Please HELP! MY CAT WILL NOT LET ME SLEEP!

Hi, my cat Ginger is about a year old. Since I got her I have kept her in the bathroom at night. Recently I have decided to try to retrain her to be outside the bathroom at night. She's not doing so well. I understand that cat's are nocturnal. I read some articles, but this is out of hand. I leave a light on in the living room, she has toys, she has a post, I'm trying to play with her a before I go to sleep, waking her up during the day, even spraying boundary spray on a towel in front of my door. If not she comes into my room and jumps on the bed and starts either attacking feet or purring in my face. She also plays with the wires and jumps all over the furniture. If I throw her out and close the door, she just comes back and scratches at the carpet in front of the door until I get up again. I guess I've been doing the wrong thing.. I wake up 10+ times a night, get up and walk out into the kitchen with her.. usually I start eating I'm so frustrated.. then try to go back to sleep. Sometimes I even feed her to make her go away. I now realize those are BAD things to do. I read that spraying the cat with water might work. For example when she starts scratching to open the door fast and spray her then close the door again. The only thing that seems to work is putting her back into the bathroom, but I can't do that anymore, she's too old for that and my bathroom gets dirty and gross. PLEASE HELP! I'm not getting ANY SLEEP and it's starting to really get to me.

That sounds pretty normal for a young cat to me, especailly one not accustomed to having SO! MANY! OPTIONS! at night.

Can you get in a hardcore play session before bed? Wear that little tail out!

Otherwise, I'd suggest putting her on ignore. If she knows she can get you out of bed and paying attention by being a spaz, she will continue. I know it's hard, but don't get up, don't even open your eyes. Hopefully she'll get the message eventually.

I'm sure other people have had this experience, too...

Give her a cat of moist food right before bedtime. She obviously wants to be with you and doesn't understand about your need for sleep. Have you considered possibly getting her a companion?

Katie

HAHAHAHAHA! Sorry, but this is exactly what Skittles does to me as well when he's feeling well. I've found that closing the door on him and not letting him see me go into the bedroom seems to work fairly well. I also have a hardcore play session with him just before I go to bed. That usually works well..til around 4am...lol

He went into the bathroom one night (right next to my bedroom) and gave out the most pathetic meow I'd heard! I thought something was wrong with him, so I had gotten up to check on him....oh, he just grinned at me and started playfully attacking my feet. Then for the next few nights, he tried crying in the bathroom. As hard (and annoying) as it was, I just ignored him. Now he's not so bad about it.

Oh my, this sounds so familiar. I went through the same thing, only my cat was much younger. I thought I would never get a good nights sleep again. In addition to giving her some protein before bedtime and giving her a good play session, the best thing to do as suggested, is ignore her. It might take a few nights for her to get the message, but that is what worked for me. Good luck!

Maybe you are actually encouraging her to be nocturnal by keeping the light on and letting her play at night. And then of course she wants someone to play with - you! I have retrained mine to sleep at night by keeping all lights off, ignoring them when they try to play and feeding them something late at night to encourage sleep. They all now go to bed when (sometimes even before!!) I do, and sleep on my bed, only occasionally waking for a few minutes. In summer they do tend to wake early, but it is supportable, and they rarely wake me, just get off the bed and go and sit on the windowsill. It may take a little time, but it can be done, and it is so comfortable when you are all in sync.

Thanks everyone for responding. I really appreciate it. I'm going crazy and I'm starting to take it out on my boyfriend.. because no one seems to understand what I'm going through.. but you guys do.. thank god. Yeah, I had no idea what to do with her.. No idea what I was doing was wrong.. she's like a kid. A crazy cutie pie. Anyway, I was looking at her adoption papers, thinking maybe she needs another cat to play with. She came into the shelter with litter mates.. she was fostered with them also. I am thinking about another cat to keep her company because my apt is so small .. she looks so bored.. I can only throw her toys so far and then she's like "ugh". When the other cats from the neighborhood come around my window she gets all excited. I'm afraid though because she has had interactions with other cats and with most of them the other cat starts hissing at her, but then again there are these two cats that she just loves to play with in the hallway. I just don't know if I could handle two cats in an apt. If I lived in a house.. I'd probably have atleast 3 by now. lol. I love um. Thanks again.

yeah, i have two boy kittens much younger than yours that would keep me up ALL NIGHT LONG. your frustration is bringing me back to painful and sleepy memories. here's what my vet told me to do:

my kittens were developing pot bellies anyway, so i had to change their diet. he told me to feed them a very very very small breakfast in the mornings and to not feed them until night time right before i go to bed...and give them a mega portion of food. after that, i've had the best sleep ever...and i think they have too.