Obnoxious Behavior Hours Before Mealtime

[mrsh]

Hello friends,

For as long as we have had cats, we have fed them twice a day (5:30am and 5pm). For the last few months, one of our cats has started hassling us for food several hours before mealtime, sometimes as early as 3am. He gets our attention in the morning by knocking things off the nighstand onto the floor and in the afternoon by meowing nonstop. He's even doing it right now, yelling at my husband while he's in the shower. Our other cat doesn't act like this. We have tried the following remedies:
1. removing articles from the nightstand and dresser --> he smashes into the lamps
2. locking him out of the bedroom --> he yells into the door loudly
3. feeding him when he gets noisy --> I hate "rewarding" or reinforcing this behavior
4. giving him an afternoon snack --> he still yells afterward for dinner
5. feeding him earlier --> he just starts making noise earlier, and I don't think it's reasonable to get up in the middle of the night to feed a cat

Once he is fed he shuts up, but this is getting ridiculous. He is a wolf-it-all-down-at-once kind of cat, so he can't be trusted to graze or he will just binge and barf. He's a healthy and otherwise well-adjusted cat. What do I do? Please help!

 

[socaffeinated]

What about an automatic feeder?

 

[orange&white]

Ear plugs?

You might try distracting him. When I had my senior cat on a weight loss diet, he sure did scream at me for several months to feed him more. I generally picked up a string toy and asked, "Oh, you want to play?", or picked him up for a hug and told him, "I love you too, Tan Man". Shortly, he figured out that I was too stupid to understand that he wanted food, not play or hugs, and he gave up crying.

Otherwise, is there a possibility you could break mealtimes into 3 a day?

 

[maggiedemi]

Hi. How much food are you feeding? Do you measure it?

 

[Daisy6]

Is he a kitten?

 

[tinydestroyer]

Here is an excellent article about how to keep your cat from waking you up at night. A lot of the article focuses on cats who wake their owners up for feedings (or attention,) and it explains that the best method is to NOT GIVE IN to the cat's desire to be fed at that time. Otherwise, it is only reinforcing the loud behavior.
The article also outlines how cats are crepuscular animals (preferring dawn and dusk,) so your mealtimes sound like they are perfectly spaced out - so long as your kitty is getting enough to eat for his age, and there are no other health concerns. Maybe it just takes a little realignment of his schedule if you've gotten off track a bit? Good luck, and keep us updated!


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

 

[tinydestroyer]

... Shortly, he figured out that I was too stupid to understand that he wanted food, not play or hugs, and he gave up crying.

Hahaha! This cracked me up. Great suggestions.

 

[lisahe]

Otherwise, is there a possibility you could break mealtimes into 3 a day?

Yes, this would be my suggestion, too! We have a scarf-and-barf cat and feed five small meals a day. It prevents the vomiting and also keeps the cats always knowing they'll get fed.* If you add a third meal, I'd recommend a caloric bedtime snack. That's worked well for us for the nearly five years since we adopted these cats.

*Except on weekends, when we get up a little later. The other cat sometimes comes and walks on us, bites at my hair and ears, chews pens on my nightstand, and sometimes nips feet.

 

[mrsh]

What about an automatic feeder?

I thought about this, but my cats are fed in separate rooms. The loud mouth has to be fed in the bathroom with the door closed, and he is let out when the other cat is finished. Otherwise he wolfs down his food, then the other cat's food, and then he throws it allllll up unchewed and undigested.

Ear plugs?

You might try distracting him.

I laughed at this! When he's especially obnoxious I pick him up and give him kisses. He doesn't love that. Then I put him out on the screened lanai for some fresh air (and so I can't hear him) but he's so pitiful when he stares in through the window yelling.

He eats 1/2 cup of prescription Royal Canin Gastrointestinal Response kibble daily (1/4 cup at each meal) for about a year now. He's 7 years old and his weight is stable at around 11 pounds. He just had his bi-annual vet visit in June and everything looked good, so I'm not sure what this new behavior is about, but I'd like to get back into a solid routine because we have a baby coming in October!

 

[mrsh]

Here is an excellent article about how to keep your cat from waking you up at night.
How To Stop My Cat From Waking Me Up At Night (step-by-step Plan)

This is really helpful!!! Thank you! Now it's time to party, snack, and stay quiet all night! (:

 

[Daisy6]

Is he getting enough playtime? Many of those meows oculd be for attention if you don't brush, play with, and pet him every day. Does he like to be with other cats? If there are no medical concerns, this is more than just being hungry.

 

[maggiedemi]

Can you add about 3oz of canned food? 1/2 cup of food per day wouldn't be enough for my 10 and 12 pound cats.