Nighttime Noise

[1gypsyrose]

Hi all. Back again with another dilemma. My 5 year old tabby, Sophie likes to, (what I call it) howl in the middle of the night. She grabs a toy and starts meowing. Playtime not! It is both annoying and it startles the crap out of me. Shes been doing this for a while now and sometimes Lola my 4 year old and her throw things, toys at the door to my bedroom. I don't scream at them but I do not know how to get them out of doing this. Any suggestions?

 

[Mamanyt1953]

First, grab that wand toy and wear her little cat fanny out right before you head off to bed!

THEN, well, um...here. Maybe these will help!

How To Stop My Cat From Waking Me Up At Night?
How To Set Healthy Boundaries For Your Cat
The Dos And Don'ts Of Cat Behavior Modification
Cats And Discipline Don't Mix

 

[tarasgirl06]

Hi all. Back again with another dilemma. My 5 year old tabby, Sophie likes to, (what I call it) howl in the middle of the night. She grabs a toy and starts meowing. Playtime not! It is both annoying and it startles the crap out of me. Shes been doing this for a while now and sometimes Lola my 4 year old and her throw things, toys at the door to my bedroom. I don't scream at them but I do not know how to get them out of doing this. Any suggestions?

Sounds to me like she is "hunting prey" and announcing her "catch" to you. My Tarifa does this daily, and I am proud of her for doing it, because she is showing me she loves me enough to catch prey for me. I've never heard of cats throwing things at a door, but Mamany1953 has a great idea and one that experts would recommend: play with your cats shortly before going to bed. I also love sleeping with my cats, and they usually settle in around me at night very well. They have water at all times and high-quality dry food available as well, so they don't get thirsty or hungry in the middle of the night.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

Let's face it, ALL play is hunting behavior with cats, and they do like to be praised. Several hundred times a day I MUST say, "Oh, GOOD GIRL! Oh, fierce of heart and swift of paw! Oh, MIGHTY HUNTRESS!" And if I leave ONE SINGLE WORD OUT OF THIS, I don't hear the end of it for hours.

 

[tarasgirl06]

Let's face it, ALL play is hunting behavior with cats, and they do like to be praised. Several hundred times a day I MUST say, "Oh, GOOD GIRL! Oh, fierce of heart and swift of paw! Oh, MIGHTY HUNTRESS!" And if I leave ONE SINGLE WORD OUT OF THIS, I don't hear the end of it for hours.

*That's the stuff, Mamanyt1953 -- I have a similar formula for my mighty hunting cat, Tarifa!*

 

[susanm9006]

What everyone is saying is that this typical (but annoying) cat behavior. I would try to give them something to distract them like maybe a auto laser toy set on a timer to start at 4:00 am, a puzzle treat feeder that dispenses treat only after they perform a certain action, or an auto feeder set to dispense an early morning feed or treat.

 

[sjt079]

Hi everyone,
I'm having this problem with my 1 year old rescue kitty. She was surrendered to the shelter at a year old. She is spayed. I adopted her on June 17 and for the first three weeks she was quiet at night. We play as soon as I get home from work and before I go to bed. My husband plays with her before he goes to bed. The vet has ruled out any health issues. She has been doing this for a month now, making all kinds of crazy meow sounds starting around 1am, sometimes as early as 11pm, and it goes on off and on through the night. I get up in the morning and find her toy mouse, monkey or weasel (sometimes all 3!) in the bed. I tried putting her in the front of the house at the vet's recommendation and closing the hallway door but she claws at the door and meows constantly. I don't want to upset her, so I try to ignore it but it's been going on for a month now and I'm exhausted. Should I put away her furry animal toys at night if this is hunting behavior? She has a cat condo, a scratching post that she loves and all sorts of balls and other toys.

