Kitten Being Disruptive Way Early In The Morning

[LuckyDay]

I’m a new cat owner and had my little one since February, and lately she’s been disruptive early in the morning. (Keep in mind that she’s about 9 months old)
As I’m typing this, she woke me up at 4am. This started a month or two ago: she’ll wake me up early, meow a lot, jump up in places that she isn’t allowed to, try to knock over objects, and go through the window curtains. If I have my legs near the floor when she’s there, she’ll wrap her paws around it and sink her claws in.
I know the reason she’s doing this is because she wants to play. I barely have time (or energy) to engage with her as much as I should. A lot of her actions are less malicious and more like a toddler getting your attention. But even then, it puts a strain on me since I need to be ready by 8am everyday.
Would there be any way to lessen this behavior from her, or at the very least entertain her when I’m unavailable? This is putting a strain in our relationship, and I don’t want her to hate me anymore.

 

[maggiedemi]

Can you shut your bedroom door?

 

[rubysmama]

Hello and welcome to TCS. Congrats on being a new cat "parent".

It's not uncommon for our furry felines to wake us at 4 AM, or some other early hour.

TCS has the following article that might be helpful:
How To Stop My Cat From Waking Me Up At Night?

If you can close your bedroom door, I'd simply get up when she wakes you and put her out of the room. Eventually she'll get the hint that waking you up, doesn't get the response she wants.

Since you're having trouble managing your time, perhaps this article will help, as there's a section on playtime.
How Much Time Does It Take To Care For A Cat?

I doubt your kitten hates you, but here's an article where 14 Cat Experts Reveal: How To Get A Cat To Like Me

And one on Your Cat Probably Hates It When You...

 

[Sonatine]

I doubt I have anything to offer that the others haven't already said, except that my cat (a little over a year old) also does this. Fortunately, ignoring her has caused her to put off her morning crazies to a more reasonable hour (six am or so, usually, later if I'm lucky). She'll meow at me, paw at me, scratch things, walk on me (how does an 8 pound cat feel SO heavy?!?), etc. I just try to ignore all of it unless she's biting at me or scratching something she shouldn't (I give her a firm "no" that usually goes ignored, or squeal at her for biting me). It's gotten better since I don't give in and give her attention, but she still tries it. Let's hope they both get better when they're older!

Another thing that has helped me deal with my cat's morning crazies (and night crazies, and also afternoon crazies) is giving her toys that she can play with alone. She can zoom around the apartment playing some kitty soccer with her spring toys, or race up and down her cat tower, without me needing to stop and help out, so I don't have to worry about working in a play session before leaving for class or work. But your cat is a bit younger than mine, and may have different needs.

 

[fearfalls]

Do you happen to feed her early in the morning? We changed our feeding schedule to noon & before bed and have gotten a lot fewer middle of the night interruptions. Also, squirt bottles! We can't close our door because then he'll start scratching at the carpet to get in...

 

[duncanmac]

Do you happen to feed her early in the morning? We changed our feeding schedule to noon & before bed and have gotten a lot fewer middle of the night interruptions. Also, squirt bottles! We can't close our door because then he'll start scratching at the carpet to get in...

We do something similar - we still feed in the morning, but we make sure to do other stuff before feeding the cats (potty, brush teeth, whatever) otherwise we were being woken up a few minutes earlier every day.

One of my guys got into the habit of waking me up at around 2 a.m., but it was like he was lonely or scared so I would pet him a couple of times and then maneuver him to be laying down next to me. He got the message and now I barely wake up when he does it. BUT I made sure not to make this a full-blown pet-and-play session.