Addicted to Treats

My neutered, 8-year-old male is addicted to treats.  He wakes me up in the middle of the night howling for treats.  Oddly enough, he only begs at night.  I give him very few treats during the day and he's fine with it.  But at night he wants one every 2 hours or so.  He's indoor-outdoor with a cat door that lets him come and go as he pleases, so I don't think it's a matter of boredom.  I also leave food out for him all night, so he's not hungry.  He just wants treats at night!

I'm considering getting a timed feeder so I can set it to release 1 treat every few hours at night.  But I'm concerned this will only further his addiction.  Should I try to break him of the addiction or just let it be so I can sleep?  (To complicate matters, I'm pregnant and really need my rest). 

Thanks!

When he howls, do you ignore him or get up every two hours to give him a treat? I ask, because if you're constantly getting up to feed him treats, he is being rewarded for his bad behavior. Also, are you certain he just wants a treat and not attention?

Here are my suggestions:

1. Assuming you're doing mealtimes and not free feeding, move his dinner mealtime to just before you go to sleep.

2. Hide treats around the house so that he can "hunt" for them while you sleep.

3. Play with him to tire him out before you go to sleep.

4. Don't get up even if he howls. It just teaches him to keep doing it. Invest in some ear plugs and/or a white noise machine to help you sleep.

Also, has he always done this? If it's a new behavior, I wonder if a vet visit might be in order.

Thanks for the response.  We free-feed with dry food, but have meal times for wet food.  (He will barely touch the dry food).  He started this behavior when I got pregnant and started using one of those huge pregnancy pillows.  He used to sleep curled up next to me, but now he can't do that, and I'm wondering if that's what started it.  He just saw the vet last month and is very healthy!

Yes, I usually get up and give him treats to stop him from meowing because I don't want him to wake my husband (he has trouble getting back to sleep).  I know that is just rewarding his behavior.  I guess my question is should I continue to reward the behavior (with an automatic feeder), or attempt to break him of the habit? LOL, the automatic timer might be easier for the pregnant lady!

That change in his routine could very well be the reason for his howling!

The decision is ultimately up to you. Either way, the automatic feeder is just a stop-gap measure so you can get some rest. Eventually you'll have to fix his problem anyway. If you already have a feeder, it's worth a try. That way you can know for sure if it's the treats he wants or the attention. If he's looking for attention, he'll continue howling for you at night even with the feeder. Also another consideration is that you'll have even less time to deal with him once the baby comes. Good luck, and let me know how it goes!