Cats waking me up early to be fed...

i feed my cats moist food on schedule and i'm monitering their calories...

they like to wake me up every morning to be fed, and i've not been getting much sleep.


so i have an idea that i'd like some input on:

i'll set my alarm for 8:00am every morning and 10:00pm every night (i have a dual alarm ). and right as that alarm goes off i'll feed the cats. if the cats wake me up early they have to wait for the alarm. no matter how much meowing.

if there is ever a time when i have to feed them more early or late i can just set the alarm for that time. and 'pretend' it's the same time - *whispers* --> but please don't tell the cats .

i think, well,... hope, that the cats will quickly catch on to the alarm and realise that they only get fed when they hear an alarm. THEN they can meow all they want and i'll glady rush and get their food.

i'm going to start tonight and i'll let you know how it goes...

anyone have some other ideas? i think it can help to gather ideas.

thanks

If you get up in the night you could always make it a point to put out a few morsals of dry food for them to munch on as a snack.

If your cats are constantly crying for food, they are obviously hungry and aren't getting enough, at least that's what it seems like to me. Not all cats take to once or twice a day feedings, some need to be fed smaller amounts more frequently to keep their tummies full.

ugh patches does that to me. she gets wet food 3x a day + free-fed dry food. however, if its time for the AM wet food, she jumps on my chest and yowls at me. if i dont get up, she slaps me across the face with her paw until i get up.

Maia tries to wake me up,but I must admit she is very polite about it...... I find if I just don't move, she curls up somewhere. Sweety, godbless her, use to jump on me over and over, so I would just snatch her in my arms and make her lay down with me, she got the point.......................... I think any reaction to thier little song and dance is more satisfying for them then actually getting fed! Cats are very intelligent! In my past experience they have better clocks then us. Setting an alarm could just let them know when they should start doing thier little "song and dance" minutes before it goes off. You have to love them for thier little quirks, how they learn our schedules better then us! The trick is to make them feel just as important as what we need and do daily, but not more so that our schedules are interupted, we know they don't enjoy being woken up during thier slumber................ feed them when we get up, but not get up to feed them.....................

Gizmo gets crabby if there's no dry food left out overnight. 'Crabby' for her is 'makes noise in the morning to wake me up'--she can never really get mad at anyone!

I free-feed Gizmo dry food since that is what she wants, but there is very little food in the dish. She's doing fine on this system.

You might leave a snack (dry) out for the kitties since they 'hunt' at night; the wet food would be fed at your appointed times, with no dry food left out during the day. And good luck getting them not to bother you til eight o'clock. I keep telling Gizmo when to get me up and her 'clock' is usually set an hour early!

If you get up in the night you could always make it a point to put out a few morsals of dry food for them to munch on as a snack.

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they might then get used to a mid-night snack. i'll not do it.

If your cats are constantly crying for food, they are obviously hungry and aren't getting enough, at least that's what it seems like to me. Not all cats take to once or twice a day feedings, some need to be fed smaller amounts more frequently to keep their tummies full.

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what they get is adaquate to keep them fit and healthy. and with my work schedule two feedings a day is what works.

ugh patches does that to me. she gets wet food 3x a day + free-fed dry food. however, if its time for the AM wet food, she jumps on my chest and yowls at me. if i dont get up, she slaps me across the face with her paw until i get up.

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thats what i dont want

Setting an alarm could just let them know when they should start doing thier little "song and dance" minutes before it goes off.

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i think they can be intelligent, but i question their ability to tell time accurately. even if they do the song and dance, i'll not feed untill that alarm goes off, period.

And good luck getting them not to bother you til eight o'clock. I keep telling Gizmo when to get me up and her 'clock' is usually set an hour early!

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this will work. when i want something to happen, it happens. i will find a way to wake up peacefully on my own time. i have gone too long on semi-sleep. i want a SOLID sleep.

everything will be great!

Sounds like you already have your mind set..........