Cat Knocks Down Things To Get Food And I Don't Know How To Stop Him!

[ERA]

My cat is pretty smart. He knows that if I'm sleeping and he knocks something down I'll wake right up. He usually does this in the morning when he wants his breakfast, which makes me dread sleeping a second past 6am as he will just keep knocking stuff down until he's fed. My cat also likes his food and will meow at me and try to trip me in the hopes of getting more, even if he was just fed. So, now he's gotten into the really bad habit of continuously knocking things down if I'm asleep to get food, at any hour. I've tried ignoring him and moving anything that he could knock over but he finds a way! I also keep my door cracked so he's not stuck in my room if I want to sleep past six on a Saturday morning and he'll knock over dishes and silverware to wake me up. He'll also jump on my leaning bookshelf that he knows he's not allowed on. I tried putting aluminum foil on the shelves and stuff to block him but he knocks it all off!

He is perfectly well fed; my vet and I have him on the amount of food he needs for his little size. He was a stray before I got him so I know he probably starved before the rescue got to him. I don't know how to discipline him or discourage this behavior. On all other accounts he's a very good boy, sweet, loving, and playful and there are no other behavioral issues with him. But this has gone on way too long and it needs to stop. How do I do him from doing this???

 

[duckpond]

Maybe something has changed and he now needs a bit more food? A hungry cat is a hangry cat How long have you had him? Rescue cats can be very food driven for quite some time after adoption, especially if he starved.

What food do you feed him? If you only feed wet it is a bit more difficult, but if you feed dry try leaving a small bowl out for him, at least on the nights you want to sleep in the next morning? Maybe buy a small bag of dry, if you only feed wet, and give him a few spoonfuls right before bed? Or if only wet then a last moment meal, or big snack right before bed?

My cats have dry out always, and i feed two wet meals a day. Cats can tell time quite well, and it use to be that mine would get quite insistent if i slept in. After i started leaving Dr. Elseys dry out at night they don't bother me near so much, or early. It could also be that they are a bit older now, and know they are not going to go hungry? Good luck with your cat

 

[margd]

and welcome to TCS!

I can really sympathize with you. My late cat Milo knocked things off the shelf, too. I ended up living with nothing on my shelves but you don't need to do that. I just didn't know there was a potential solution. The same products that keep earthquakes from sending items crashing to the floor and that keep displays immobile in museums will usually prevent cats from having fun with gravity. Search for "museum putty", "museum wax" and "earthquake putty" to get some idea of what's available. Different products are stronger than others so make sure you find one strong enough to withstand your kitty.

You can also try modifying his feeding schedule to see if that helps. One possibility is just to move one of his meals to right before bedtime. Another option only works for cats getting dried food so may not be right for him, but it works well enough that maybe you and your vet could find a way to incorporate a small amount of kibble into his diet. Check out the cat "food mazes" available - they will let your boy satisfy his appetite and entertain him at the same time. Here is a search I did on amazon that shows some of the many types of mazes available. I have the Catit Senses 2.0 Food Tree and it works very well. My cats, Chula and Paul, almost never wake me up in the morning for food since I've gotten it.

If you decide to keep your little boy on canned food, consider feeding him the same amount but splitting it between three meals and set an automatic food dispenser to go off sometime before 6:00 AM - he gets the meal he wants and you get the sleep you need. Here's an example of what I mean - I've never used one of these myself but many of our members have had good luck with them.

And finally, we have some articles that you might find helpful in pursuing a solution to this problem.

How To Stop My Cat From Waking Me Up At Night?
The Dos And Don'ts Of Cat Behavior Modification
How To Set Healthy Boundaries For Your Cat