreciate it, I
would appreciate it and I know my mother would appreciate it.

Thanx Hercules' s Mom

Tell me, Mother... Did you ever participate in child-rearing...?
Because if you did, you'd know the pitfalls of raising a spoiled
rotten child. It's probably too late. Now that you've already created
this monster.. But at least you can try. The first thing you do is to
get a child's squirt gun. You can find these at any dime store or
Walmart around. Great fun with the kids. Loads of [quite harmless]
lessons for your little Lord Fauntleroy there. This should condition
him in short order. It will send a strong message that his child-like
leanings will no longer be tolerated. The next thing to do is to
segregate him from the rest of the household at nite. Take him, his
food, his litter and his water and put them in a separate room
(preferably on the other side of the house). Then close the door. He
won't be bothering you at nite then, either. You might need to use one
of those noisy box fans to colour the cries for a while. At least for
four or five weeks until he gets used to it.
These two things are good ideas, as far as I'm concerned. They work
well in establishing between you and your pet just who is the real
boss around there.
And that leads me this statement, which will be my closer... Just who
IS the boss in your home, Mother....? I think that the answer to that
question is quite clear at this juncture. The only question now must
be.... is it going to remain academic, or are you going to do
something about it...?


IBen Getiner