Kitty Won't Let Me Sleep.. Help!

[marabelle]

I have an indoor/outdoor cat named Apollo. Recently (two months ago) I quit my overnight job and moved to a day time job. I usually try to get to bed about midnight, and I let him out before bed and bring him back in. He is usually out for a good hour or two before bedtime.

Within the past two weeks, he'll howl at the door to go outside. After about 10 minutes of ignoring his howling, he'll come into my room and howl in my face, jump on the window sill and then jump onto my head, pee on multiple items in my room, and all in all get me out of bed to wake him up. I've tried closing my door and he'll scratch and put his paw under it and try to open it. I make sure he's active during the day when I'm home from work. I play with him before bed time after he comes in. For some reason he is obsessed with going outside late at night, and I'm at my wit's end with what to do. He's a fixed male cat. I don't feel comfortable leaving him out overnight. I have no idea what to do but I'm running low on patience and sleep. Please help!

 

[marabelle]

Added info: within the past month I have taken in another indoor/outdoor kitty, Biscuit, who was a feral that I took care of outside for a while. Biscuit is maybe a year to a year and a half old, him and Apollo get along great. They have their separate things-food bowls, perches, cat trees, and litter boxes. They get along great and introducing a younger cat has helped get his energy out during the day and keep him active, which is great! Despite this, the begging to go outside continues.

 

[rubysmama]

Sorry you are dealing with Apollo's obsession with going outside at night.

Since it's only started in the last 2 months, I wonder if it does have something to do with you bringing Biscuit into the household.

Or are there other feral cats hanging around your house he might be seeing or hearing? The peeing on things in your room sounds territorial.

It could also be an UTI. Has he had a vet checkup since this behaviour started?

You may have read these, but I'll post links to some TCS articles that might be helpful:

How To Stop My Cat From Waking Me Up At Night (step-by-step Plan)

How To Solve Litterbox Problems In Cats: The Ultimate Guide
Litterbox Problems? Here's Why You Should Call Your Vet
Inappropriate Peeing, Spraying, Toy Obsession And Leg And Hand Nipping
Spraying: When Your Cat Uses Urine To Mark Territory

How To Remove Cat Urine Odor From Your Home
How To Get Cat Pee Smell Out Of Clothes And Linens

 

[marabelle]

Sorry you are dealing with Apollo's obsession with going outside at night.

Since it's only started in the last 2 months, I wonder if it does have something to do with you bringing Biscuit into the household.

Or are there other feral cats hanging around your house he might be seeing or hearing? The peeing on things in your room sounds territorial.

It could also be an UTI. Has he had a vet checkup since this behaviour started?

You may have read these, but I'll post links to some TCS articles that might be helpful:

How To Stop My Cat From Waking Me Up At Night (step-by-step Plan)

How To Solve Litterbox Problems In Cats: The Ultimate Guide
Litterbox Problems? Here's Why You Should Call Your Vet
Inappropriate Peeing, Spraying, Toy Obsession And Leg And Hand Nipping
Spraying: When Your Cat Uses Urine To Mark Territory

How To Remove Cat Urine Odor From Your Home
How To Get Cat Pee Smell Out Of Clothes And Linens

Please excuse if I miss answering anything or if anything comes out jumbled, I'm on mobile.

Apollo has recently had his yearly checkup within the past few weeks, and the vet squared him away. There isn't any issues in the litter box area it seems (thankfully!).

Since the night I posted this he hasn't peed on anything in the house, so that's a good thing. I've also been working him into a schedule and making sure that he and Biscuit both get lots of love and attention and play before I go to bed. So far, he seems to be sleeping very well at night, although it took a few days and there are nights he still tries to wake me up. I've had to just grit my teeth and not take him out, so I'm not enforcing the bad habit.

It may be jealousy on Apollo's part, but I'm unsure what else I could do at this point. I try to play with the both of them a lot, and I get a lot of one on one time with Apollo and make sure to love on him and play with him without Biscuit being there.

They're also still getting along great, I actually walked in on them cuddled up in my bed and Apollo grooming Biscuit while he slept.

I'll post any updates in this thread in case someone else is having this issue or will have this issue at a later date (as long as mods are okay with it!).

 

[rubysmama]

Thanks for the update. Glad things are going better.

 

[marabelle]

He was doing really well. And sleeping at night, but he kept me up for four hours and I cracked and took him outside. I don't know why he's doing this.

 

[rubysmama]

Hopefully it was just a one time thing, and won't become a habit again.

Here's another article that might be helpful:
The Five Golden Rules To Bringing An Outdoor Cat Inside