He follows me everywhere

I need to talk about how unbelievably clingy this cat is. Like I knew going in that toygers were supposed to be affectionate and social, the breeder mentioned it several times and I read about it online before getting him. But I genuinely don't think anything could have prepared me for this level of constant attachment. This cat physically cannot be in a different room than me for more than thirty seconds. Its actually kind of wild when I think about it.

This morning I got up and went to the bathroom. Normal morning routine stuff. Closed the door behind me because you know, privacy and all that. Within maybe thirty seconds, and I'm not exaggerating here, he was scratching at the door and meowing like I had abandoned him forever and was never coming back. Just these sad desperate little cries. I was in there for like two minutes tops. He acted like it had been hours since he last saw my face. The absolute second I opened the door he tried to squeeze past my legs to get in there with me to make sure I was okay or something.

Then I went to sit down at my desk to get some work done. Remote work day, just needed to answer some emails and do some spreadsheet stuff. He immediately, and I mean immediately, jumped up onto my keyboard. Just sat there, directly on the keys, looking up at me with those big innocent eyes. I gently moved him off to the side of the desk. He jumped right back up onto the keyboard. I moved him again. He jumped back up again. This went on for a while. Eventually I just completely gave up and let him lay across my forearm while I attempted to type around his fuzzy body. Very productive morning as you can probably imagine. Got maybe half my work done.

He follows me from room to room constantly like a little orange striped shadow. Its relentless. If I walk to the kitchen he's right there behind me. If I go to the living room he trots along after me. If I literally just stand up to grab a glass of water from the cabinet he stands up from wherever he was and follows me to watch me get the water. Then follows me back. Its honestly so much more like having a dog than having a cat. I've had cats before growing up and as an adult, and absolutely none of them ever cared this much about where I was at any given moment. They were all pretty independent and did their own thing.

The funniest and also most intense thing is when I'm sitting on the couch trying to relax. He doesn't just sit next to me on the cushion like a normal cat would. No. He has to be physically ON me. Specifically on my chest. Facing me. Looking directly at my face from like six inches away. Just staring into my eyes. Sometimes he'll reach out with one paw and gently put it on my cheek, like he's checking to make absolutely certain I'm still there and still alive and still paying attention to him. Its cute but also kind of a lot you know?

I looked it up online and apparently toygers are known for bonding extremely strongly with their humans. Like more than most other cat breeds. So yeah. Confirmed. That checks out completely. This cat has decided that I am his person and his entire world and he will absolutely not let me out of his sight. Ever. Under any circumstances. I can't even shower in peace, he sits outside the shower curtain and yells at me the whole time. But honestly? I don't really mind that much. Its actually nice to feel this wanted by another living creature. Even if it does mean I can apparently never close a door in my own home again.