up all night

my ct cries all night long   We shut our bedroom door   she tries to ram into it   when we let her in the bedroom she bites our feet and head buts us so its impossible to sleep   have tried everything don't know what to do

please don't suggest toys etc and keeping her occupied at night we have tried that I'm wondering if another cat would work  or else we will have a duet of constant low mournful meows that sounds like crying

Hi, and welcome to TCS

This is a surprisingly common problem. The best thing to do is wear her out with an interactive play session (followed by a meaty treat/snack) just before bed. Cats naturally follow the cycle of hunt-kill-eat-groom-sleep. It's hardwired into their brains. By giving her a good play session (mimicking hunt-kill) and a treat/snack (eat) she'll naturally then be ready to go into gromming and sleep. Repeat this daily, and you'll reset her body clock so she's ready to sleep when you are.

The other side of this is that it's vital to ignore her if she does kick off at night. The behaviour is far less fulfilling if it gets her nowhere. You may find it worthwhile to invest in some earplugs for use in the retraining period though [article="22303"][/article][article="0"][/article][article="0"][/article][article="32493"][/article][article="29678"][/article][article="32827"][/article]

My 8 week old kitten does the same thing. He attacks my face when I'm sleeping and when I close my bedroom door he cries at it all night. I've been trying to play with him for a minimum of an hour before bed followed by a big meal which helps some but he's usually up again within a few hours. I'm at a loss!  

Gee what I wouldn't do to have those experiences back again!!C.

My best solution wa to get a heated cat pad, now I can't get them to leave it! It wouldn't hurt to try it, it makes them WANT to stay in bed. 

Hi there...they given you very good advice there, I hope it will help you.

As for my cat Macha, when she was a kitten, I couldn't sleep too she bites my feet and scratches me...she needs attention and so I was up all night playing with her. Next day I bought her some toys but she has no interest with,only one that she loves the most (my hair ties) she found it and she played till she's exhausted ( after playing I kept the hair ties coz I don't want her to eat it). Now she's growing, very healthy, playful, happy cat and she never bites me anymore. Patience and lots of attention and love  to be given and it's all worth it, they will give all that love and joy too.

stacey allam said:

 
please don't suggest toys etc and keeping her occupied at night we have tried that I'm wondering if another cat would work  or else we will have a duet of constant low mournful meows that sounds like crying

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my suggestion was going to be to get another cat of similar age and temperament but you already thought of that! cats are nocturnal creatures and if your cat is bored or lonely, another cat may be just what you need.

I unfortunately cannot have a second cat due to landlord restrictions  

I have two cats and it doesn't help for this anyway! One of them docilely sleeps at my feet while the other one jumps all over me at night. Periodically I just leave the bedroom to them and go sleep on the couch, with earplugs. Fuzzy seems to behave better after that for a couple days anyway ....

When Keeker & Kricket were kittens, they did the same thing.

What we have to realize and remember is that they ARE babies and they ARE cats. They have their own time clock and it is instinctual for them to be more active at night - especially just after the sun goes down and right before it comes up (dusk & dawn). You can train them to become more accustomed to your routine but, as others have said, it takes time and patience on your part.

Some things I did when the boys were little were to NOT interact with them. Doing so only leads them to believe you are ready to join in and play. I would tell them "No" (in a firm, but gentle voice), then pick them up and place them on the floor. Then I would ignore them. I sometimes had to do this several times for the first week or so, but they eventual understood I wasn't engaging in their antics. 

I also kept a spray bottle of plain water on my night stand and after the first time I placed them on the floor and they jumped back on the bed, I would spritz them on the butt (Never the face!) and, again, tell them "No". Turn over and ignore them (and, yes, sometimes I even pulled the sheet over my head so they couldn't see me). 

Also, another suggestion is to not make eye contact with her. Just lay still and 'pretend' to be asleep after put her on the floor and turn away from her. Again, if she knows you are awake, she will want you to play.

They will be 18 months in two weeks and we now have a fairly established routine. When I go to bed, Kricket will jump up by my pillow. Then he sees that I am reading my book and will lay on the other pillow (He no longer tries to lay on my book). But as soon as I lay the book aside and turn off the light, he quickly moves back to my pillow for his nightly snuggle and massage session which lasts about 10 minutes. Then he hops down and goes out to the other room and does whatever it is he does all night.

During this time, Keeker will be stretched out atop my chest of drawers at the foot of the bed so he can oversee what Kricket and I are doing. When Kricket leaves the room, Keeker follows him.

They still continue to play through the night, but I usually don't hear them unless they knock something over or decide to make my bed part of their path when playing chase. I suppose I have either learned to tune them out, or I am just getting old and don't hear as well as I used to? 

Although I do have two cats and they entertain each other through the night, I believe that once you get into a routine with your kitten she will adapt to your schedule and start sleeping through the night. My Mom always had just one cat in the house and they all were pretty docile at night. I know one that slept on her bedspread that was folded on a chair next to her bed, one religiously slept behind the sofa, and another one took up residence sleeping between my Dad's feet all night.

Leave your door open so she can be near you. Be patient and know she will outgrow this with training and reinforcement. If she decides to sleep on the bed with you, let her, but don't interact with her - as I said, this will make her think you want to play.  

I hope this helped.