Cat Meowing And Clawing At Bedroom Door While I Sleep

[rachelmf12]

Hi There,

It's with tired eyes that I write this in hopes someone can help me out. This doesn't happen on a regular basis but it is fairly frequent. I'll start by saying that my (one of two cats) does this whether or not my partner is at home and awake during the night. While I sleep at night, I keep the door closed to keep the cats out. I would say about 60% of the time, when I'm sleeping at home alone (my boyfriend works nights sometimes) Tootsie (4.5 year old calico) will meow and claw at my door around 3AM. Sometimes, all it will take is me picking her up, and putting her in her bed for her to stop this behavior. Other times, I will try this unsuccessfully multiple times until she finally stays in her bed. Last night was one of those nights where nothing worked. My partner was home and watching TV in the living room so that may have contributed to her 'hyperness' but our other cat (3 year old Maine Coon) was fast asleep, no issues. At around the same time, close to 3AM, she began meowing constantly and clawing at my door. I'm an extremely light sleeper so each time she would do this it would wake me up. My partner said he tried multiple times to put her in her bed but it only took a few minutes before she was back at the door yelling again. He tried playing with her, feeding her some food etc. but nothing would stop her. When this happens I also try letting her into the room to sleep on the bed with me but this normally turns into her opening the drawers on my night stand or walking along the headboard above me. I think it's clear that she's bored but we try to play with her and she just get's bored of that eventually too. It also seems that she only meows at the door when I'm in the room. She never does it to my partner! She also seems to be very attached to me. If I'm laying on the couch she will come and basically sit on my chest right at my face and knead and purr, this is also very frequent behavior (that I really don't mind honestly) but she doesn't do this to my partner. When I first got Tootsie it was just me and her and then my partner came into the picture and shortly after, we got our second cat. This door behavior has been around since before we got our second cat though. Any help/guidance is appreciated!!

Thank you,

Rachel

 

[molly92]

Tootsie is clawing at the door because she knows it gets a reaction, and cats are persistent and will take any reaction, positive or negative, as encouragement to keep trying. Her goal is to get someone to open the door. Her clawing causes someone to get up and walk to the door, ok, that's a step in the right direction. That they pick her up and move her is a drawback, but she managed to get someone to come over to her so she takes that as a sign that she's making progress, so she will try again. If she hears you get up or shush her from the other side of the door, again, that tells her that she's being noticed and something is working.

Cats can eventually get discouraged, but only after they are convinced that the action will lead to no results. Which means you and your partner have to give her absolutely zero acknowledgement when she does this, and also you have to keep it up for a long time. Long enough for her to give up all hope of ever getting a response when she does this. This might only take a couple of days, but most cats have enough determination that it may take weeks or more. Don't give up! Ignore, ignore, ignore. Maybe get some earplugs. And eventually, she will give up!

 

[Mamanyt1953]

These articles may be of help, as well:

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

 

[danteshuman]

Is there any way she can be trained to sleep with you? Half of my bud/punk's bad behavior disappeared when I started letting him sleep with me! Sleeping with their humans and the bed is a HUGE deal in the cat world. Yes it will take a few weeks-months to train her not to wake you up ..... but they learn quickly. Did I mention indoor cats live 15-20 years? That is a LONG time to be sleep deprived.
I would lock her up in a different room when she wakes you up while sleeping with you or *sigh* for the entire night so she can't rattle/claw your door. If you don't have a second room to put her in then I would put sticky tape on the door and one of those car mats (spiky side up) in front of the door.

Cats can be trained. Sleep is possible. Plus I bet your other cat wants to sleep with you.

 

[5starcathotel]

Why close the door? Why not let your cats sleep with you? Honest question!

I have 4...and I usually wake up in the morning to find 2 or 3 cuddled up around my feet. Unless they start playing, or fighting, it's very peaceful.

I also really suggest having a cat tree near your bed, to really make the space a shared area with you, your partner, and your cats.

 

[Katie M]

I love waking up to the sight of Selene curled up by me. My cats are always welcome to share my bed.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

Hekitty does not sleep with me. I sleep with Hekitty. There is a king-sized bed. I get 28-30" on the far right. The rest of it is hers. And she is perfectly willing to enforce this. MOST of the night she spends with her furry little head nestled on my shoulder, and I don't sleep well when she isn't there.