Attacking my bed (with me in it)

[blazewind]

Same routine every morning for weeks now.  As much as I love my fur-baby, I'm quickly reaching my wits end with this.  At the crack of dawn she's on top of me or right beside me, literally ripping at the bedding with her claws extended, running around a bit on the bed and then right back to clawing the bedding again.  Her pawing and clawing motion reminds me almost exactly of a dog digging a hole in the dirt.  This is certainly not something I could mistake for the more common kneading behavior.  She does that too, kneads with her front paws gets comfy and then sleeps on me.  That I'm okay with, but obviously a cat seeming to want to rip the covers to sheds with me in the bed is a different story.  I put her off the bed right away when this happens, but now its reaching the point where she;ll only hop right back up and do it again and again until I get up.  I try getting up and feeding her, but she;s also barely eating her food at all, and with a full dish she;ll just go right back to pawing at me and the bedding.  I lose a lot of sleep over this, and so much for catching up on days off work.  The only thing I can think of to try is maybe putting a scratchpad in the bedroom for her.  Perhaps she wants to scratch but still be in the same room as me.  Then again since she is seemingly barely eating I worry it might be a diet or health related issue.  Any input would be great.         

 

[roguethecat]

such a cute one... how old is she? Sounds like she desperately wants to play with you

 

what might help is one of those electric toys that you plug in and something moves around to chase. And trimming her claws...

The Rogue went through a state when he attacked anything in sight, but mostly me, which stopped instantly when I got him a playmate (being the Rogue, he ended up needing two). He still loves bed sheets, though. 

 

[betsygee]

I'd be concerned about the barely eating.  How long has that been going on?  A check up with the vet may be in order.

 

[blazewind]

 
such a cute one... how old is she? Sounds like she desperately wants to play with you

 

what might help is one of those electric toys that you plug in and something moves around to chase. And trimming her claws...

The Rogue went through a state when he attacked anything in sight, but mostly me, which stopped instantly when I got him a playmate (being the Rogue, he ended up needing two). He still loves bed sheets, though. 

She is 3.  I just started a new job recently and with hours different from the ones she was used to, perhaps she does feel a bit deprived of my attention.  I will have a longer play time with her tonight.  If anything that may just also tire her out more and allow us both to sleep later, lol.  Trimmed her claws today.  We'll see how that goes tonight.  This weekend I will look around town for such a toy.  She may enjoy something like that even while I am away from home all day at work.

I actually have thought about getting a second cat, thinking too that my Josephine would benefit from having a playmate (and really where there is love and food for one, there easily is for two cats.)  But I'm not sure how she'd do with another one.  I had another cat in here twice in the time I've had her.  My mother's cat visiting for a short time, and and a neighboring cat who randomly wandered right into my apartment behind me before I could react, when I stopped in the hallway to try to figure out where he lived and pet him.  Josephine hissed and growled and tried to start a fight on both occasions.     

 
I'd be concerned about the barely eating.  How long has that been going on?  A check up with the vet may be in order.

The food thing has only been really noticeable for a couple of days now.  She would only nibble on a very small amount and then walk away.  I intend to call  the vet clinic tomorrow to see about getting her in to be seen if its not much better.  This afternoon though after my earlier post, she ate a good bit of the canned food I gave her, and even later went after the bowl of dry food I keep out for her to eat when she wants it..  Certainly promising.    I've been keeping a good eye on her food dish.     

 

[betsygee]

 
She is 3.  I just started a new job recently and with hours different from the ones she was used to, perhaps she does feel a bit deprived of my attention.  I will have a longer play time with her tonight.  If anything that may just also tire her out more and allow us both to sleep later, lol.  Trimmed her claws today.  We'll see how that goes tonight.  This weekend I will look around town for such a toy.  She may enjoy something like that even while I am away from home all day at work.

I actually have thought about getting a second cat, thinking too that my Josephine would benefit from having a playmate (and really where there is love and food for one, there easily is for two cats.)  But I'm not sure how she'd do with another one.  I had another cat in here twice in the time I've had her.  My mother's cat visiting for a short time, and and a neighboring cat who randomly wandered right into my apartment behind me before I could react, when I stopped in the hallway to try to figure out where he lived and pet him.  Josephine hissed and growled and tried to start a fight on both occasions.     

The food thing has only been really noticeable for a couple of days now.  She would only nibble on a very small amount and then walk away.  I intend to call  the vet clinic tomorrow to see about getting her in to be seen if its not much better.  This afternoon though after my earlier post, she ate a good bit of the canned food I gave her, and even later went after the bowl of dry food I keep out for her to eat when she wants it..  Certainly promising.    I've been keeping a good eye on her food dish.     

Glad to hear she was eating again!  And smart to keep a close eye on it.  So tough to know sometimes whether things are behavioral or medical.

