Cat wakes me up at night
NB
My cat wakes me up in the middle of the night by scratching at the rug
and meowing.
The door to my room is open, and he can easily walk to the cat box
upstairs, or the food dish downstairs.
I think what he wants is to be let outside. But we have huge racoons
and possums outside (not to mention speeding cars), so I don't let him
out then.
I end up going downstairs to the front door, rattling the keys like I'm
going to let him out, and grabbing him when he comes to the door. Then
I put him in the kitchen, closing the door (his food and catbox are in
there.)
This happens night after night.
Is there anything I can do?
He isn't getting the idea that if he wakes me up, he'll get penned up.
I like his company, I'd like to have him sleep in the bedroom, but this
is too much!
Any suggestions, other than penning him downstairs at night?
Thanks!
NB
duns...@airmail.net
I had a similar problem with Nelson. He would rant and rave to get our
attention several times in the middle of the night. We finally closed the
door to him, but then he'd scratch and meow all night long. Exhausted, we
consulted our vet who told us about Scat Mat.
I don't know how your house is configured, but you need to close the door
to your bedroom to make it work, but work it will! It's an electrically
charged mat that you plug in and turn on. It has various settings for
intensity. When an animal steps on it, it emits a tiny static electricity
charge. It does not hurt the animal, simply gets its attention. Nelson
was broken of his habit inside of a week. Then we didn't even have to plug
it in... just seeing it there meant "no" to him.
It isn't cruel, although it may sound so. You can feel the charge yourself
and realize you get zapped harder in the winter time touching a door knob.
Scat Mat isn't cheap, but we were all a happier and well rested bunch.
Good luck.
Gail
John Penhale
NB wrote:
> My cat wakes me up in the middle of the night by scratching at the rug
> and meowing.
>
> I end up going downstairs to the front door, rattling the keys like I'm
> going to let him out, and grabbing him when he comes to the door. Then
> I put him in the kitchen, closing the door (his food and catbox are in
> there.)
>
> This happens night after night.
>
> Is there anything I can do?
>
> He isn't getting the idea that if he wakes me up, he'll get penned up.
the lining to my boxspring at night. Getting her out from under the bed
was a problem, until I hit upon the idea of opening the blinds
(semi-basement apt, same as your rattling the keys). She would race out
of the bedroom, and I would return and lock the door behind me. After a
couple of nights, she passed me on the way to the window. She had
learned that if she scratched the box-spring, the blinds would get
opened. (Even though she didn't get outside.)
Long story short, I was accidentally training her to drive me crazy!!!
Be careful about rewarding cats for bad behaviour. They can learn these
extremely quickly. Also, because the reward is sporadic, the
elimination of these behaviours becomes very difficult over time.
In response to your question. Ignore the cat's activities or respond
with something un-fun (like a trip to a closed bathroom.)
Kittymix
I've also had a problem with my cat waking me up at night.
It seems that young Boo (13 months old) is getting pickier and pickier
with his food. In the early morning (almost every morning around
4-5-6-7am) he starts meowing very urgently and loudly even if he
has food in his dish. I think I rewarded him for bad behavior by
getting up as soon as he cries, and replacing the food in his dish.
Now he does it every morning, and it is wasting food if I just put food
in his dish before I went to bed. I am very frustrated; I don't know
what to do to make him stop. If anyone has any suggestions, I'd
appreciate
mail at kitt...@aol.com. I can't just ignore his cries (they're so
sad!),
and I can't keep on replacing his food just because he's crying. Help!
cidohio
> Good advice Rachel. One of my new cats, Sirius a part Siamese, cries
> constantly at night, walking the house wailing like some headless ghost
> at the Tower of London. I "cock a deaf 'un" to his loud pleas and
> hopefully he will get the idea soon that I am not going to get up!
