Cat Won't Let Me Sleep

[colleenh1212]

My youngest just turned a year old and he's so naughty! He has all the toys he could want and two sisters, plus he gets played with all they time by me and my fiancé. So my issue is that between 2-5AM he will scratch the walls, meow, and his favorite thing to do right now is to knock all the books off from my shelves. I know this behavior is to wake us up because he is bored, but play time at 3 in the morning is just not going to happen. We have tried using a spray bottle but he thinks it's a game. Any other suggestions. Locking him out doesn't work because he scratches at the door all night. We tried for a week...the boy is relentless. He gets fed canned food in the morning around 5-6 and right before bed, and has dry food available to him throughout the night. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[Kieka]

If he is look for food, then I would get an automatic feeder that is programmed for that 3am time. Win-win. He gets food and you guys get left alone for food.

If he is looking for attention, that is a training thing. For training it honestly is just not responding to him. No saying his name. No moving around. Nada. Nothing. Zip. Zilch. Do not reward his actions with attention good or bad. I know this one is hard, my boy did the exact same thing and he is a loud Siamese mix. But truly the only way to stop the behavior from him is stop the reaction from you.

 

[fluffernutter]

My kitty was so much like this for probably the first six months I had him! I adopted him when he was a little over a year old and he had tons of energy-- whenever he wanted attention and/or entertainment during the night, he would claw at my hair. Plus for some really dumb reason I chose to rent a studio apartment, so there was no escape, lol. I second that ignoring the behavior can work wonders-- I finally resorted to wrapping myself in a cocoon of blankets with a small hole for air and giving zero response when he attempted to dig me out. After quite some time, he got the picture and the behavior lessened, even when I stopped the whole cocoon thing. He does still try it in the morning if I show signs of being remotely awake, but pulling the blankets over my head seems to be a good enough reminder that it's not going to work. So it might take a while, but ignoring can help a lot.

You might already do this, but I also recommend making sure he has plenty of toys that he can play with on his own during the night. I often hear mine playing with his treat dispenser (this plastic mouse he has to knock around in order to dislodge treats) and/or attacking his favorite sock.

 

[madzoya]

I so feel for you, as I'm exactly in the same place.

I wish ignoring Bruce would work, but it's hard when he's bitting your feet!!!!!

He will resort to everything to get our attention, day or night. If he wants it, he needs to get it there and then.

And oh can this cat push buttons. He will find every behavior that anoys you and do it until your green in the face trying to ignore him.

Maybe I should start a Vblog... Some people might think it funny!