Newly Rescued and Crying. Except When in Lap

[JustThom]

My friend(L) just rescued a kitty that wandered onto her doorstep. The cat is young, <2yrs. "Dumplin" has just started coming indoors. She will follow L into every room crying, until L sits on the couch and the cat is able to lapsit. L would like Dumplin to be a full-time indoor kitty, but is afraid to leave her unattended due to this behaviour. What anxieties is this poor thing going through and what can we do to calm them? Note: She's not crying to go out. She actually cries to come in.

[Kay]

she's been starved of affection, no doubt, and is making up for it - or trying to

most cats I know sleep when they are indoors on their own, so I really doubt L needs to worry about the cat fretting when she's out of the house

[lilynmitz]

It's very early days yet, and she's still craving attention after a rough time of things. Keep giving her plenty of attention though, and over the coming months she should start feeling more secure. With most of my rescues I see their personalities gradually changing as they settle in for up to a year, so just keep on with giving her lots of reassurance. You could give her a warm snuggly jumper that smells of your friend to curl up with while she's out - that might help.

[Willowgill]

How lovely your friend is willing to give this poor little kitty a home especially in this weather! When we first got Daphne she had been living rough for several months in my son's garden. Once she was here she would follow me around all the time and if she couldn't see me would start to cry until I spoke to her to reassure her I was still there. She would often wake up and cry out as well - almost as if she'd forgotten where she was. Sadly she is not a lap cat and 3 years down the line will only very occasionally come and sit on my knee but she still needs to know where I am. I would say this little one will be fine in a warm loving home - as someone said make a warm cosy bed for her with a snuggly jumper or dressing gown and leave it where she normally sits with your friend so she is familiar with the smells and surroundings. With plenty of toys and maybe a scratching post to keep her occupied she'll be fine.