 

[roguethecat]

 
I actually have thought about getting a second cat, thinking too that my Josephine would benefit from having a playmate (and really where there is love and food for one, there easily is for two cats.)  But I'm not sure how she'd do with another one.  I had another cat in here twice in the time I've had her.  My mother's cat visiting for a short time, and and a neighboring cat who randomly wandered right into my apartment behind me before I could react, when I stopped in the hallway to try to figure out where he lived and pet him.  Josephine hissed and growled and tried to start a fight on both occasions.     

ah, this was an intrusion into her territory without proper introduction

 Anne wrote a nice article about how to do it here. You'll also want to check out this one.

about the food: canned has more nutrition than dry. You might want to see if she's just gotten bored with what she got and try another brand/flavor.

Also, great name, Josephine!

 

[blazewind]

 
ah, this was an intrusion into her territory without proper introduction

 Anne wrote a nice article about how to do it here. You'll also want to check out this one.

about the food: canned has more nutrition than dry. You might want to see if she's just gotten bored with what she got and try another brand/flavor.

Also, great name, Josephine!

I actually didn't name her.  She's a shelter adoption, and Josephine was the name the shelter staff had given her.  When I first went to choose a cat, I had every intention of renaming her/him, and but when I learned the name of the one that was obviously coming home with me, I loved her name and kept it, lol.   I like human names for pets I suppose.   

 

[jtbo]

Same routine every morning for weeks now.  As much as I love my fur-baby, I'm quickly reaching my wits end with this.  At the crack of dawn she's on top of me or right beside me, literally ripping at the bedding with her claws extended, running around a bit on the bed and then right back to clawing the bedding again.  Her pawing and clawing motion reminds me almost exactly of a dog digging a hole in the dirt.  This is certainly not something I could mistake for the more common kneading behavior.  She does that too, kneads with her front paws gets comfy and then sleeps on me.  That I'm okay with, but obviously a cat seeming to want to rip the covers to sheds with me in the bed is a different story.  I put her off the bed right away when this happens, but now its reaching the point where she;ll only hop right back up and do it again and again until I get up.  I try getting up and feeding her, but she;s also barely eating her food at all, and with a full dish she;ll just go right back to pawing at me and the bedding.  I lose a lot of sleep over this, and so much for catching up on days off work.  The only thing I can think of to try is maybe putting a scratchpad in the bedroom for her.  Perhaps she wants to scratch but still be in the same room as me.  Then again since she is seemingly barely eating I worry it might be a diet or health related issue.  Any input would be great.         

She is protecting you from snake or something else she thinks is under the blanket, but problem is it is you under the blanket, any movement will trigger hunting instinct and she has now learned that at certain time there will be this prey under the blanket, so she is trying to dig top layer out to get into pray, same thing they do with grass and other soft ground when they think there is a prey, soft for them means something that can be dug.

My suggestion is that yowl like if it would hurt you really a lot, acting skills to use it is, that is how one of mine understood that activity will result unpleasant consequences and stopped doing that, but he still likes to be good bed warmer, so there was no drawbacks in this method, of course your result can be different, there is not knowing how cat will react.

Hopefully you get this unwanted behavior sorted

 

[adrianna25]

Hello there. She sounds like a really rambunctious kitty. I love her name too. My brother had similar problems with his cat years ago and although she was younger, she was a crazy one. Lol. She would jump on his head (which is bald) when he was sleeping and drive him cooky. So he brought home a male cat for her to be crazy with. Of course they hissed and fought but she really really calmed down. Turns out they mated and had a litter of kittens. He kept one of the kittens and gave the other ones to a friend with a nice large house. So, as the cats got older, the female ALWAYS ran the house. I think it's a female thing. I suggest getting a male for her to play with; fixed of course.

When I got my cats, I chose 2 kittens together and they were male brothers. That was great because they kept each other company and tired each other out! It was wonderful!! I had them both for 16 & 17 years, but sadly I just lost my boy April 7 of this year. It's very sad to lose your baby.

I hope Josephine keeps eating her wet food and nibbling on some dry stuff as well. [emoji]128570[/emoji]

 

[kibmufxy]

My Roxy does that a bit but what she does every single morning she meows until i am out of bed. It gets louder too. She cannot stand to see me in bed once she is up. She sleeps with me.. Maybe try petting your cat and giving her affection when she starts that. My cat runs around the bed too but she is playing when she does that. I do that then Roxy settles down and sleeps. As for not eating, maybe she doe snot like the food you are giving her. There are certain  ones ( same brand ) my cat does not like so i stop them and try others so i know which ones she likes. .

