Constantly waking us up...

Hey, first post .

We have a cat that's about one year old and male, which will not stop waking us up in the night with his scratching.

We do not let him upstairs, so downstairs there are two rooms and one bathroom, we leave the bathroom and one other room open for him to sleep in at night if he's inside, but he will constantly come to my door and scratch and scratch until I either let him in for him to sleep, walk with him to his food in the next room, or let him out of the house.

If I don't open the door for him, he will wait outside and scratch the carpet, and somethings meow. This must happen 1-2 times a night and sometimes 3-4 times, especially last night.

What can we do to sort this out?

On a call in talk show on public radio the advice was given to get a one of those crates that one buys for dogs and put in in your bedroom. Have him get used to the crate and then lock him inside it at nite.
My most senior cat Ox (18 in march) started this scratching thing just a few weeks ago. Of course I always respond (verbally!!) He does it buy the bathroom where I feed all the cats-most times there is food in "his" dish. I hoping its age related for him as he doesn't do it every day.

Try playing with him an hour before bedtime, in order to tire him out.

Also, try not to succumb to his nightly demands. Earrplugs perhaps? Closing your door may make it worse at first, and he MAY eventually get used to the fact that you aren't going to open it for him.

Or keep the door open, and try your best to ignore him. Even if he puts his cold nose on your face! Play dead! Sometimes cats don't start trying to wake you up with full force until they sense that you are awake ie. you move your leg or turn over. He may eventually settle with time realizing his demands are fruitless.

I think this problem is more common with cats who go outside, as they act more on instincts (cats are nocturnal by nature) and want access to the outdoors at night.

I have two indoor cats and they never wake me up in the middle of the night. Only on weekend mornings if i sleep-in past 9am. But not always.

My childhood cat, who went outside, was another story. My parents had to keep a second floor window open for him, so he wouldn't wake them up at 4am. In the winter they would lock him into the lower part of the house at night. Luckily, we were able to shut the kitchen, basement and tv room off from the rest of the house, so we couldn't hear scratching and meowing on the upstairs bedroom level. He accepted this.

I think there is some articles about this problem in the Cat behaviour section of this site, and also some other threads in the forums with good advice (if you have not already seen them).

My last cat Pandi would scratch at the door at night to get out of the room, I had to keep her in the bedroom with me when I stayed at my family's house at night. I would throw pillows at her believe it or not, it worked!

hi, well I have 3 indoor/outdoor kitties and they stay in at nights at the mo - as its a bit colder - but they dont bother me in the night.
I agree with Fred&Nermals suggestion, if you play with your cat about 1hr before you go to bed then hopefully you will have tired him out

Also try toys to entertain him, you dont have to buy expensive ones, or you can even make your own. Use these toys with him before you go to bed and that may encourage him to play with them when you are sleeping !!

Good luck

Night Crazies is a good article.
http://www.thecatsite.com/Behavior/1...t-Crazies.html

This topic was the first one I searched for today because I've hardly gotten any sleep all weekend. It's not so bad when I work second shift, but I usually get up early on the weekends. My cat likes to snuggle and take a nap when I come home from work, but I'll try to tire him out with the cat dancer next time so he'll sleep later.

My response to my cats scratching at the door issue was to leave the door open so they can come and go as they please. Which worked, because they no longer wake me up