4 am every morning...

Once again I am awake at 4am because George has decided it's time to play. We play in the evening until about 11 pm or so and then it's lights out around midnight. He will find any way he can to wake me up - staring, love bites, making noise of any kind. I would love to keep him out of the bedroom, but his litterbox is in the bathroom attached to the bedroom and its only access (after much deliberation, that was the best place for it).

Of course, he's wide a awake and wants to play! Right now he's rolling around on the floor with that "look at me, aren't I cute?" look on his face (he really is!). Yesterday morning when I went back to bed he chased me down the hall and bit me on the ankle as I was climbing back into bed!!

I would love and appreciate any suggestions that you all have on how to break George of this habit - I'm sooooo sleepy....

In my experience, cats adjust to your sleeping schedule as long as you do not entertain their antics to change it. Kittens are hard because they're full of energy and think everybody is like them.
You really need a lot of patience. You will have to learn not to respond to George's cute behavior and certainly not encourage biting so he can have his way. Put him in the bathroom if he starts to hurt you and try to ignore his pleas (ear plugs help).
In time he will give up because you are not reacting the way he wants you to and sleep when you sleep.

Ear plugs are your friend, that's true.

Originally Posted by George's Mom

Once again I am awake at 4am because George has decided it's time to play. We play in the evening until about 11 pm or so and then it's lights out around midnight. He will find any way he can to wake me up - staring, love bites, making noise of any kind. I would love to keep him out of the bedroom, but his litterbox is in the bathroom attached to the bedroom and its only access (after much deliberation, that was the best place for it).

Of course, he's wide a awake and wants to play! Right now he's rolling around on the floor with that "look at me, aren't I cute?" look on his face (he really is!). Yesterday morning when I went back to bed he chased me down the hall and bit me on the ankle as I was climbing back into bed!!

I would love and appreciate any suggestions that you all have on how to break George of this habit - I'm sooooo sleepy....

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This is why he arises at exactly 4am every morning. And on the mornings that I do work that is what time I get up. So everyday for him (including off days) is a work day so Im supposed to rise and shine with a happy smile
I suffered from sleep deprivation for sooo long with that and Im so thankful that Petunia doesnt attempt to wake me at that hour as he does. She is the sleepy girl along with her mommy and not only will he want me up at that hour but also her and she gets quite annoyed. As Barkley has gotten older he has gotten a little better and doesnt resort to his early morning antics as much as he used to. I couldnt think of anything to keep him out of the bedroom because just like you the bathroom is attached to my bedroom and that is where his litterbox is. This is precisely why I told you they should meet because they sound like two peas in a pod!!

George actually didn't bother me all night long! I think he knew I wasn't happy with him yesterday - he seemed to pout all day. But do you think I could sleep?? Noooo - I was expecting him to wake me up so I woke up anyway!

My kitten Jack had me awake at 4.a.m for the first few weeks.

He's settled down a bit now because he's letting me lie until about 5.30-6.00.a.m

I was going to suggest getting another kitten as company, but it's Jack and my older cat Rosie who are the ones bouncing all over the bed wakening me up I wouldn't mind if they wrestled on the floor instead of the bed

This reminds me of when Toby was a tiny kitten......no rest for anyone once he woke up. Thankfully Tedy was 6 mo old, and Tawny was over a year when we got them....so we did`nt have to go through a lot of training them about not biting , nor attacking anything that moves under the covers.
Ours DO however, want us up at 5:00 am, since that`s what time we get up through the week. At least they seem content to have just ME up on the weekends and don`t seem to mind if I shut the bedroom door so Larry can sleep in . I`m their "favorite toy" anyhow....plus am a "morning person". (Please don`t shoot me! I do understand that non-morning-people get irritated at morning-folks.)
Linda

Originally Posted by Rosiemac

He's settled down a bit now because he's letting me lie until about 5.30-6.00.a.m

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You sound like me, Barkley let's me "sleep-in" until atleast 6am at the latest now on days when I don't work. I'll take that any day over 4am

I guess the one day of being able to sleep was just a tease - George tried to wake me up at 2:30 this morning!! I completely ingnored him and thankfully he didn't come back until 7:30 (that might sound late to some but when you get into bed at 1am-ish that's not enough sleep!)

George isn't a kitten - he's 5 yrs old. I've had him since May - got him from the shelter so I don't know what his previous owner(s) schedule was like. Hopefully we can get into a schedule that the two of us can agree on.
I thought about getting him a friend to keep him company (he's never lived with another pet or children) but with my luck, they'd both be "morning" cats!

Originally Posted by George's Mom

George isn't a kitten - he's 5 yrs old!

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Oh no!!!

Rosie's 5 years old, and before i got Jack her and Sophie used to sleep like babies, but Jacks brought the kitten back out in her

Originally Posted by George's Mom

I thought about getting him a friend to keep him company (he's never lived with another pet or children) but with my luck, they'd both be "morning" cats!

