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My cat has been acting up recently and I don't know what to do. She's constantly following me around. She'll get up from her sleep and meow and run after me after she hears me coming. And there have been a few incidents which have worried me. She'll come at legs when she rubs against them, and she'll swat at me when I'm sitting across her. I can't just casually walk by her, I always have to crouch down and draw her attention away from my legs so she doesn't attack them. I feel like she's always watching me and I don't understand why. She's been watching me, meowing at me and following me around constantly. This was not normal before. I'm getting more and more scared of her. She's been seeking more of my attention lately.

Some info:

She sleeps on the floor instead of my bed now. She no longer has an interest in running out the front door when someone comes in. We brought in a carrier of another cat, could the smell of that cat be the cause for this behaviour? We haven't been able to get her wet food in a week and she's constantly meowing for it. Could the lack of wet food be the cause? Her behaviour has also changed quite a bit. We've had her for 3 months although she is 3 years old. Domestic short hair.

How do I get this behaviour to stop?

UPDATE: Ever since getting her wet food and removing the carrier, most strange behaviours have stopped. Thank you all for the responses!

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    Has anything else changed recently, like diet? How old is your cat? Is this an indoor only cat? How much time do you spend with focused play with your cat - i.e. are they getting enough stimulation? Do they have a perch area? Possibly the smell of another cat has caused them anxiety and they are obsessing about their owner. Some more info on your history with your cat might be helpful.
    – MmmHmm
    Apr 4, 2017 at 4:41
  • Is she desexed? Did this behaviour start when the other cat was brought in? Are you still patting her? Have you hurt her in any way when she's attacked your legs?
    – user6796
    Apr 4, 2017 at 5:45
  • I don't know if it will ease/resolve constipation (if indeed she's suffering from this), but one thing I've done in the past is put a small amount of dry kibbles into a food bowl and added a splash of very warm water that I then mixed in to soften the kibbles. This will help to make up for the lack of water from a dry diet, especially good if you have a cat who doesn't like to drink water separately, believe me, the flavoured water goes first! :) the water should be no hotter than where you can leave your finger in it indefinitely.
    – Rob
    Apr 7, 2017 at 6:43

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Maybe your cat is just afraid of losing her home again. You have not had her for a long time. Surely she smells the other cat and may think there is a competitor. I would clean the carrier carefully and put in it something that smells of her or of you (an unwashed shirt or towel). And get her her favorite food. My cat gets also a bit aggressive if I do not give him enough attention (in his opinion not mine...) He tries to keep me with his claws and force me to pet him. As I understand, you are are not allowing the cat things any more which she was used to (e. g. sleeping in bed) so she might fear that you do not like / want her any more.

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You mention that she hasn't had wet food, so there's been a change in her diet. It's possible she is slightly constipated, which would match with her sleeping on the floor rather than on the bed, as it may be more comfortable for her while she's experiencing this pain/discomfort.

Also if she is feeling out of sorts with the change in diet, that could be making her unhappy and cranky and difficult to deal with generally. Cats have their moods as we do and they are influenced by their environment and their bodies homoeostasis. Any change in routine, especially diet will have an affect on their mood. In some animals it may be minor, but in other instances it can be more noticeable.

When we're not giving out cats something they need or want, they can respond by doing all the typical unhappy cat communications that your cat is doing. Swiping at us, stalking us and pouncing. Not being happy to see us. Her incessant nagging of you when she hears you is a sign she wants something. Whether it's her food, or relief from not feeling 100% comfortable in her digestive tract or both, she's communicating to you she's not happy.

Apart from the food issue, it's difficult to pet a cat that is behaving like that, as we have self preservation and do not want to be clawed. so it's a matter of small (quick) more frequent pats, to reward her when she's calm. I'm not sure what she's like when she follows you, perhaps you can try picking her up and carrying her with you to your destination and then put her down on a chair. I find that's something that works well with one of my cats and he will get into the habit of jumping onto my bed for his 'carry' as I call it. I miss it when we don't have that routine.

I have one cat that gets particularly moody and I ride out the storms with him. One thing I've found with cats, is it takes effort to give them time and affection in our busy keyboard bound lives, as their behaviour can become inconvenient when they try to get our attention by walking on keyboards. That is one example, but there's many ways our cats will try and get our attention and if they are feeling put out by us, they can sulk. It's important to make that effort to chat to and pat our pets every day. Not just in the passing of feeding routines and the like.

If it continues, I'd get her checked by a vet to ensure she's well, as there may be something going on.

These type of behaviour changes can be seen also with female cats coming into season, their personalities can change significantly while in heat.

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