furry alarm clock

[sylorna]

I know this almost seems like it's not a problem, and if it weren't every day, it wouldn't be, but here it is.
Chester sleeps in my room, so that we bond more and so that the other cats can have a rest from "the monster" during the night. We're also concerned that he'll get into trouble, and he is a ball and a half of energy.
EVERY morning Chester wakes me up bright and early. Usually it's around 6:30am, but earlier this week it was 4:30am. He wakes me up by bumping my head, licking my entire face, purring in my ear, sitting on my head and attacking any bodyparts that may move because of the above. Basically there's no point in fighting or ignoring him, he doesn't listen.
I'm not sure what I can do with this situation. This morning I got up, fed him and went back to bed to have him eat and jump on me, performing his morning rituals a second time.
It's cute, and yet I need to sleep. Should I just wait it out (he's about 7 months now) or is there something I can do to tame this wicked love-beast in my bed?
Jess

 

[aurora151989]

hmmmm, you could wait it out.... or you could mess with his head by pretending to be asleep, or.... you could put him out when he starts bothering you hehe. I remember being at my cousin's house when their cat solomon was a kitten, he would attack my toesies when i was twying to swleep. So i got up and slept with my mommy away from the attack kitten

I was just a toddler then, 4 or 5 at the most

 

[eburgess]

He most likly wants your attention. Limerick will do the same thing. I just grab him and hold him close then he calms down and purrs and goes back to sleep. Or you could have him sleep in the bathroom, or where ever his litter box is. He'll compalin for a while but will get use to the idea.

 

[cloud_shade]

You might also try having a big playtime right before bed. Sometimes that will tire them out and reset their internal clock so they don't wake you quite so early.

 

[sylorna]

Originally Posted by cloud_shade

You might also try having a big playtime right before bed. Sometimes that will tire them out and reset their internal clock so they don't wake you quite so early.

Actually, he does a self play time right before bed. Around 9:00 every night he decides everything is very exciting and runs around the house full throttle for about an hour. It's pretty funny, and after his "bedtime snack" he usually falls alseep right away, its the "up with the sun" part that's hard.
I tried holding him this morning, he likes to lay on my chest so I'll scratch his head, and that worked ok, until I started falling asleep while I was petting him, all of the sudden I had kisses on my chin and it started all over again.
Kicking him out of my bedroom and closing my sisters door worked for awhile, but now he just stands next to the door and howls if I do that.
I don't know, he's such a kitten and that's not a bad thing...I just hate getting angry with him while he's trying to be cute because I'm so tired.

 

[darkeyedgirl]

My cats have me trained. too.

My alarm goes off at 6am M-F and I get up when they want me to, on weekends.

Usually as soon as twilight hits, BEFORE 6am now that it's Spring, Hammie will awaken & come up and pick at my face with his claws. He's merely hungry and wanting to start his day and all. The claws are the best way to wake Mommy up!

When he was a kitten, about your guys age, he used to sleep right near my nose. He's moved a bit but STILL wakes me with the claw-to-the-nose thing!

Another way he wakes me is walking on my head to get to the window. If the nose picking thing doesn't rouse me, he walks on my head, claws out.

But I'm a morning person so I welcome the love...

 

[esrgirl]

He sounds a lot more persistant that Isabelle does and she definately has me trained. She does the same thing at about 7 am. Sometimes I just nudge her off the bed a few times but lately I've been getting up and filling their food bowls- that seems to help for me. I've locked her out of the bedroom as well, she'll scratch for about ten minutes then give up. It doesn't sound like leaving him out of the room is much of an option though.

 

[redhairedgirl]

Maybe I'm lucky, or my babies have just grown up a bit. When they were younger, they used to scratch at the door at about 6ish and we ignored them till we wanted to get out of bed and feed them. Now, since we've moved to a different place, they don't scratch anymore but wait until the split second we open our eyes and then they complain about being hungry. I guess cats can hear eyelids fluttering open? It also helps having them on a consistent schedule of two meals a day. Maybe they know better than to ask before that in the mornings!

 

[roxy_loves_cj]

I am not a morning person at all and I am owned by an 8 month old cattin (what i call one who is older than a kitten but not a cat yet!) and he is all about getting up at the butt crack of dawn. I hated this at first but I know he will not let me sleep. I started using him as my motivation to go work out in the morning because he doesnt have a snooze button. When CJ wakes me up I feed and water him, then go walking, come back and get ready for classes. Maybe you could use this quiet time you are gaining (unwilling) to do something you need/want to do like read, hobby time, or to get in shape. Sometimes our days are so wrapped up in work, cats, kids or whatever that we forget to take me time. Consider it a gift from your cat! When he out grows it, then you can go back to sleeping later, or you might decide to keep getting up.

 

[sylorna]

Originally Posted by Roxy_loves_CJ

I am not a morning person at all and I am owned by an 8 month old cattin (what i call one who is older than a kitten but not a cat yet!) and he is all about getting up at the butt crack of dawn. I hated this at first but I know he will not let me sleep. I started using him as my motivation to go work out in the morning because he doesnt have a snooze button. When CJ wakes me up I feed and water him, then go walking, come back and get ready for classes. Maybe you could use this quiet time you are gaining (unwilling) to do something you need/want to do like read, hobby time, or to get in shape. Sometimes our days are so wrapped up in work, cats, kids or whatever that we forget to take me time. Consider it a gift from your cat! When he out grows it, then you can go back to sleeping later, or you might decide to keep getting up.