> Meanwhile, I would like to ask how you sleep through it?! :D
>
> Kate
The only cat of mine who sleeps through the night is Mike, and,
unfortunately, he sleeps through the night on my head. This presents a
bit of a problem, since I find it challenging to breathe with 15 pounds
of fur and flab on my face. So, while I suffocate, the other two are
bringing their toys to bed and ripping one another new orifices at my
feet. Finally, just as I settle for that last half hour of precious
pre-dawn sleep, all three decide it's time for breakfast. And to think
that I could have gotten guppies. Phyllis
i.a.
I do the same thing every night. I also have to move
from one bedroom to the other after feeding them
because the two new cats can't get along with the
two old cats and I want to spend the same amount
of time with all of them. I can't keep all four cats in
the same room all night because one of the old cats
is very coward and she won't use the litter box when
the two new cats are around. I've been trying to get
them to be friends for about four months but it may
take a lot longer befor all of them can be friends.
kitt...@aol.com (Kittymix) wrote:
:I've also had a problem with my cat waking me up at night.
Tina
I'd like help too.
Chata wakes me up at 5:00 am every morning, crying to be fed. I have not
rewarded her, and the earliest I will feed her is 6:00am. But she
continues to try. Lately, I've been getting up and putting her in the
garage (so I cant hear her cry and can go back to sleep). This is
becoming a habit. Maybe she likes the garage!
Rae SFBS
In article <537p4b$p...@newsbf02.news.aol.com>, kitt...@aol.com (Kittymix)
writes:
>I can't just ignore his cries (they're so
>sad!),
>and I can't keep on replacing his food just because he's crying. Help!
Stick to your guns. My two always wanted to be fed just 15 minutes before
my normal getting up time.....and when I switched from 6:30 a.m. to 6:00,
so did they.
I eventually quit rewarding them for their behaviour by staggering blindly
up and feeding them, and it finally stopped. I had to do some sleeping
with the pillow over my head--but I won. The other thing I did was a)
tell them they wouldn't be fed until I was ready to get up (cats
understand more English than you think, just like babies) and b) put them
out of the bedroom AND SHUT THE DOOR (Horrors!) if they were too noisy.
They got it.
Good luck! Let us know how it goes.
Rachel
P.S. Remember that the *most reinforcing thing you can possibly do* is to
reward intermittently. Occasional "rewards" in the shape of feeding him
early when he's yowling will cause him to continue this behavior even more
than if you did it every time. If you are not going to be consistent
about refusing to feed him, you might as well give in now. Pick your
battles--if this is important, hold your ground; if not, save yourself and
your furface some trouble.
Kate Ashley
Good advice Rachel. One of my new cats, Sirius a part Siamese, cries
Diana T Osborne
In <3257E8...@netwalk.com> cidohio <cid...@netwalk.com> writes:
>
>> Good advice Rachel. One of my new cats, Sirius a part Siamese,
cries
>> constantly at night, walking the house wailing like some headless
ghost
>> at the Tower of London. I "cock a deaf 'un" to his loud pleas and
>> hopefully he will get the idea soon that I am not going to get up!
>> Meanwhile, I would like to ask how you sleep through it?! :D
>>
>> Kate
>
>unfortunately, he sleeps through the night on my head. This presents a
>bit of a problem, since I find it challenging to breathe with 15
pounds
>of fur and flab on my face. So, while I suffocate, the other two are
>bringing their toys to bed and ripping one another new orifices at my
>feet. Finally, just as I settle for that last half hour of precious
>pre-dawn sleep, all three decide it's time for breakfast. And to think
>that I could have gotten guppies. Phyllis
Sure, but do guppies purr, Phyllis? ;-)
Diana
Kate Ashley
Diana T Osborne wrote:
>
> In <3257E8...@netwalk.com> cidohio <cid...@netwalk.com> writes:
> >
> >> Good advice Rachel. One of my new cats, Sirius a part Siamese,
> cries
> >> constantly at night, walking the house wailing like some headless
> ghost
> >> at the Tower of London. I "cock a deaf 'un" to his loud pleas and
> >> hopefully he will get the idea soon that I am not going to get up!
