meowing / scratching at doors at night

I have 2 cats which have taken to sleeping in my room all night.

When they want to come in they start meowing and scratching at the door and both of them are persistant enough to keep it up all night or until I let them in

The problem is if I let them in they are garranteed to want to go out sooner or later (for food or to go to toilet or something) and the same behavior starts until I let them out, then a while later they will want to come in again.

this goes on every night, between the 2 of them I am garranteed to have to wake up to open the door at least 4 times a night, then in the morning they want to come in and out every 20 mins (which is bad because as a student I do most of my sleeping at that time).

Does anyone have any idea how i can solve this problem?

I cannot leave the door open because other people have tvs on, talk in the morning and leave lights on when they get up in the night for any reason and this is worse than the meowing if the door is open.

I have tried going to bed at different times and changeing my last things I do at night to try and stop then knowing when I am going to bed but somehow they always appear just as im about to go to bed so that doesent work.

That is so frustrating! I can only tell you what I have done. I set Puppy's panic mouse for 30 minutes when I go to bed. She still scratches at my door for a few minutes, but then becomes distracted by her toy. If she is scratching out there later...I have no idea because I am already sleeping. I would think, and I'm no expert, that by giving in to the behavior you are rewarding it. Wait it out! A few nights of proving your not going to budge is better than 10 years of losing sleep! Good luck and let me know how it turns out! It's like Nanny911 for cats!

Where is their food and litterbox, could they be meowing to get to those. I would have something to take of all their needs in the room with you, including a couple of toys.

My cat Molly does this too, usually around 5 or 6 in the morning. She does it every night. I think she just wants attention, but so far I haven't given in! I leave her with food and toys every night but obviously they lose their power to entertain once she realises it's morning!

The only trick I can think of is to put them somewhere where they cannot get near enough to my door to wake me.

The only 2 places in my house where the nearest door is too far away for them to wake anyone are outside or in one of the the portches

problem is that if I kick them out they will go strait to a window, and I cant make my whole family shut their windows at night, once inside they will meow at that persons door until they let them out then come to me.
the only place I can put them is in the portch, but mum thinks this is cruel so someone is bound to let them out long before I want to get up

Is your door one that you can remove a bottom panel and put in a piece of wood that you can install a nice quiet pet flap into? Then they can go in and out and let you sleep.

Originally Posted by Cirque

Is your door one that you can remove a bottom panel and put in a piece of wood that you can install a nice quiet pet flap into? Then they can go in and out and let you sleep.

Click to expand...

i though off that but my mum wont allow it
and anyway the doors are sound resistant so having a cat flap would mean the noise other people make would cause the same problem, (shame the sound resistant door isnt enough to keep the meowing out)