Sleep Deprivation + Cat Psychosis

cha0sbydesign

TCS Member
Thread starter
Kitten
Joined
Apr 11, 2013
Messages
6
Purraise
1
Hi everyone! 

I'm finally taking to the internet for help. I fI don't get some sleep soon I'm going to potentially lose my job! (ok maybe not that serious, but I REALLY am sick of losing an hour or two of sleep every night in the MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT.)

I have a newly turned 1 year old boy (who I'm assuming is feral at this point) who is making me insane at night. here are some details. 

- I live in a very small apartment, that my cat runs laps around at all hours of the night. Chirping and mrrrrewwrrring, starting around 3am. Sometimes it goes on ALL night from when I'm home from work, through the sleep hours.

- My cat has a crinkly play tube, a tall cat tree, a lazer pen that I play with him frequently with, a circle tube with a ball in it that he loves, rolled up balls of paper all over my wood floor, and toy mice. 

- Every morning he jumps on my nightstand right by my head and starts messing with everything I own up there. (mainly NOISY jewlery). When I throw him down or shoo him away, he comes right back and proceeds to continue the behavior.

- He has open windows and high ledges to sit on and watch squirrels during the day. 

- If I lock him out of my room he meows until I let him in, or he scratches at the door and tries to open it. 

I'm really at a loss. It seems that these fits come and go. he'll go a week or two being mellow and calm, and then back into psycho cat mode 24/7. I'm honestly wondering if he even sleeps anymore. All he's been doing lately is running around like a maniac! 

I don't know if this is because of age? or if what to do here.  He's not very cuddly, he's always just wanting to play and be crazy.  

Any help or advice is greatly appreciated! 

On the plus side - At least he's adorable.

My friend named him "HUNTER" when he was 5 weeks old, and how TRUE that name ended up being LOL


 

jujubee

TCS Member
Alpha Cat
Joined
Mar 28, 2007
Messages
382
Purraise
10
Location
Washington state
I can't be helpful ......he sounds like my youngest. I think its because he's still young. Every once in a while my 7 year old cat will give out a couple big meows from the back of my apartment (where no one is at the time).........

It comes with the territory of being a cat owner.... usually my 3 cats will sleep thru the night-until 4:30 or 5:00 
, but once in a while  two will chase each other a bit or one of them just gets up early and terrorizes the rest of us....But, when he doesn't get much response he settles back down. Sometimes on a Sunday morning when they wake me up I go and throw a little bit of food one bowl and I get to go back to sleep until 6:30!!!!!

I have 3 cats: an 8 year old, 4 year old and a 8 month old [I haven't slept through the night in years.....

I have to consider getting a night job instead of a day job, they all sleep during the day - I'd get 8 hours of bliss ! LOL 
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #3

cha0sbydesign

TCS Member
Thread starter
Kitten
Joined
Apr 11, 2013
Messages
6
Purraise
1
Oh goodness Lol! you sound in as bad of shape as me! 

The meowing in rooms where no one is makes me laugh. 
 

jujubee

TCS Member
Alpha Cat
Joined
Mar 28, 2007
Messages
382
Purraise
10
Location
Washington state
Yes!  My youngest looks a lot like yours, he's gray where yours is stripped. He also has that wild look in his eyes most of the time


My avatar pic is him when was 2 months old.
 

cocheezie

TCS Member
Super Cat
Joined
Jan 6, 2014
Messages
954
Purraise
101
Location
Great White North
My 14- and 16-year-old cats still, on occasion, have maniacal moments when the urge to play and race just overpowers them. Hope someone posts some solutions that work for you. Good luck.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #6

cha0sbydesign

TCS Member
Thread starter
Kitten
Joined
Apr 11, 2013
Messages
6
Purraise
1
so is this something that will subside? Or will my cat always be this insane.... :( 
 

jujubee

TCS Member
Alpha Cat
Joined
Mar 28, 2007
Messages
382
Purraise
10
Location
Washington state
Yes and yes!!  LOL Everyone says its supposed to fade with age but........ my older two also ride the crazy train once in a while - that usually happens in the evening- luckily. Jaxon (the youngest) likes to chase Twinkle (the oldest) off my bed in the morning when she comes for her morning pets. Then they take turns running across my pillow/hair......