What a positive way to look at it! When I first got him and he woke me up routinely at 5am I'd get up and do my thing. Perhaps you're right, perhaps I should get some more exercise or read my really good book.

 

[milopixie]

I have the same problem. It wouldn't bother me as much if it was just me, but I have a very cranky downstairs neighbor who doesn't appreciate the joyful sounds of cats running back and forth above his head at 5 a.m. (I can't imagine why???) I've been working on a schedule for them and it's worked for the most part. Play, play, play for about 15 minutes each hour after I get home from work, with the last play session around an hour b4 I go to sleep. They get a snack, usually a 1/2 can of wet food, about a 1/2 hour b4 I go to bed. They've gotten a bit better with this routine. Especially Pixie who is finally starting to play again!

 

[jettafer99]

My Bella can start as early as 4am but really starts getting impatient at 630am, when I finally give in and get her breakfast. I do ignore anything before then though, gently telling her no and asking her to lay down and cuddle some more, which most of the time she does.
I think she has figured out that I need to sleep, cuz about 430 or so, she will leave me and waits in the other room only to comes bounding in when she hears my alarm clock go off! like pavlov's dogs, she has figured out that the BUZZZZZZZZZZ means she gets to eat.

But like Roxy loves CJ, I have taken to seeing my early AM as a gift by exercising, doing a prayer time and liesurely drinking my coffee as I sit by the window. Thanks to Bella its a great 2 hours of leisure that I now really enjoy..

 

[cirque]

If you find a solution that works well.. Buddy likes to wake us up at 5am-6am as well by walking around meowing or playing with enough stuff to make noise or a mess.

 

[kmlarsen]

My Sammy is almost 5. He's a furry alarm clock, too. It was worse before I let him sleep in the bedroom. He made a big fuss trying to get in. I guess he just wanted to be with me.Now he seems content. I leave the door open so he can come and go as he pleases.He still wakes me up,but I'm also a light sleeper. I wear foam ear plugs, so that helps some.I can still hear things, but it helps me to get to sleep. I also play with him for awhile before I go to bed.

 

[gilly]

Without fail at 6.30am Guinness will wake me up. Some nights he sleeps on the bed with me, but most it is out in the hallway in his bed. On those nights, I close my bedroom door.

He will do anything to get my attention, be it howl, scratch the door down or, he has even gone as far as sticking his drinking straws (he plays with straws) underneath the door in order to get my attention.

I don't mind during the week as that is the time I normally get up for work, but on the weekends it can really be a pain as I do sometimes want a nice lie in.... Oh and that ignoring method, I just can't. It's like a crying baby.. he wants me attention and I always end up giving in to him!

 

[gilly]

Originally Posted by kmlarsen

I leave the door open so he can come and go as he pleases

I can't leave the door open for Guin - I used to do that and it ended up with him jumping on my face and slapping me with his paws until I woke up. Used to scare the

out of me! lol

 

[sylorna]

Chester still hasn't stopped, infact now it's not triggered by my rolling over or moving, this morning he just jumped up and woke me with purrs and kisses....he even started grooming my hair. Normally he just eats or licks it, but he started doing that knawing thing on my head! I opened the door for him, and then he came back in, so I kicked him out and shut the door. What a silly bonehead! I hope it stops eventually....someday

 

[jaspercat]

I have exactly the same thing with my 7 month old, Munchie. She sleeps on the bed or in her radiator hammock at the bottom of the bed all night, until about 5.30am when she decides to use our new bed as a scratching post. Then she comes and purrs in our ear and sucks her teddy really loudly (I know!). It would be really cute if it weren't so early and it seems so loud at that time in the morning!

The purring is a definite improvement on the miaowing that she used to do when we didnt let her in our bedroom at night. I wouldn't mind but my husband is a really light sleeper and gets really cross - especially when she starts wrecking the bed!

She doesnt do it for food as we dont feed her until a good half an hour after we get up at about 7.30am. If we shut her out she starts tearing the carpet up outside our room and miaowing really loudly - you just cant ignore it!!

Its weird because up until about a month ago she used to be shut in 'her' bedroom at night and we never heard anything from her - then suddenly she decided she had to be in our room at night!!

 

[gailc]

A suggestion I heard on public radio is to get a "dog crate" and get the cat used to the crate. That way the cat will still be in the bedroom and be able to smell you but won't be jumping all over your face.
Sometimes I'm lucky the cats won't go on the bed until they hear the alarm!!

 

[me-n-my guys]

Mini likes to wake me up, too! Unfortunately I can't shut them out-they have to go thru the bedroom to have access to the litter box. The suggestion about using the extra morning time for yourself is a great idea!
But I read something once about not feeding your cats as soon as you wake up, or come home. The reasoning was that they will associate that with the expectation of food, rather than being glad to see you. If you're feeding him to keep him quiet, he might keep doing it. Good luck!