up all night

Help! My 6 year Siamese has begun getting up, and getting me up almost every hour of the night. He wants to be walked to his food bowl, and petted while he eats. If I ignore him, he yowels and he starts tearing paper, or pushing things from the nightstand till I get up. This is repeated several times each night. He shares the house with a 7 year old Tabby and a 7 month old kitten. Neither of the other cats have the same problem. Any suggestions? SKM

Looks like your kitty has you trained pretty well. I have 6 cats and they all try to wake me up at 6:50 a.m. to be fed everyday. I work nights so it was unacceptable. I make sure they have enough dry food. Then I shut everyone out of my room and go back to sleep. The first time I did it they were meowing at the door. But after the second or third time they finally got the hint.

Try closing him out of your room. Do you have a spare room? If not, use the bathroom as a "kitty jail" Put food and water in there and close the door. Eventually he'll catch on. There is no reason for him to be doing that.

Good luck. If that doesn't help, you can always talk to your vet.

[Edited by donna on 01-18-2001 at 01:49 PM]

Donna is right, the only way to tech them not to do that is to be firm. Bathrooms usually work the best for small rooms. Just make sure and take the toilet paper off the roll. As long as he has a litter box, food and water, he will survive. He will get the idea. Good luck!!

I really hate to be the odd man out - but I think it is a possibility there's more than meets the eye here...does your Siamese display any other behavior changes, when was the last time he saw the vet? Was everything OK then?

I am one of those ultra-protective sorts when it comes to my cats - so bear with me - but usually any behavior change has a reason. While it isn't always obvious what that reason may be, it is still up to us to determine what it is. Since they can't tell us in the typical way, we have to be real good investigators, and pick up on subtle hints and signs. A possible scenario in this case might be that the other two cats are agressing against the Siamese in the middle of the night. Do they normally get along at other times, do they share a food bowl, do they eat from it happily all at the same time? Something tells me there might be a conflict you aren't aware of between them...and it happens at night.

All that now being said, you could isolate him at night, or if he wants his food nearby, then maybe bring a small bowl of his dry food into your bedroom? (I don't know what your comfort level with that would be - I didn't mind doing it for an elderly cat I had...she wasn't able to move around so much and the other cats got ugly with her when she did)

If all else fails, a vet visit might in be order. Better to be safe than sorry I always say.

Best of luck, and please, let us know how it goes?

Gaye

Hello, and thank you for the input. To clarify a little bit about the problem, yes, our cat has been to the Vet and checked out. He is in very good health. I do know that the new kitten is very playful with the Siamese (the problem kitty) and maybe he is percieving this to be aggression. He seems to get along with the other 2 cats during the day, but at night he is up every hour to hour and a half. He seems to want attention, rather than food. He has also started with a little litterbox bad behaviour. He will urinate in the litterbox, but now has taken to doing his business either in front of the box, or in the bathtub! Help, the problem seems to be getting worse and I am falling asleep at my desk during the day!SKM

Wow. As I log on I know there are other sleepless people out there.
My 2 year old cat is doing the same thing. He always had its just that his behaviour is growing worse, as my husband allows this behaviour by petting him.
My hubby works afternoons, I days. Buddy gets me up at 6:23 faithfully everymorning and is now trying earlier. He wakes the hubby up at 4:30 in the morning. By prancing up and down the bed. My husband and I have seperate bedrooms (for medical reasons) My husband was kicking him out of his room and he now come to me. (im glad we don't have kids right now)
Kitty is now attending "cat jail" effective the first meow I hear tonight. I had posted a thread earlier about him screaming at the top of his lungs. I think this behaviour ties in.
I thought about using the water bottle trick in an effort to deter this behaviour.
Hope you get some sleep! Sorry to share your post here SKM.

The only way I have ever seen this behavior curbed is by putting them in jail during the trouble hours. I have always used a bathroom and put all the necessities in there. It can take a few weeks, but they usually get the idea. As for the litter problem, it may be associated with the wanting attention. However, it could mean he does not prefer the litter or it is too "dirty" for him. The 3rd reason for going out of the box is a urinary tract infection. If you start noticing him going everywhere, get him to the vet. I wish you both lots of sleep in the future!

Thanks for your input on my problem. I am taking her to the vet tomorrow because now she is acting somewhat sluggish. As far as your dilemma...does your cat sleep with you at night? He may be lonely if he does not and want your company. One of my cats is very vocal and will definitely let you know if she is lonely no matter what time of the day or night it may be. Maybe he just needs some extra attention since you have a kitten in the house now. Good luck and thanks again.