Please could I have some advice from some experienced owners of siamese and oriental cats. Two weeks ago we bought home a 16 week old oriental male. He is very affectionate and loving, however he literally follows me everywhere 24/7, constantlly demanding attention. He becomes very vocal if I don't stop what I am doing and give him attention. Although I have two older children and a husband, he only ever seems to want my attention.
I work from home so I am finding it very difficult at times as he is so clingy.

Do you think that he will calm down a bit when he gets older? Does anyone know of any strategies that I can use that will enable him to spend some time on his own.

Thanks in advance.

Hi kitty5,

Welcome to the forum

I've no experience with this breed myself, but if you haven't already googled their temperament, check this link, tho' regarding your ?'s, it may not be what you want to hear Oriental Shorthair Cat Breed Profile: Siamese Hybrid Feline with More Than 300 Colour-Pattern Combinations | Suite101.com

Ian

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RIP Black Tom and Beckett, not just cats, they were my cats and the best ever.

I've never had an oriental/siamese cat but from what I've read and from what I've seen of friends who do, this is pretty typical breed behaviour. Have you considered getting another kitty (same breed)? May help distract him by having his attention focused elsewhere for a bit and they can keep each other company when everyone is out as well as that breed also does not deal well with beng left alone for long periods of time (so I'm told!) A friend of mine did this, and although the kitties were both still pretty vocal and seeked a lot of attention, it wasn't as all-consuming as having the kitty focusing on her.

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Basil & Sybil

Typical of the breed. Totally normal!
If you don't like a clingy cat that talks ALLOT then a Siamese / Oriental is not the right breed for you..
I agree that getting him a friend might help...

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I also have two other older moggies so unfortunately I would not be able to have another kitten. The other two just completely ignore him and refuse to interact with him which is very sad for the kitten. I agree, that getting a playmate for him would probably move his entire focus from me.

The thing that most puzzles me about the kitten is that he will have my two children and husband all available to pet him and he would rather pace around under my feet trying to get my attention whilst I am in the middle of doing something.

I feel that if he would bond with the other family members then he would definitely receive all the attention that he craves.

I remember the first Siamese kitten we got (34 years ago) was also a bit clingy and when ironing he would sprawl round my shoulders. We had no children so he tended to get lots of attention from both of us. He did get better as he grew up but if you were sat down he had to be on your knee. The little man we have now is very vocal and if you don't listen to him he'll sit in front of you staring until he gets what he wants. However, I know if he's not vocal there is something seriously wrong with him.

Siamese do need lots of attention, that's partly why I like them, because they are so intelligent. Perhaps he looks to you for attention because you feed him etc.

We've even tried having my husband take on almost all the feeding to try to transfer some of the love on to him but at the moment all his attention seems to be focused on me.

As said above that is completely normal for a siamese / oriental, it's one of their traits. My siamese is almost permanently on either mine or my wife's knee and every time I get up for whatever reason wherever she is (even if she's sleeping) she immediately shoots up and runs under my feet. Then wherever I am she will jump up onto the nearest high surface be it a shelf, kitchen worktop, chest of draws, wardrobe and miaow constantly for attention.

It's also quite normal for them to bond strongly with only one person, luckilly mine's a bit of a tart and as long as she's getting attention she doesn't really care who it's off

Absolutely agree that this is totally normal for a Siamese/Oriental and they do tend to be 'one-person' cats too, gravitating towards one member of the family more than another.
I always ask prospective kitten buyers if they are familiar with the breed because of this clinginess in them.

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How we behave toward cats here below determines our status in heaven. - Robert A. Heinlein
http://www.lambchopsiamese.webs.com

Thank you so much for your replies. I think that we are going to have to persevere with the rest of the family so he gets the attention that he craves.