I think it will taper off, just not this month.....
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #8

cha0sbydesign

TCS Member
Thread starter
Kitten
Joined
Apr 11, 2013
Messages
6
Purraise
1
Yeah I can handle the random once in a while fits I suppose. I just wish there was something I could do for him to get this energy out, but looks like I'll just have to wait and pray :p

I think I am also going to invest in nightstand spray bottle as well .
 

kordron

TCS Member
Young Cat
Joined
Mar 19, 2014
Messages
48
Purraise
5
Location
Winnipeg Manitoba
I live in a small one bedroom apartment and my girl does this too. I'm very very embarrassed to say I didn't respond well at first. I completely lost my temper but afterwards I felt so bad I cried apologizing to her.

I learned and I still am learning how to handle this situation. My advice is put away EVERY non essential item on your nightstand. If you don't need it put it in a drawer. Put away some of his toys and vary them like one or two toys a day and then one or two different toys the next day. Put away the toys at night while you try to sleep that drive you bonkers and bring them back out in the morning.

Lastly and this is the one I have to get used to as well. Get over it and deal with the fact that you have a cat in your home now. I used to wonder why Lily did this while I was trying to sleep and I realized that it's because she wants to be with me and I'm spending time with her.. This means that I'm important to her and that she just wants me around her.

Cats be crazy, yo
 

zorisuzaru

TCS Member
Young Cat
Joined
Mar 17, 2014
Messages
31
Purraise
7
what an adorable little guy!!! we have the same problem with our cat, and he is almost 9 years old!!! he doesnt seem to be so bad if he is not allowed to sleep during the day, and has a long playtime before bed, but i understand this isnt always possible for everyone. maybe try shutting him in the kitchen? with some food, water, litter try and a nice warm basket, take his toys to a different room so he knows its not playtime? unfortunately cats think their servants should always be awake when they are, even if this is at 3AM!
 

lucentstreak

TCS Member
Young Cat
Joined
Mar 20, 2014
Messages
98
Purraise
11
Hugo used to drive me nuts - he would run around through the night, nip my ankles/hands/face then wake me up at 6:30 am consistently every day, weekend or otherwise. The night runs and nipping seemed to fade with age but I think it has to do with his diet too. He was initially fed Science Diet dry till I adopted him and got a bit better when I started feeding him a mix of wet + dry (orijen).

I have also changed the feeding schedule from twice daily so that he gets 3 meals if I am around (am, pm and slightly smaller one before bed time). The last seemed key because it has been working quite a bit so far (I came home from work one day at 3:30 am, fed him and somehow he allowed me to sleep past the 6:30 am mark - usually he would be a screaming banshee, which is very loud when one is living in a shoebox apartment)
 
Last edited:

lisahe

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Mar 23, 2014
Messages
6,145
Purraise
4,965
Location
Maine
Hugo used to drive me nuts - he would run around through the night, nip my ankles/hands/face then wake me up at 6:30 am consistently every day, weekend or otherwise. The night runs and nipping seemed to fade with age but I think it has to do with his diet too. He was initially fed Science Diet dry till I adopted him and got a bit better when I started feeding him a mix of wet + dry (orijen).
Our cats are now a year and two months old and they still do a little of this, too: one likes to jump on me and bit at my hair or nip at my ankles through the covers. I also wonder if feeding them better food has, along with (allegedly!) maturing, helped calm them down. All their rambunctiousness was initially a bit of a shock after living with an arthritic senior cat for years.
I learned and I still am learning how to handle this situation. My advice is put away EVERY non essential item on your nightstand. If you don't need it put it in a drawer. Put away some of his toys and vary them like one or two toys a day and then one or two different toys the next day. Put away the toys at night while you try to sleep that drive you bonkers and bring them back out in the morning.
I couldn't agree more about putting things away! That's helped a lot for us, too.

