Is there no "rest" for cat owners?

I am a new cat owner, and Sammie won't let me sleep past 4am. Even when I am home four days in a row all day long. I decided to move out of the room I used to sleep in, so she still has her normal domaine, and I shut the door to the new room I sleep in. But now instead of jumping up and poking my face, and getting into trouble if I ignore her, she meows! Loudly, and nonstop. I do not get up at her request. I am trying to train her to wait for the alarm. When it goes up, I get up immediately and greet her, and feed her. She always has food left in her bowl when I wake up, and water. So it is not food she wants, or needs. I also live in a two family place with my landlord above my place. Our walls are thin, and I am afraid she is waking him up as well, and he will make me get rid of her or move. And I can't afford to move. Is there anything I can do?
Jo

there are quite a few threads about this subject. The summary, I believe is:

Play with your cat before bed time.
Give the cat some wet food before bedtime.
Put out a few quiet toys for her.
Wear earplugs.
Ignore her.

She will eventually get the hint.

Some people might also suggest getting another cat as a play mate.

HTH

Simon.

I agree, especially playing with her. Mine is an only cat and is also indoors all the time, so i make sure i set some time aside to play with her on an evening.

Susan

smlwoman...do you have a cat or a kitten?? More and more rescues/shelters are discovering that kittens are much happier in pairs:

http://www.pawschicago.org/PetCare/catsinpairs.htm

Cats tend to be very social and want to be with you...since you are shutting your cat out...she doesn't have her "playmate" so to speak. You could try to disuade by filling a can with pennies and shaking it when she meows at your door.

Definately play is an essentual part of any cat/person relationship...a good feather toy for 30 minutes does wonders.

Regarding your neighbor....have you ever talked to him to find out if he would have an issue with your cat?? First introduce yourself and explain that you do have a cat and you were wondering if he ever heard it...if he says no...problem solved..if he says yes...tell him you are working with your cat to see if you can reduce the number of times that she is mewing. The condo complex I live in has "paper thin walls" and my cat does mew at times...but my neighbor has never once complained.

By The Way...congrats on becoming a cat owner!! It is a full time job, but you will love it.

Katie

thank you for your hints. I will have to search for the other threads, I just found this page. I also wanted to add a little more info. I wrote this right before work at 6am. Sammie is a 3year old cat that I rescued from the humane society. I love having her and she provides lots of laughs. Especially when we play with her lazer light, and the feather on a string. I do play with her each night for as long as she is interested. The other thing, is that I origionally wanted her to sleep with me. But she would greet me each morning at 4am, with her face in my face, or licking me nonstop, or running and jumping on me. I would pet her, and then try to get her to lay down again, but she wanted no part of it. So I would roll over and let her be. But since I would not get up, she would stand on the edge of my bed, and start knocking things off of my bookshelf. She would continue this behaviour until I finally get up. But to be consistant and not to train her that this is ok, I would not get up until my alarm went off (even though I was awake now) I would tell her to stop, or get down, etc. But no luck. I also got to a point of getting up and putting her in a bedroom, and shut the door. But her food, and litter box are not in that room, so I would not leave her in there longer than a half hour. And finally gave up and went into a different room myself to sleep. Leaving her the run of the house. My desire is to have her sleep with me, but she is almost more insistant than I am. I have always had dogs before, and wow, are cats different!
Thanks again.
Jody

The summary was good (thank you gopher!)

One thing too that calms cats down is when you feed them before bedtime, sit down on the floor with them the entire time they are eating. This reassures them that you are close and just talk to Sammy while eating is in progress-- tell Sammy about your day.

Also earplugs...earplugs....earplugs... burning a night light, playing classical music on low will help as well.

Welcome to the World of Cat Ownership!

And cats are different to dogs. Generally dogs will want to please their owners as their owners are seen as the leader of the pack. With cats, things are a little more complicated. Although you may be seen as the top cat, they will only do as you say if they can see a benefit in doing so. So with any training, positive rewards are definitely a must!

gopher's summary is pretty much what you do in an effort to get sleep.

When you play with Sammy, make sure it's interactive. Entice her to stalk and pounce on a toy. A small toy attached to a string or fishing wire is good, allows you to pull while she stalks. It allows her to use her brain as well as excercise.

You could try warming the food up when feeding Sammy. It's along the lines of warm milk and cookies for children. It works for Cookie Monster. I haven't used this one myself but other members have had success with this.

Make sure the toys you provide Sammy aren't likely going to make more noise than you're willing to cope with when trying to get a good night's sleep.

And finally, earplugs! A sound investment. That way, even is Sammy does meow, you don't hear her. Eventually he will learn that meowing at night won't get your attention and she will stop it. Though then she'll be all over you whenthe alarm sounds. At least that's the signal my cats use as an excuse to tell me "Breakfast time Mummy!!" Just make sure that when you do use the earplugs, you still can hear your alarm go off in the morning.