Problem-child cat.... help? :D - Page 2

Oh no, that's not what I meant. I was just commenting on you marveling that 1/8 cup could make such a difference.

At one year old she is most likely still growing, not to mention her energy/activity level is high and she needs more than she will need as an adult.

3 oz of wet and a little less than 1/2 cup a day does not sound like too much for a one year old kitty.

Lots of cats have different requirements for food - I would keep an eye on your kitten's weight and judge accordingly. If she seems to be putting on weight then cut down the food you give her. It sounds to me like you're feeding her about the right amount- but like you saw before, some cats need more food, less food... etc.

One thing to remember....don't feed her, ever, as soon as you get out of bed. Don't give her any attention at all for the first half hour or so after you get up in the morning.

This will teach her to NOT associate you getting out of bed with good times for Kittica.

Hiya, Kittica! Congrats on your new family member and welcome to TCS!

I have six cats, not one of which will wake me for petting or for food.

The food part was easy (for me). I am a late riser and not in the greatest of moods first thing in the morning, so I determined before I ever got a cat that there would be no association between my crawling out of bed and the cat(s) getting fed. So, I do not and have never fed the cats within a half-hour of waking and, almost 100% of the time, not until after I've had my shower. Today, the cats associate my showering with eating and I often have several of them decorating the bathroom counters, towel shelves, etc. when I pull back the shower curtain. That's a whole lot easier - and more humorous - than being woken early. *grin*

This will probably be a bit difficult for you, since your kitty is already accustomed to eating immediately after you wake, but in that case, you might find my "don't wake me for attention" training of interest.

Training them not to rouse me for a petting session was a little more difficult, but boiled down to treating them like I was an angry momma kitty every time they woke me, including hissing and growling at them. Spencer was my most persistent cat, but finally stopped after I hissed and literally snapped at him one very late night/early morning.

I kept telling myself "think like a cat / talk like a cat" don't yell, don't swat, just hiss, etc. I only vaguely remember the final incident, but he'd roused me yet again with a single claw to my lower lip (gah!, that hurt!) and I actually awoke with an angry hiss and a lunge / snap in his general direction. I think my snap snicked the air about an inch from his face.

He no longer wakes me up in the middle of the night.

So it is possible to retrain cats, it just takes a whole bunch of persistence and, sometimes, some odd behavior.

Good luck!

AC

Hi Kittica!! My cat Sadie used to do something like that. I got her when she was around 9 or 10 weeks old and I was able to get her into a good routine somehow (altho now that routine is long gone lol). She would come into bed at 9 at night, run around my bed, claw my toes and play until I shut the TV off at 11, then she'd curl up and go to sleep on my pillow. The second she heard my alarm, she would wake up. She would get up and go to the door of my room to be let out. Now I set my alarm to go off 15 minutes before I actually have to get outta bed because I like to hit the snooze button, she would not let that happen lol. She would come up to me and nibble on my forehead until I got outta bed. She would do this whether or not my alarm was set correctly or not, at the time I get up she would be nibbling my head, which actually helped if I forgot to set the alarm, now it's ALL night she meows in my ear to get back under the covers to cuddle.