Hunter is a beautiful cat, cha0sbydesign, and I hope he calms down a little for you, soon! Good luck!
 

asherdash

TCS Member
Alpha Cat
Joined
Sep 18, 2013
Messages
319
Purraise
49
Location
Hot and sweaty Texas
My unruly John Jacob was running like a psycho also. He is currently seeing an animal behaviorist primarily for some food issues however he had started picking on my other two cats. The behaviorist said it was partly because he has too much energy. She recommended 2 to 4 play sessions with him daily. The important part of the play is that I exhaust him until he's panting like a dog,with his mouth open. This has helped immensely. Due to my work hours it's not always easy to fit the sessions in but I end up doing at least two a day. She gave me that toy Da Bird (haha she gave me the bird) and a soft squiggly snake toy. My apartment is pretty small so it's tough but I run around with the bird with the bird thing as best I can. Before the therapist I thought he was getting enough exercise and that he had enough toys (he has TONS of toys) to keep from being bored but apparently it wasn't enough.

The play sessions have made a huge difference and if he somehow manages to get psycho at an odd hour then I'll add another session the next day. Also I reward him with treats after each session
 

lucentstreak

TCS Member
Young Cat
Joined
Mar 20, 2014
Messages
98
Purraise
11
Our cats are now a year and two months old and they still do a little of this, too: one likes to jump on me and bit at my hair or nip at my ankles through the covers. I also wonder if feeding them better food has, along with (allegedly!) maturing, helped calm them down. All their rambunctiousness was initially a bit of a shock after living with an arthritic senior cat for years.
I'm not so sure on that - Hugo is about 6-7 months as I speak (he just swallowed tin foil as well - it has and still is a rather eventful night. think:) but I think having better food and spacing it out does play a part. I had turned to feliway to stop the night runs and nipping but that didn't stop the morning call even though there was still dry food left in his bowl. He still nips but unlike before, does not break the skin or draw blood.
 

minnaloushe

TCS Member
Young Cat
Joined
Apr 16, 2014
Messages
21
Purraise
3
I agree with pretty much everything that has been said before. I have an energetic foster cat who does exactly this and I also live in a small apartment so I am really just repeating the advice that others have given me:

- Taking away the noisy toys at night and putting them back during the day has the added benefit that it makes the toys seem "fresher" to the cat, so he'll hopefully play with them more during the day.

- Removing noisy things that he can knock over is a no-brainer, but of course, easier said than done, (But worth it in the end!)

- I'd also do one VERY ACTIVE play session right before you go to bed that gets him panting, and wind this one down gradually so he calms down and give him a treat right as you settle in. This, along with everything else you do for him during the day should help tucker him out so when you sleep, he sleeps.

- Leave the radio or TV on for him during the day when you are out of the house to give him some auditory stimulation. This should help keep him from being so amped up during the night.

- Also, as hard as this is, just ignore him during the night completely. No getting up to shoo him off something, no petting or interacting with him at all. Theoretically at least, if you do this combined with the above, he should have his circadian rhythm sync more with yours.

- If all else fails, have you tried using a white noise machine to cover up the random cat sounds? I have been using a white noise app on my iPhone for a while and it does actually really help. A loud table fan (I have a honey well one) also works too.

Best of luck!
 

nycats

Mother of 3 cats & fosters
Adult Cat
Joined
Sep 15, 2013
Messages
225
Purraise
101
Location
Queens, New York
This sounds horrible! Sorry you have to go through it. My 2 are about 18 months old, and in the beginning from about 3-9 months, they were woke me up in the middle of the night. Eventually with implementing a routine, they settled down and now sleep through most of the night with me. Here is what worked for me:

-Have a vigorous play session with wand toys before bed. Make them run around and jump like crazy till they get tired and lie down.

-Give them snacks or a light meal right after the play session. This will get them ready for grooming and sleeping.

-Make sure you have scheduled meal times instead of free feeding. This helps in establishing a daily routine of when to eat and when to sleep.

-Get another active cat as play mate. My two play together all the time on their own, so they don't bug me unless they are hungry.

-Don't give in when they try to wake you up. When they do, hiss at them. This works for me every time when they come too early for breakfast.

Good luck!
 
Top