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I lucked out big time with Petunia as a companion for ole Barkley. She is the complete opposite of him, she has her moments when she's up (like this morning scratching on the couch a little bit) and about, but for the most part she sleeps and lays around all day while Barkley wants to romp and play all day long

Radar is a nightmare, he doesn't get up in the middle of the night, but this morning I was woken before dawn by the thundering of kitty-feet across the bed and then having my toes clawed every 3 minutes until we finally caught him and shut him out of the room. This is one of the reasons he's not normally allowed in the bedroom at night. Sonic is an angel and will snooze happily until I get out of bed.

It really helps if you don't ever give in to it. Also don't feed or play with them as soon as you get up in the morning, as they associate you getting up with food/playtime and will try to bring the hour forward to the most convenient time for them. I always potter about for at least half an hour after getting out of bed before doing anything with the cats, so there is no association for them. Besides Radar's foot obsession, and except when Sonic was first with us, I have NEVER been woken up by a cat demanding breakfast or a game of fetch! Sonic used to wake me by dropping toys in my face, but he soon learned that it didn't work, I was not going to play with him at that hour, and he gave up trying and now sleeps through and doesn't try to wake me up.

Originally Posted by Epona

It really helps if you don't ever give in to it. Also don't feed or play with them as soon as you get up in the morning, as they associate you getting up with food/playtime and will try to bring the hour forward to the most convenient time for them.

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The only problem I have with rising so early in the morning and feeding the kids is that Barkley has this thing for taking his food out of his dish with his paws and spreading it all over the floor when Im not around instead of just eating it like Petunia does. If I feed him immediately upon getting out of bed he will eat it right up with no problems because he knows Im still in the room with him. I have noticed that he has slacked up with this behavior but there was a time when I was ready to march him back to the Humane Society because of it. I don't like leaving food out in a bowl for him so he can eat earlier because I know he wont eat it but rather play in it instead.

I've actually been very lucky the past few nights. George has done his usual sitting on me, walking on me thing at 4am-ish, but he's actually let me sleep - wooohooo

This is probably temporary I'm sure! I know he gets up to have a snack (dry food out all the time) and sometimes I hear him playing - not a big toy guy, maybe at 5 he's grown out of a lot of his playing?? And then at some point he jumps back into bed. But now when I expect him to wake me up at 6 am he hasn't! Maybe it's the weather. It's been rainy - maybe he too likes to veg out on rainy days.

My schedule changes in a few weeks and then the two of us will have to get use to a whole new schedule. Ouch! Just when I think he might be "trained"...!

well the worst thing you could do is play with him as he will think you always want to play at 4 am. make sure your cat is more active in the day so he is more tired at night and wont want to play.

My hubby was sooo angry this morning, Mellow was crying outside our door at 5 this morning and apparently didnt stop until it was time for us to get up at 630!

I think its partly our falut, he used to meow when he heard the alarm clocks go off, as he knew we were coming out of the room, and of course we always pet him and say hello, so he has linked meowing at us when we are in the bedroom with the door shut to getting us up. his meow is such a sad cry, I feel mean keeping him out if the bedroom, but the plan is to keep one room cat free, so the fur doesnt get up my nose when we sleep. also we like the door shut when we sleep so he wouldnt be able to get to his food water and box if we shut the door.

I think he was worse last night and today because we have both been out of the house alot more than we usually are, I am normally at home all day, and apart from the weekend, i have been out the door at 7 and getting back about 5, so our usual playtimes have got missed, he used to go crazy at about 11 in the morning and we would play together to tire him out. then he would go crazy again about 10 at night and we would play again, but when we are not there I think he sleeps alot which gives him lots of energy

The boys did this to me and the OH at first. It's true, to who ever said ear plugs are your friend! They keep out all sorts of kitten sounds and husbands snoring

They stopped the 4am thing, but now they are the BEST "snooze buttons"
When the alarm goes off at 530am, in comes Winston, running, jumps on the bed and proceeds to walk all over us and headbutt us until the OH gets up for work.

The only problem is, he does it at the weekends now! And the alarm doesn't even go off!

I had this problem with Possum, my siamese. He would want to play at around 3 or 4. I thought I had the solution to just put him out of my room and shut the door. That didn't work because he stuck his paw underneath the door and started pulling at it where it sounded like someone was trying to open a locked door. Then he started scratching at it. Then the meows started! I just try to ignore him now and he doesn't do it anymore.

Originally Posted by Okuda

The only problem is, he does it at the weekends now! And the alarm doesn't even go off!

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That's the thing that I cant seem to program into Barkley's head and that is "on weekends Mommy sleeps longer than usual" He still wants me up at 4am