Nighttime Meowing

Hello,
This is my first post and I just have what I hope is a minor issue. This just started last nite. We have had our kittens for about 1 week. The boy is very mellow while the female is spunky- For the most part they are well behaved and loving. In the last few days I really believe they have created a bond with us. But last night when we put them in the spare bedroom (as we were going to bed) and closed the door-the female began to scratch at the door and meow/cry. My husband went in and played with her a while and left the door open (as we had previously closed it for the night). This seemed to work, but I am concerned that her nighttime whining will continue and I really do not want to create any bad habits for them by giving in when they whine. I know I may be over reacting seeing as this is the 1st week we have had them and the first time she has whined like this. As I said before I just don't want any bad habits forming or for her to get spoiled. Is this normal and should we just ignore them when they do this? Or is there something we should be doing to prevent this behavior?

Originally Posted by cyberchica95

Hello,
This is my first post and I just have what I hope is a minor issue. This just started last nite. We have had our kittens for about 1 week. The boy is very mellow while the female is spunky- For the most part they are well behaved and loving. In the last few days I really believe they have created a bond with us. But last night when we put them in the spare bedroom (as we were going to bed) and closed the door-the female began to scratch at the door and meow/cry. My husband went in and played with her a while and left the door open (as we had previously closed it for the night). This seemed to work, but I am concerned that her nighttime whining will continue and I really do not want to create any bad habits for them by giving in when they whine. I know I may be over reacting seeing as this is the 1st week we have had them and the first time she has whined like this. As I said before I just don't want any bad habits forming or for her to get spoiled. Is this normal and should we just ignore them when they do this? Or is there something we should be doing to prevent this behavior?

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What I think it is is that she's getting more comfortable in your home, and wanting to stretch her boundries, and wanting to get out more, and be with you, and though I know it's hard, sometimes you just have to let her do it, and then eventually she'll quit. I think you can still go in and play with her, I don't think that'll matter, but at times when you can't, she'll eventually stop on her on. CJ did that when she was little, too! Good luck!

Cassie

When Oliver was a kitten he did the same thing...and we just gave in and let him sleep with us in bed! Yes, it may seem like "spoiling" them...but I think you'll find having a bed full of kittens is actually quite cozy!

Some nights Oliver and Emma will get too crazy and start wrestling on the bed, and so we kick 'em out and lock the door. Oliver will whine for a minute, but he deals with it pretty quickly. Try letting them sleep in your room for a night, and if everybody can sleep comfortably, its not a bad thing.

No matter what, you're going to end up spoiling the babies...they manage to get you to do that no matter what!

Welcome to TCS!

Why are you keeping the kittens out of your bedroom? I ask because I know some people have to do so in order to manage allergies. I personally am a fan of allowing my cats to sleep with me, but not everyone feels that way.

I believe it's quite natural for kittens to want to spend all their time with their humans, especially at night. But I do understand that nighttime meowing is a pain. If you want your kitts to be quieter at night, I would recommend allowing them in your room if possible, even if you don't want them in your bed. They just have a natural desire to be near you. Also, go with the old stand-bys: Schedule 15 minutes of playtime before bed, followed by a meal of wet food. Both of these will tire them out.

After that, you'll just have to put up with some hassle for a little while. At first, my cats did the following things during the night: meowed; scratched the bed or the nightstands; walked on the headboard and tried to go on the nightstands (not allowed in our house); walked on the dressers, knocking things over or down; swished their tails in our faces; rocketed around the bedroom chasing each other; played noisy games, etc. Keep in mind that they had the rest of the house to play! They just wanted our attention.

But now, they realize that lights-out means bedtime. I woke up in the middle of last night to find this arrangement: Eva sleeping on her bed on the chest at the foot of our bed, Chesty stretched in the space between my feet and the bf's, and Ziv settling down to sleep against my hip. They hardly wake us up at all anymore, because if they want to be active, they go in another room (it helps that we don't play games in our bedroom, and that all of their toys are in the living room). They also know where the good spots are so they won't get kicked or rolled on. It's quite touching, actually.

As for the spoiling: The best way to curtail excessive meowing is to placidly ignore her when she meows (unless it really sounds like she's hurt, of course), and to pay her LOTS of attention ONLY when she is quiet. It will probably take a little while since she is young, but you'll be thrilled with the result. Enjoy!

Yeah... I love it when my kittys snuggle up and sleep with me.