 

[susanm9006]

Hi everyone,
I'm having this problem with my 1 year old rescue kitty. She was surrendered to the shelter at a year old. She is spayed. I adopted her on June 17 and for the first three weeks she was quiet at night. We play as soon as I get home from work and before I go to bed. My husband plays with her before he goes to bed. The vet has ruled out any health issues. She has been doing this for a month now, making all kinds of crazy meow sounds starting around 1am, sometimes as early as 11pm, and it goes on off and on through the night. I get up in the morning and find her toy mouse, monkey or weasel (sometimes all 3!) in the bed. I tried putting her in the front of the house at the vet's recommendation and closing the hallway door but she claws at the door and meows constantly. I don't want to upset her, so I try to ignore it but it's been going on for a month now and I'm exhausted. Should I put away her furry animal toys at night if this is hunting behavior? She has a cat condo, a scratching post that she loves and all sorts of balls and other toys.

There is really nothing you can do to stop a cat from playing at night. All cats, but especially young ones have a period of wakefulness early in the morning and go crazy with their toys. Please do not put hers away. If you do she will simply find other things to play with or mess with. Continue to do what you have been doing, ignoring her cries and she will eventually give up crying to get in your room.

 

[sjt079]

Thanks so much!

 

[duncanmac]

Hi everyone,
I'm having this problem with my 1 year old rescue kitty. She was surrendered to the shelter at a year old. She is spayed. I adopted her on June 17 and for the first three weeks she was quiet at night. We play as soon as I get home from work and before I go to bed. My husband plays with her before he goes to bed. The vet has ruled out any health issues. She has been doing this for a month now, making all kinds of crazy meow sounds starting around 1am, sometimes as early as 11pm, and it goes on off and on through the night. I get up in the morning and find her toy mouse, monkey or weasel (sometimes all 3!) in the bed. I tried putting her in the front of the house at the vet's recommendation and closing the hallway door but she claws at the door and meows constantly. I don't want to upset her, so I try to ignore it but it's been going on for a month now and I'm exhausted. Should I put away her furry animal toys at night if this is hunting behavior? She has a cat condo, a scratching post that she loves and all sorts of balls and other toys.

One of my boys started doing something like this. At 1-2-3 a.m. he would hop on the bed and give a plaintiff sad meow. At first I petted him - but I didn't want this to become a habit. He was young (4-6 months) and I figured he was lonely and just needed some reassurance, so I would rub his head a little and tell him everything was OK and - this sounds worse than it really is - kind of push him into a laying position and then totally ignore him. He would settle down and either sleep or go off to explore content that he is loved and we were still alive. He still does this and he is almost 2 years old and I'm practiced enough that I barely wake up when it happens.

 

[tarasgirl06]

In my family, we have always given full access to the house to our cats, and I could not sleep without them close. Cats are crepuscular, which means they are most active at dusk and dawn when their main prey, small rodents, are out. Providing your cat plenty of stimuli, especially at night, is the right thing to do! She will play by herself and gradually she will likely stop crying for you to play with her as you are nonresponsive. My recommendation would be to slowly and gradually introduce a housemate (another cat) because two cats who are adapted to one another will be much happier than one cat alone, and they will play together.

 

[dustydiamond1]

Gypsy scratches and crys at the door if we try to shut her out.

 

[RufusGizmo]

do you have a basement you can put kitty in? I put my little kittens in basement when they start bugging me, it is nice down there, fully finished and toys.

 

[sjt079]

Thanks everyone! We don't have a basement, so I just give her free run of the house. Is it odd at all that she didn't do the crazy meows the first two or three weeks that we had her? Is she just more comfortable with us now and that's why she's doing it?

 

[tarasgirl06]

Thanks everyone! We don't have a basement, so I just give her free run of the house. Is it odd at all that she didn't do the crazy meows the first two or three weeks that we had her? Is she just more comfortable with us now and that's why she's doing it?

Impossible to tell for sure. Love, affection, attention and play would be my suggestions, though.

 

[basschick]

Thanks everyone! We don't have a basement, so I just give her free run of the house. Is it odd at all that she didn't do the crazy meows the first two or three weeks that we had her? Is she just more comfortable with us now and that's why she's doing it?

that would be my guess.

have you tried playing with her before bed for as long as it takes till she's done?