Kitty problems at night...

Marlee is such a loving kitty! And I'm so glad she is, I think its great the way she loves to snuggle. The problem is that multiple times during the night she will come up to my face and stick her whiskers all over me and rub on me til I wake up. I know she just wants attention, but I need my sleep! Is there a way to stop this without making her think I don't want to love on her, or be loved on by her?

How old is Marlee? I'm sorry to say that my best advice is one of a few things:

1. Get used to petting kitty in your sleep. (I have gotten to the point where I don't even NOTICE when I'm petting them anymore. Lol...)

2. Teach her to lay down, and sleep, instead of waking you. (Tell her "lay down" in a sweet tone, and put her body how you'd like it.) Things like that take much patience, but if you would rather sleep than pet in your sleep, you would have to give it a shot. The younger the kitty, the quicker they learn.

3. Shut your bedroom door at night, and gradually get used to her continual asking to be let in. It'll take about a month for her to get used to the transition and give up asking. Believe me, I hate doing this with my kitties, but now that I'm married and have a 5yr old daughter, I really don't like sharing my bed with ANYONE but my husband, and need the sleep. Lol...

Hope those ideas help! Let me know your thoughts...

Thanks for your reply! The petting in my sleep thing is a nice idea, lol, maybe it will happen eventually. I don't like the idea of putting her out of the bedroom, just b/c I live in a 2 bedroom apartment with a roommate, and Marlee pretty much lives in my bedroom; therefore putting her out at night would be like locking her out of her house. But I like the 2nd idea about just trying to teach her what she is supposed to do. Sometimes its great b/c she'll just lay with me and cuddle, but from now on when she starts trying to wake me up, I'll just do what you said and reposition her. (By the way, I think half the time she wants food! Sometimes I give and just feed her so I can go back to sleep.) She is getting the full amount the bag says for me to give her, actually probably more, and she acts like shes still hungry all the time! Anyways, thanks again, and I'll let you know how it goes!

P.S. - I still don't have a positive age on her. Vet says somewhere b/t 14-16 weeks

Originally Posted by AshleyNicole

She is getting the full amount the bag says for me to give her, actually probably more, and she acts like shes still hungry all the time!

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My newly adopted cat does the exact same thing. She gets fed raw food twice daily, and every single time i go into the kitchen she stands there and stares licking her lips. She gobbles down her food like nobody's business, and inhales any treats I give her. I"m not sure if she's truely hungry or just wanting more food....

Little Pete loves to knead and suck on my arm at night. When he first started I thought it was the cutest thing in the world. Then it started keeping me up at night. I would try to push him away but he was VERY persistent, so I ended up just giving in thinking I would never get a good night of sleep again. Turns out I've grown so accustomed to it now I actually sleep right through it. My boyfriend has taken pictures where I'm out cold and Little Pete is sucking away. It definitely takes time to get used to the little guys crawling around you at night, but it'll happen!

Originally Posted by AshleyNicole

Thanks for your reply!

By the way, I think half the time she wants food! Sometimes I give and just feed her so I can go back to sleep. She is getting the full amount the bag says for me to give her, actually probably more, and she acts like shes still hungry all the time!

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You're so welcome...anything I can do to help.

Quick question...what kind of food does she eat? You might try putting out a bowl that's kept full of dry Iams Kitten Food (if she's ready for dry food). It'll give her a good snack in between feedings.

Let me know whatcha think.

You would`nt want to sleep with our Toby! He will wait til you are asleep and then start pulling hair. I don`t mean pulling AT your hair either...i mean pulling it out by the roots! (He`ll do this if you fall asleep in the recliner too if he`s laying across the back of it.)
Toby and Tedy sleep in their little bunk beds in the bathroom...NOT with us!
Linda

I taught my Bella to be quiet while I am sleeping. The key is doing the same thing over and over. I get into bed the same way and cuddle with her the same way and I dont ever play with her in bed *ever*. She has learned that when I am in bed, its quiet sleep or tvtime .

