Cat Scratching On Headboard To Get Fed - Help?!?

[jennifer26]

I have the best little snuggle bug (Miss Joan Jett) who also happens to be a voracious eater. She is turning one this month. As a kitten, she had a food sensitivity/allergy and always would over eat which resulted in diarrhea/loose stools and throw up. With some trial and error with my vet, we've gotten her squared away on a kibble that doesn't cause diarrhea as well as put her on a feeding schedule of 4x/day instead of free feeding. Good news is that this has addressed the diarrhea etc but she is still a major pig and always wants to be fed. (And yes, she's been tested for worms etc. We don't know why she wants to eat everything all of the time.)

We have been on the 4x/day routine for several months now and it seemed to be working but the last few weeks, she has decided to move up her first feeding to around 4:30 am. I would ignore her cries/pawing my head until she went back to sleep etc but for the last few weeks, she started clawing my headboard. It is cloth-based and I really don't want scratch marks on it. I have been firm and say "no" while doing the small finger bop on the nose but that doesn't seem to work with her. She is a very, very loving and cuddly cat and so I'm wondering if based on her personality, there's a different way of modifying her behavior.

I've thought of wrapping the headboard in some bubblewrap and tape for a few weeks to see if that helps but not super excited about that. Alternatively, I thought about putting her in the bathroom (time-out) for a couple of minutes since she likes being on the bed and close to me so much.

Any advice?

 

[susanm9006]

I would try simply shutting her out of the bedroom until you are ready to get up. She will likely pitch a fit but will adjust.

My girl is a gobbler too and if allowed would eat a full days worth of kibble in a few minutes. So she gets fed three times a day, with the last feeding going into her slow bowl. It is a bowl that has swirls built in so she needs to scoop out each piece individually to eat.

 

[rubysmama]

You probably want to do something to protect your headboard, so the bubble wrap might work.

And about her 4:30 am wakeup call, I used to have a similar issue with my Ruby when I first adopted her. Sleep deprivation started to set in, so I resorted to picking her up, putting her out of the room, and closing the door when she woke me too early. I would tell her she had to wait for the radio to come on. I doubt she understood what that meant, but eventually she stopped waking me, and would come in the bedroom, when the radio came on.

So, if ignoring Miss Joan Jett doesn't work, I'd suggest trying putting her out of the bedroom and closing the door when she wakes you at 4:30 am.

TCS also has an article that might have some tips for you:
How To Stop My Cat From Waking Me Up At Night?

 

[Timmer]

She isn't going to understand if you get up and put her in the bathroom. They say a good way to treat these kinds of behavioral issues are to ignore them. That means not saying anything or reacting at all. I think it's a good idea to cover your headboard. You do what you gotta do.

Now are you set on the four times a day feeding schedule? Can you gradually make it three and then two?