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Scratching door and getting up way too early

1K views 6 replies 6 participants last post by  Felly 
#1 ·
I have two cats. We use to keep our bedroom door open, and they would be in and out of our room at night. We had to start shutting them out b/c as soon as the alarm went off around 5am, they would 1. hit my husband's hand as he went to hit the snooze 2. they would go under the bed and scratch, or scratch the side of the bed 3. stand and walk on us...so we shut them out. Then it got to when the alarm would go off, they scratch at the door, they wouldn't stop. Now it is getting to where say my husband gets up at 3am or so to go to the bathroom, they start in. They are wanting their wet food, at least that is what I am guessing. Before I go to bed I fill their bowl with dry food and their water dish, this is around 2am or later. If my husband gives in and feeds them their wet food around 4am or so, when he gets up around 6am, they start all over, and want more wet food, like he had never fed them in the first place. We tried a baby gate on the stairs, they climbed over it, we have sat stuff in front of our door and they just scratch and tear at that. It is not a good way to start the day, and just really at a lost as to what to do. I will not declaw, I am not a cruel person. Any suggestions would be really helpful.

Dianna
 
#2 ·
A suggestion

What really worked for me ( I was having a similar problem) was to feed my cat at the EXACT same time every day. Even now if I deviate two or more times in a row she goes crazy wanting food all the time. Also ignoring them when they scratch the door completely, no yelling, no throwing shoes (heh that one doesn't work AT all :wink: ) and no giving in a feeding them. Any attention just reinforces their behavior. Also wait untill they loose interest and sto to feed them so they don't associate the behavior with a reward.

Another suggestion is an automatic feeder. That way they won't bug YOU for the food, though it may take them a while to figure out you aren't the source of the food.

As to the condition of the door, there are metal screen things you screw to your screen doors to prevent animals from busting through the screen that you could screw to the door so they don't destroy it. You could also do the same thing with a piece of plexyglass.

The biggest thing is to stop accidentally rewarding them for thier behavior and get on a very strict feeding schedual.

Good luck with this, it took me a couple of months to get Asuka sorted out and now things are peachy so don't dispair!

~Beth
 
#3 ·
Re: A suggestion

arcoone said:
... and no giving in a feeding them. Any attention just reinforces their behavior....The biggest thing is to stop accidentally rewarding them for thier behavior and get on a very strict feeding schedual.
I strongly second that advice. Cats really want attention. They'd rather get yelled at than ignored. When a cat is consistently ignored for doing undesired behavior, then they learn it's a waste of their time and energy and stop doing it. If you give in just once that's twice too often. You must be persistent and consistent and remember that it takes a while, especially if the undesired behavior has already become entrenched. But it can and will work. :)
 
#4 ·
I read an article a long time ago that said that if you consistently feed a cat at the same time every day, (s)he will become active and looking for food about 45-60 minutes before feeding time. So if you're feeding at 7am, they'll be looking for food around 6:00-6:15. If you give in and feed them at that time for a few days...they'll then start looking for food around 5:15ish.

I realized that was exactly the situation I was in with the cat I had at the time. I resolved it by feeding her just before I left the house for work, rather than right when I got up. So then she was just waking at the same time I did. And if was a rainy, dark morning she would often lounge in bed longer than me :? :? (didn't seem fair at all :lol: )

So pick a time that is about an hour after you usually get up and stick to it...don't cave....
 
#6 ·
I thought the automatic feeder was a good suggestion.

But I have one question. If your alarm is going off...why do you want the cats not to wake you up? If your alarm is going off, doesn't that mean that you are going to be waking up anyways? Why would them being in the room helping you wake up bother you?
 
#7 ·
One member of our family is a school teacher and leaves the house at 5:30 am. He usually feeds them before he leaves. The problem is that on saturday and sunday - there is nobody in the house interested in getting up and feeding them at 530 am! our morning schedules are all so different that its hard to get them on that schedule! I would love to get them in the automatic feeder, but it doesn't work when we give them wet food in the morning. can't automate that!

typically i can sleep through the meowing and scratching, but not everyone in the house is so lucky... so the kittens are all pretty much getting what they want in this situation!
 
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