My 3 year old cat will NEVER sleep through the night. Somewhere around 3 or 4 she'll decide she wants to get up and start walking around on my bed. When I push her off she'll start getting into things and making noises. A few months ago my husband finally had had enough and said she has to sleep in our basement (it's a finished basement so it's not like a dungeon). That worked until the last few nights. She paws at the door so loudly that my daughter says it sounds like she's throwing herself against the door (her room is right across the hall). I even heard it upstairs. What can we do to get a good night's sleep? I've read before that we should play with her at night and tire her out, but we're tired at night and have things to do. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
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Help! My cat won't let me sleep!
- Thread starter erlamimi
- Start Date
What about getting her a cat tree? One that she can climb on and have fun. If you don't want to play with her at night because you are tired, if you have a cat tree/gym, hide other toys and treats on it to keep her busy. I'm not sure if it works, but it's worth a shot.
Or get her some toys that move on its own. (Like the mice) And she can chase it, and you don't have to do anything.
And here's a crazy idea...Another kitty!
They can tire each other out and you'll get twice the love!
Or get her some toys that move on its own. (Like the mice) And she can chase it, and you don't have to do anything.
And here's a crazy idea...Another kitty!
Does she respond to a laser toy? Then it's easy to get her running around while you're too tired to play with her.
I'm sure she is throwing herself at the door. We tried closing the bedroom door once at night and that's exactly what they did.
What about getting your daughter to play with her for half an hour or so before everyone hits the sack? What about setting a schedule and trading off who plays with her?
Cats need stimulation if they're kept indoors.
Laurie
I'm sure she is throwing herself at the door. We tried closing the bedroom door once at night and that's exactly what they did.
What about getting your daughter to play with her for half an hour or so before everyone hits the sack? What about setting a schedule and trading off who plays with her?
Cats need stimulation if they're kept indoors.
Laurie
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I agree PLAY.. I have a nearly four yr old semi feral( she was wild and on her own) who if she doesnt play will keep me up all night... She gets three to four 5-15 minute sessions a day...
She well could be lonely another cat properly introduced MAY help tire her out ...
WHO is RESPONSIBLE for this cat??
She well could be lonely another cat properly introduced MAY help tire her out ...
WHO is RESPONSIBLE for this cat??
Our cats love to wrestle in our bed... at 2 am mind you. I almost kicked my boyfriend out of bed in surprise when the cat landed on my face while I was sleeping. So scary! We ended up just having to kick them out and close the door.
I'd suggest a cat tree and some toys with suction cups that you can attach to the wall... my situation is a bit different because my cat has a buddy. Also yes, aroundd 6 or 7 play with them for an hour or two, get him tuckered out. then close the door!
I'd suggest a cat tree and some toys with suction cups that you can attach to the wall... my situation is a bit different because my cat has a buddy. Also yes, aroundd 6 or 7 play with them for an hour or two, get him tuckered out. then close the door!
Yes, you should play with her to tire her out during the day.
But equally important is to not let her wake you up at night. That is, every family member has to pretend to stay asleep, no matter what the cat does. If she walks on the bed and gets pushed off or talked to in response, she learns that that's a behavior that will reward her with attention. So get in the habit of not moving or opening your eyes at all when she does the unwanted behavior... after a few minutes she'll give up and go away.
However, she will repeat the behavior a lot before the training is complete. It took a few months, but I trained my cat to sleep or sit patiently until I get up. I can sleep 12 hours at a stretch, and he just waits.
Needless to say, never get up to feed or play with the cat in response to her unwanted behavior. It might also be a good idea never to play or talk to the cat when she's on the bed during the day... this reinforces the idea that the bed is only for sleep, not play.
But equally important is to not let her wake you up at night. That is, every family member has to pretend to stay asleep, no matter what the cat does. If she walks on the bed and gets pushed off or talked to in response, she learns that that's a behavior that will reward her with attention. So get in the habit of not moving or opening your eyes at all when she does the unwanted behavior... after a few minutes she'll give up and go away.
However, she will repeat the behavior a lot before the training is complete. It took a few months, but I trained my cat to sleep or sit patiently until I get up. I can sleep 12 hours at a stretch, and he just waits.
Needless to say, never get up to feed or play with the cat in response to her unwanted behavior. It might also be a good idea never to play or talk to the cat when she's on the bed during the day... this reinforces the idea that the bed is only for sleep, not play.
Alley starts walking all over me about five. Since she is a free feeder and always has food and water I can only assume she just wants me up for some reason. I have found that if I grab her and pull her along side of me she will lay there and snuggle me until it is time for me to get up.
LOL! Mitties does the same thing but not as bad. She wakes up at 3 a.m. wanting her breakfast, and I just won't comply! (How DARE I would rather sleep at 3 a.m.!) I've discovered putting her out in our mudroom when she starts up really helps. She has water, a litterbox, and a heated bed. When we go get her in the morning when we wake up, she runs in and heads right for her bowl. Occasionally, I can hear her scratching or meowing, but it's rare.
Definitely try to tire her out more at night before you go to bed. Or, get her a kitten companion to do the work for you!
Sounds to me like she's extremely bored. Give her something to do! Good luck. I'll think of you when I'm getting up at 3 a.m. with my cat!