 

[lamiatron]

1) as for Josephine's eating issues, glad to read she's started to go back to normal. Maybe you want to try topping her food off with her favorite treats? I'm constantly switching around foods on my two cats, and sometimes i have to bribe em with some treats on top. lol. It helps for them to eat their food. But most importantly, you should talk to a vet. Not eating could point to an underlying medical issue (as it was with one of my cats)

2) you might want to make sure you have enough water out for kitty too. I'm not sure where you are, but here in the states, its practically summer every where. and with the days getting hotter, i think sometimes kitty just wants some water to cool down. if there is food but not enough water accessible to her, she might not really feel like eating, she just wants more water. something to consider. its getting warm here in NYC, and i know both my kitties have been drinking a bit more than usual.

3) definitely invest in a scratcher to keep in your bedroom next to the bed. something horizontal. it will help a lot. its giving her another option. long heavy play sessions are also a great idea. both my kitties want to play early in the morning, so I keep toys in my night stand, and just throw them about the bedroom when they start bugging me. it has helped me in that they both get distracted and will chase, catch, murder and play with the toy. lol

4) this i feel is important. When you see Josephine pawing/digging and attacking your bed whilst you're in it, you should get up and either kick her out of the room, or crate her (when my girl Jet used to do this, i would crate her, she used to bite feet). She needs to understand that this behavior is NOT acceptable. crating her, or kicking her out of the room will give you at least an hour or two of sleep, and she will slowly learn over time that her behavior is not getting her anything good: no bed, no being in bed with owner, and no food. Its going to be hard, and annoying, but with patience and repetition, Josephine will learn that she's not getting anything out of attacking the bed with you in it.

Hope this helps! you've already gotten great advice from everyone else. 

 

[jtbo]

Maybe try petting your cat and giving her affection when she starts that.

This could cause her to associate nice thing coming from her unwanted behavior, which might encourage her instead of discouraging.

I have used sometimes hugging, mine don't like it much and especially if I keep hugging long long time they will inability to escape really something they don't like and that has then helped with some unwanted behavior, but it seem not to be as efficient as acting being hurt.

Tomcat yowling imitation is also very efficient, as well as hissing, but those might go bit too far for some people. I have found out that some people seem not to take it too well if I speak cat to my cats, but I keep doing it as it is far easier to communicate with cats with their level of language. Maybe I'm just weird then

 

[kibmufxy]

I say try many things and maybe one will work. 

 

[keyes]

I've got a one year old and right now her thing is washing my face and grooming my hair at 4:30 in the morning!!  As soon as she starts, I get up and put outside of the bedroom and close the door.  May take a while for her to learn that I do these things just fine on my own and it's much better to cuddle with me until it's time to get up.

 

[kibmufxy]

My cat meows early in the morning until i am out of bed. Putting her outside the room and closing the door does not stop her. She cannot  stand for me to be in bed if she is up. Once i get up she i happy. My husband is up but she does not care. She's up  then she wants  me up ! 

 

[samnmag]

I think your kitty sounds like quite a character.  All animals are creatures of habit.  When we throw something different into the works, they are going to react be it in a positive manner or a negative but then they adapt.  There is a really good book out called Do Cats Need Shrinks by Peter Neville.  Believe me, I had a good reason for buying it.  I really love cats but they are a bit of a mystery and trying to figure out what they are telling us can be difficult.  My Emily, who is rising three, will sometimes come up to bed with me.  She will come under the cover and snuggle up in my arm...usually and she gets patted, of course.  When she gets bored with that, she will get up and go further down under the covers and in rapid succession, appear to dig at the sheets.  I lift up the covers and ask her if she is having fun and then I pat her.  At that point, she realizes she has my attention and she then hops off the bed and goes wherever she wants to go.  I have found with our furry little friends that if you give them negative attention, they will continue to do what you really don't want them to.  This is seen when there is a person who doesn't like cats is in the room.  Where does the cat go....to the person who does not like cats (although I have never understood how anyone could not love these wonderful little souls).  So, when your little fur-baby does the digging thing, just take a couple of minutes to pat her and see if that settles her down.  I am not an animal behaviourist but I am a cat mom and have been for a long time.  Every cat is different so you just need to figure out what she is trying to tell you.  My other cat will come up and take up half my queen size bed.  So I have one digging every now and again and one hogging the bed and as someone who is retired from working long twelve hour shifts, I can tell you it disturbed my sleep a bit but I didn't care.  I am just thankful for every minute I have with my fur-babies and the joy they bring into my life.

 

[keyes]

It's like everyone is saying here.  Every cat is different and what may work with one  doesn't mean it's going to work with the other one.

 

[kibmufxy]

Very true.  

 

[katharine88]

Would definitely see the vet. My kitty did this too. I put him outside the bedroom at night. He cried outside the bedroom door for a few days. I would bring him back in the room, but if he started to go crazy running around and clawing the sheets, he went back outside the bedroom door. It took a few nights, but he stopped running around and clawing me and the sheets and we slept peacefully.

 

[kibmufxy]

Great that it worked. Nothing works for my Roxy with her meowing in the morning . Once she is awake she wants me out of bed. Even if i try to go back to bed she is there meowing.