I know they're nocturnal but...

[thoenix]

This is ridiculous.

We adopted two little girls a couple weeks back. MALP and DHD. They came to us very sick with giardia and we went on to discover that MALP can't tolerate rice. They're doing SO much better now. Their stool is normal and their energy levels are incredible.

Problem is, they will ONLY play at night. We cannot MAKE THEM play during the day. They sleep. All. Day. And then are up. All. Night.

I work weird shifts. I quite often work until 9 pm one night, getting home around 10 and then have to be up by 9 am to get to work on time. Changing my sleep to accommodate them at all is NOT an option. They're still quarantined from our other cats, pending FeLV tests which we can't get done until after Christmas because of scheduling issues. So we can't just kick them out of our room.

They've taken to waking us up at all hours of the night by pouncing us and each other. The pouncing each other is no big deal. I can tolerate that just fine. Cats play, I adapt and sleep through it. The pouncing us is a definite issue. They also will climb on top of us and knead us for AGES.

Then, very, very early in the early hours of the morning, they begin demanding food, at the top of their lungs. They're part Siamese, so it's LOUD.

We feed them shortly before we go to bed in order that they won't be hungry in the night. We can't just put down kibbles yet because, due to how sick they were when they came to us, we're slowly introducing new components into their diet to make sure MALP doesn't have any other allergies/intolerances.

Moving them off our persons doesn't help. It just doesn't. They think it's a game. Ignoring them doesn't help because they'll knead (with claws sometimes) a single area for fifteen to twenty minutes at a time.

Please help. I'm sleep deprived and can't think.

 

[bastetservant]

The only place you can keep them, isolated from the other cats, is in your bedroom? How about the bathroom?

It's most annoying to have sleep interrupted this way. I hope you find a solution.

It's just a few more nights, though.


Robin

 

[thoenix]

The bathroom is small and I feel so guilty leaving them in there for hours and hours at a time. There's no room for them to play!

 

[bastetservant]

You have tried playing with them vigorously before you go to sleep? How old are these cats? If they are under a year, well, good luck with quieting them down at night. Most older cats aren't a problem, usually, in the night.

I wouldn't feel guilty about keeping them in the bathroom, just while you are sleeping. You need to sleep. They may cry and keep you awake, though. And you are completing the tests next week, right?


Robin

 

[thoenix]

We'll be doing the tests between Christmas and New Years. We wanted to get the giardia under control first, then deal with blood draws and stuff. They're two years old, so you'd think that they'd have calmed down some. We hypothesize that they've been sick most of their lives, given MALP's apparent intolerance to rice. MALP likely has never been very healthy, since so many foods have rice in them and we know they've had cheap foods for most of a year prior to coming to us. So we're thinking that they're making up for lost time. The playing isn't SO bad. It's really the 'let's jump on Thoenix and knead knead knead knead knead knead knead while Thoenix is attempting to sleep.' I'm a light sleeper and once I awaken, I don't get back down easily. My partner sleeps like the dead--he rouses enough to move something bugging him, but he's still asleep. I wake up fully.

We've been trying to get them super tired before bed by playing with them, but they're just stubborn. They want us to be up and playing with them ALL NIGHT LONG. And we're being careful not to leave them all alone for hours on end. To be honest, our big cats are being more neglected than the babies are. We're spending more time in playing with the babies than with the big cats for the simple reason that the babies are much clingier. It's hard to balance the attention that they seem to need with the attention that Leo, my big mentally handicapped boy, actually does need.

I guess I'm just a little frustrated with the whole situation. I can't wait for them to be confirmed healthy. And if they turn out to have FeLV, we've got a home lined up with someone who hasn't got any other cats and understands that they'd need to be kept away from other cats. I think I'm largely frustrated with this waiting period. Normally, I wouldn't worry so much about FeLV, but they came from a home with over a dozen cats, so it's a serious concern for me.

 

[darlili]

I think you're right - they've probably never been nourished very well, and for the first time in their lives they're feeling good and feeling secure - and have the energy to play! And they love you.

I agree, though - if you can withstand any crying that comes from the bathroom, try to remember what a vet told me - even the smallest bathroom is bigger than a cage at a shelter.

But good luck - you're understandably overwhelmed and stressed now, but try to remember the difference you've made for these little ones.

 

[my4llma]

Lynxx

drove me nuts when he was a kitten, he hated bed time, he fought bed time, and he would meow all night to get out of my room. When

Lynxx

was a kitten, and he tried to sleep during the day my father would get him up, even just calling his name to break him from a deep sleep. That did work for us. I know you said waking them up during the day didn't work for you. Once

Lynxx

became old enough to not be forced to stay in my room all night, he became very good. That was when he was about 10 months old. Then he calmed down once he passed his 1st birthday.

Luna drives me nuts because by 3am she's up wanting to play, and wanting food. So I get up feed them both, they use the boxes, then we go back to sleep. It started off 1 hour for them to eat, use the box, play and go back to sleep. Then I got it down to 1/2 hour for them to eat, use the box, play and go back to sleep. Now I've got it down to 10 minutes for them to eat, use the box, play a tiny bit then go back to sleep. Maybe you could try something like that? Even if you don't feed them in the early a.m. hours, not wanting to encourage that. But maybe giving them a 1/2 hour of play time with you, during the early a.m. hours. Until you can get it down to 10 minutes? and evenutally stop it?

Midnight is the best 1 at night. He doesn't sleep, but he quietly plays and entertains himself until morning. Luna's the 1 that gets us both up.

 

[hissy]

http://www.thecatsite.com/Behavior/1...t-Crazies.html

 

[kluchetta]

I was going to say they'll grow out of it but, darn, they're 2!

I'll bet they are just feeling really good and loved for the first time. Have you tried playing with a laser pointer? You can make the cats run all over the room with that one!

Also, what about you sleeping on the couch once in a while? Leave the kitties in with the "sleeps like the dead" guy, and get a little rest. You'll go crazy if you are sleep deprived for too long! Welcome to the cat site!!!