Definitely try to tire her out more at night before you go to bed. Or, get her a kitten companion to do the work for you!
My kitties are bed slugs...tehehe...I don't have a problem with them coming up and waking me up at night usually!!!
Faith will try to 'smother' me by trying to sleep unrealistically close to my face, but other than that...mine are usually sleeping on our bed; when they get wild, they know they will be locked out, and ignored...and for Faith especially, that is "torture" because she is a cuddle bug...she hates when the other two ruin it for her!
As far as your 'non sleeper' I agree...you need to just 'pretend' to be asleep; or wake up, and non chalantly pick her up, place her outside your door, and shut it.
If she starts pawing or banging against your door try to ignore her as long as possible. But one thing that I have found will pretty much cure that 'habit' in any cat, is a rolled up newspaper. I open the door a crack...enough to slip the paper through, and whap it along the doorframe really good and loudly...they usually go scampering away, and don't come back, cause they are expecting YOU to come out, not a scarey noisemaker!!!
Get some acceptable play things for her to occupy her time on when you are asleep as well...trees, 'cat houses', etc...mine love crinkle beds, and their mousie toys 'soaked' in cat nip...
Faith will try to 'smother' me by trying to sleep unrealistically close to my face, but other than that...mine are usually sleeping on our bed; when they get wild, they know they will be locked out, and ignored...and for Faith especially, that is "torture" because she is a cuddle bug...she hates when the other two ruin it for her!
As far as your 'non sleeper' I agree...you need to just 'pretend' to be asleep; or wake up, and non chalantly pick her up, place her outside your door, and shut it.
If she starts pawing or banging against your door try to ignore her as long as possible. But one thing that I have found will pretty much cure that 'habit' in any cat, is a rolled up newspaper. I open the door a crack...enough to slip the paper through, and whap it along the doorframe really good and loudly...they usually go scampering away, and don't come back, cause they are expecting YOU to come out, not a scarey noisemaker!!!
Get some acceptable play things for her to occupy her time on when you are asleep as well...trees, 'cat houses', etc...mine love crinkle beds, and their mousie toys 'soaked' in cat nip...
It can take a while for my boys (20 months and 14 months old) to settle at night, but we have them fairly well trained that night times are for sleeping, I don't think they're bad about it at all for such young and lively cats.
A late play and a late dinner for them right before we go to bed, they will chase round for a bit but then come to bed and sleep until morning, in fact I usually have to prise them off me and listen to them grumbling when I have to get up!
We have always been adamant that they are not to play on the bed, and not to wake us up when we're in bed - this was acheived by IGNORING any attempts to dig us out of bed, bat at our faces, or drop toys on us- or even if it was just walking around on the bed. You have to ignore it completely, any reaction is an attention reward. Any toys that were brought to bed were confiscated and we'd lie on them so they couldn't get them back until we woke up in our own time. Covers over the head, even if they'd woken us we would lie there ignoring them until they gave up. Conversely, if they came to bed and layed down quietly, we gave lots of attention and petting. It took just over a week for them to learn, Sonic was not even 4 months old at the time and if you can train a young energetic kitten with very little self-control not to wake you by being consistent, then you can do the same with any cat. This approach was combined with giving them plenty of play and attention at other times of the day when it was more convenient, and they soon got the hang of it
A late play and a late dinner for them right before we go to bed, they will chase round for a bit but then come to bed and sleep until morning, in fact I usually have to prise them off me and listen to them grumbling when I have to get up!
We have always been adamant that they are not to play on the bed, and not to wake us up when we're in bed - this was acheived by IGNORING any attempts to dig us out of bed, bat at our faces, or drop toys on us- or even if it was just walking around on the bed. You have to ignore it completely, any reaction is an attention reward. Any toys that were brought to bed were confiscated and we'd lie on them so they couldn't get them back until we woke up in our own time. Covers over the head, even if they'd woken us we would lie there ignoring them until they gave up. Conversely, if they came to bed and layed down quietly, we gave lots of attention and petting. It took just over a week for them to learn, Sonic was not even 4 months old at the time and if you can train a young energetic kitten with very little self-control not to wake you by being consistent, then you can do the same with any cat. This approach was combined with giving them plenty of play and attention at other times of the day when it was more convenient, and they soon got the hang of it
My kitties like to do that too! I ignore them completely! It isn't too bad since there is two of them there is always something to do! Another cat maybe a good thing! ya never know!
Sounds like my situation. I awake often with our cats wrestling on the bed...them flying about and bouncing all over us. But mainly Wesley sleeps in the closet and Sox likes to sleep practically on my face! She likes to lay there and purr very loud and once in a while lick my face or put her cold nose on my face!!! Usually I just roll over and go back to sleep so then she will do it to my husband and he just puts her at the foot of the bed over and over until she gets the point and just lays down there. I am not sure what it is about our faces but she loves being up close by them all the time! So I think we should try playing with her more before we go to bed! But I am not sure that would help her to stay away from our faces at night!
We're going through that now. Tonight Bruce woke at 4 and never really got back to sleep. It didn't help that I had my curlers on... It's so fun to bite them, or so he thinks... he also bit my finger in the process. He's lucky he's so damned cute!
