Why the closed door feels so large to her
A clingy cat is not manipulating you when she cries, paws under the door, or camps outside your workroom; she has learned that your presence predicts safety, food, warmth, and company, and a closed door removes all four at once without explanation. Cats who follow from room to room often manage brief separations badly precisely because they so rarely practice them, so every closed door arrives as a new emergency instead of a familiar pause. The aim is not to make her indifferent to you, but to teach her, in small doses she can succeed at, that the door closing predicts a comfortable station, a predictable routine, and your unexciting return, rather than abandonment until evening.
Build a comfort station she chooses before she must
Set up the spot she will use during work hours at a time when the door is open: a bed or box she already likes placed in a warm, draft-free spot near the door but not directly against it, something soft that carries your scent, fresh water, a scratching option, and a view or perch if she is a watcher. Let her discover treats there, nap there, and receive play there across several days, so the station gathers good associations before it is ever linked to separation. On workdays, deliver a lick mat, a food toy at her proven difficulty, or part of breakfast at that station as the door closes, turning the hardest moment into the moment the good thing appears.
Practice separations shorter than her worry
Do not let the first rehearsal be a full workday. On a relaxed day, step into the room, close the door for seconds, then a minute, then a few minutes, returning calmly before she escalates, and repeat across days as her tolerance grows. Keep both the leaving and the returning deliberately dull, with no apologies, no excited reunion, and no scolding if she has cried, because emotional volume at the door teaches her the door is a dramatic place. If she settles with a toy or dozes, let sleeping cats lie and finish your work stretch, since rescuing a settled cat to check on her restarts the clock she had just stopped worrying about.
Handle the workday itself with steady predictability
Start work at a consistent time where you can, give the station its food item at the same point in the routine, and take planned breaks rather than popping out at every cry, which trains crying as the button that opens doors. A household member at home can offer the midday refresh of the station, a short play session away from the door, and a tray and water check, so her day has structure beyond waiting. Watch for signs that clinginess is tipping into distress worth discussing with your veterinarian, such as refusing food, toileting outside the tray only on workdays, over-grooming, or panic that does not ease after weeks of gradual practice, because separation problems that intense deserve professional support.
So everyone at home runs the same routine
Your cat will learn the pattern fastest when every person in the house sets up the same bed, the same food item, and the same flat goodbye, instead of each improvising their own version. Sharing those comfort details through KinsLe Family Sharing keeps her settling routine, favorite items, and practice progress in one place the whole household works from, so the closed door means the same reassuring thing whoever is home.