My cat Bartleby, 3 year-old male, all black, is a strange kitty.  He is the
alpha-male of my cat family (5 cats total).  He is definately the boss of
the cats, they let him eat first, if he indicates he wants someone else's
toy, he gets it, etc.  But with me, he acts like a baby.  The baby-like
behavior started after my older cat, Dash, passed away, about 9 months ago.
Dash was the head of household, even when she was really sick.  She really
didn't like any of the other cats, but she did seem to kind of like
Bartleby.

Bartleby wakes me up every morning by kneading me (with claws extended,
ouch!) and nursing on my arm.  I've heard of cats that mimick nursing on
their humans, but that's usually something they do from kittenhood.  He
didn't start this until maybe 6 months ago.  He used to just do it in the
morning, but now he does it any time I'm laying down.  He also eats clumps
of cat hair.  If I'm brushing him, he will grab at the brush to get a clump
of hair and eat it.  He will also knock over the wastebasket to get the
hair.  Bartleby also seems to get depressed sometimes.  He will go hide in
the basement or under the bed and not come out for a while, he just looks
down, not himself.  He did have a real problem with UTI's, but a change in
diet seems to have helped that.

He almost seems to have manic-depressive cycles.  He will go from being
extremely lovey to being depressed and/or agressive with the other cats.  I
wish I could talk to him and find out what's wrong, what triggers his down
cycles.  Has anyone had any luck with a behavioral therapist?  I know I
could be completely over-analysing things, but, I really do wonder what is
up with him.  I know some of the individual behaviors don't sound that odd,
but if you were around him for a length of time, you would see this cat has
issues.

Sorry this got so lengthy.  Any insights are appreciated.