To teach her, I cuddled with her and when she started to wash or play, I would say Noo and snap my fingers and quickly/gently either put her on the floor or gently lay her back down. It only took 1 night of teaching for her to get it. And when she tested me, I nicely put her out of the room! ;-) Now she has learned that if she wants to cuddle in bed, she has to be quiet. And if she is doesnt, then all it takes is a snap of my fingers and she lays back down or she will quietly leave and head into the l.room/kitchen and do her own thing. It works great for us! Cats are sooo smart!

Originally Posted by jettafer99

I taught my Bella to be quiet while I am sleeping. The key is doing the same thing over and over. I get into bed the same way and cuddle with her the same way and I dont ever play with her in bed *ever*. She has learned that when I am in bed, its quiet sleep or tvtime

.

To teach her, I cuddled with her and when she started to wash or play, I would say Noo and snap my fingers and quickly/gently either put her on the floor or gently lay her back down. It only took 1 night of teaching for her to get it. And when she tested me, I nicely put her out of the room! ;-) Now she has learned that if she wants to cuddle in bed, she has to be quiet. And if she is doesnt, then all it takes is a snap of my fingers and she lays back down or she will quietly leave and head into the l.room/kitchen and do her own thing. It works great for us! Cats are sooo smart!

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VERY cool...nice to hear when something works.

I would have taught our babies the same thing, but with being married and having a 5yr old, I need my sleep! So we shut our bedroom door at night. It's the first time I've had kitties that don't sleep with us.

Originally posted by maherwoman

Quick question...what kind of food does she eat? You might try putting out a bowl that's kept full of dry Iams Kitten Food (if she's ready for dry food). It'll give her a good snack in between feedings.

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I am feeding her Nutro Natural Choice Kitten, and she really likes it. When I first got her, I was able to leave her full dose of food out and she would eat periodically throughout the day. But now, I think if I left out the whole amount, she'd eat it all in a few hours, then be hungry the rest of the day! Does anyone know, since she's young and growing, is it okay to feed them a little more than the bag recommends?

Originally posted by stampit3d

Toby and Tedy sleep in their little bunk beds in the bathroom...NOT with us

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I bet thats so cute! If you have a picture, you should post it!

Originally postd by jettafer99

I taught my Bella to be quiet while I am sleeping. The key is doing the same thing over and over. I get into bed the same way and cuddle with her the same way and I dont ever play with her in bed *ever*. She has learned that when I am in bed, its quiet sleep or tvtime .

To teach her, I cuddled with her and when she started to wash or play, I would say Noo and snap my fingers and quickly/gently either put her on the floor or gently lay her back down. It only took 1 night of teaching for her to get it. And when she tested me, I nicely put her out of the room! ;-) Now she has learned that if she wants to cuddle in bed, she has to be quiet. And if she is doesnt, then all it takes is a snap of my fingers and she lays back down or she will quietly leave and head into the l.room/kitchen and do her own thing. It works great for us! Cats are sooo smart!

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Great that it works! I'll try it tonight and see how it goes, thanks to everyone!!

Good Luck Ashely & Marlee! HAHA! I would say it works 80% of the time -- like w/ most Kitties, Bella throws me for a loop sometimes, but its definitely well worth the effort. AND dont feel bad about nicely putting them out of the room once in a while. When Bella gets sassy about it, its a good reminder that sleeping in bed is a nice treat ;-) And Momma pays the bills and has to SLEEP haha! After that she is happy to snuggle nicely.

Very true! thanks so much to everyone who gave me ideas!

I tried it last night, and it helped. It will take a few nights of continuing this, but I think it will work! Whenever she would come start headbutting my face, I would say No and pick her up to reposition her laying beside me, then pet her and say Good Girl. It would work for a minute, then we would go through it again til she got tired of it and either moved to the foot of the bed or went to play on the floor. So I think if I'm consistant, hopefully this will work! Thanks you guys!

Originally Posted by AshleyNicole

I tried it last night, and it helped. It will take a few nights of continuing this, but I think it will work! Whenever she would come start headbutting my face, I would say No and pick her up to reposition her laying beside me, then pet her and say Good Girl. It would work for a minute, then we would go through it again til she got tired of it and either moved to the foot of the bed or went to play on the floor. So I think if I'm consistant, hopefully this will work! Thanks you guys!

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You're so welcome! Glad we could help! Let us know if you have any other questions, ok? We're always here.