> >> Meanwhile, I would like to ask how you sleep through it?! :D
> >>
> >> Kate
> >
> >The only cat of mine who sleeps through the night is Mike, and,
> >unfortunately, he sleeps through the night on my head. This presents a
>
> >bit of a problem, since I find it challenging to breathe with 15
> pounds
> >of fur and flab on my face.
So how much does Mike weigh and have you thought of shaving?
So, while I suffocate, the other two are
> >bringing their toys to bed and ripping one another new orifices at my
> >feet. Finally, just as I settle for that last half hour of precious
> >pre-dawn sleep, all three decide it's time for breakfast. And to think
>
> >that I could have gotten guppies. Phyllis
>
> Sure, but do guppies purr, Phyllis? ;-)
>
> Diana
No, but I bet they'd give Fillus wet dreams!!! :D Kate
Rae SFBS
In article <325BF6...@ix.netcom.com>, Kate Ashley
<Sham...@ix.netcom.com> writes:
>One of my new cats, Sirius a part Siamese, cries
>constantly at night, walking the house wailing like some headless ghost
>at the Tower of London. I "cock a deaf 'un" to his loud pleas and
>hopefully he will get the idea soon that I am not going to get up!
>Meanwhile, I would like to ask how you sleep through it?! :D
Usually the aforementioned pillow and determination. Earplugs help a lot
also. They have a new kind--spongy foam impregnated with special wax, so
they conform to your ear.
It really doesn't take very long, I find. Of course, even three nights in
a row seems like an eternity when you're enduring it--I would expect your
Sirius to get the idea within two weeks or less--possibly much less.
If worst comes to worst and he keeps you awake night after night, remember
that resting, simply lying there and relaxing, is *almost* as good as
sleep as far as your body is concerned, except for the lack of REM, even
if it doesn't feel like it. Also, you'd be amazed at how fast your brain
can get its quota of REM when it has to. Human beings are infinitely
adaptable--that's how we've survived this long! }:-)
Good luck!
Rachel
arlin robins
Bosca is the most wonderful sleeping companion...she spoons, and purrs
every time you scritch her in the right place,(and she has many) but Cody
loves to play in the middle of the night, and if Bosca gets up in the
night, they usually do a chase through the house that always ends with
growling and spitting on Michael's stomach...did I mention pouncing?.
My best solution, although not perfect, is to take some time just before
bed to exhaust the cats. We play chase, then string games, then a little
petting, then more string games (I use a thin rope or horse whip) until
they're lying on the rug, panting.
Then I go to sleep. Usually, they'll sleep through most of the night, or
at least, when they are running around, its with a lower energy.
Good for all of us.
As far as the "singing", I've heard lots of things...Glimmer, may she
rest in peace, used to cry in the bathtub in the middle of the night. I
think she figured it sounded better with the tiles. It got worse as she
became old, and the vet said she might be disoriented, or needing proof
of her existence...a cat going through angst. Sometimes she would quiet
down if we called to her, and settled her in bed. You might want to make
sure your cats have nothing obvious to complain about before you go to
bed...sift the cat litter, check their water, leave a little dry food
out....
Let us know if any of these suggestions works.
Arlin
Supermouse
>at the Tower of London. I "cock a deaf 'un" to his loud pleas and
>hopefully he will get the idea soon that I am not going to get up!
>Meanwhile, I would like to ask how you sleep through it?! :D
>
>
>
Drugs. No, not for you, for the cat!
(OKAY, I AM ONLY JOKING, I DON'T REALLY MEAN IT. IT'S HUMOUR!!)
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Anti-flame safety barrier.
On a serious note; I used to live in a street full of youths who liked
to play their car stereos *loud* every summer night - all night. A
combination of earplugs, horlicks and being absolutely shattered seemed
to work.
I know how loud Siamese cats can be, but at least they don't have bass-
boosters and 60W speakers.
My problem was solved when I banned my cat from the bedroom altogether,
because of the habit she developed of just sitting, staring at the rat's
cage all night. she seems happy to sleep downstairs and can't get me up.
--
Supermouse