Cat cries all night when roommate is gone

[grayslick]

Hi, my roommate has an indoor cat who just screams at the top of his lungs all night when his owner is gone. They only leave when they absolutely have to because of this, but they're going again over the weekend and cannot afford boarding. Obviously I'm making sure he has food and water. It doesn't seem to stem from boredom or lack of affection, the last time they were gone he did this the first night so I spent every single minute of the following day with him. Petted him, played with him, napped with him literally all day and it had no effect. It seems like he's just super stuck on his owner which seems odd because they don't even interact that much, he kind of a keeps to himself. I'm not sure how to react when he screams or how I might prevent it. Over the nights I tried sleeping in their room with him, ignoring him in hopes he'd stop, holding him in hopes he'd calm, playing with him to wear him out, locking him in a different room than where he goes to scream, giving him calming supplements. Nothing worked. Any suggestions?

[Lilith]

Hi Grayslick and welcome - you've got a problem!

Looks to me as if you've been doing all the right things, too; I can't really add anything except to suggest that they take the cat with them when they go away. Most cats are best left in their own homes, but this guy sounds so wrapped up in his owners that he might prefer to travel with them?

There's also a free service on here - [email protected] - you can email a cat behaviourist for advice.

All the very best and good on you for helping him - most people would just get a new room-mate!