[Bifack]

My female cat is almost 10 and has always had a problem with pawing at bedroom furniture in the wee hours of the morning for attention. Lately it's been a LOT worse. She likes to sleep with me and my wife, which is fine by us, but she won't lay down on the bed until she is announced. She'll just keep pawing at the dresser until one of us wakes up, then she jumps on the bed and lays down. If she gets up for anything (water, stroll, bug hunt, etc), she'll need to re-announce her presence and wake us up again. Lately she'll do this about 10 times a night. We've tried spray water bottles and even the cat repellant sprays that are furniture safe. None has convinced her to stop doing this. I'm concerned that she's too old to chage her ways and I can't go without a decent night sleep for 10 more years, so I need help!! Does anyone have some good advice or has dealt with this kind of behavior in the past?

 

[TiggysMum]

My cat did that when we first got her (aged 5) The only solution that has worked is to leave her in the garden overnight (small, safe garden, predator free).

I just couldnt stop her from meowing & clawing at me & sitting on my face in the early hours of the morning, I was so exhausted after two months of not getting a full night that I actually passed-out one day, that made me realise that something had to be done. Maybe you could get a cat-bed & set it up in the corner of the room away from the bed, something snug & secure where she feels safe...it may persuade her to stay away from the furniture :lol:

 

[Bifack]

She actually sleeps for a good portion of the night in my desk chair. In fact, the moment I get out of it to go to bed, she jumps in and stays there until about 3-4AM. THEN the fun begins. She also has a cat bed that she uses all day long when she's not in my desk chair. I honestly think she gets too much sleep during the day, hence she's all charged for a night of mischief. When I work from home, I'm able to keep her awake a bit more during the day, but it's not consistent. My wife and I have considered getting a second cat as a playmate for her, but she seems to despise other cats and has had some bad issues with my brother-in-law's cat when they were both together at my mother-in-law's place while I was on vacation. Therefore, I don't think the second cat idea is a solution.

Before we got married, my wife tried keeping her bedroom door closed all the time, so the cat wouldn't have the desire to go in at night, but that never worked as she just paws at the door and meows all night long.

 

[TAsunder]

Ah yes, the 3-4am thing. Your problem sounds a lot less troublesome than mine. My cat will jump up into the bed and rub my face with his until I wake up, then sometimes he will cuddle quietly for about 30 seconds and constantly change positions. At some point this stops for about 2 hours and then at 5:30-6am it's non stop until I wake up. I don't actually "wake up" until my other cat comes and says good morning at around 6:45.

However, if I really wear my cat out by playing with him before bed, it is a bit better. At the other end of the spectrum, as I discovered yesterday, if I don't play with him enough he will attack my other cat about 8 times a day.

 

[Bifack]

That's no good. Maybe I should stop complaining! :? Although your problem does answer my debate over having multiple cats: it doesn't necessarily help the sitation!

 

[drjean]

A good hard "play therapy" session before bed will help with this. Two sessions a day are better. And if you see her sleeping during the evening, wake her up, so she's good and tired at bedtime! See article on Play Therapy in our library, http://www.littlebigcat.com/index.php?action=library

Cats are nocturnal, and not all of them can be successfully transitioned to go along with our schedules, but these ideas should help!

Cheers,
Dr. Jean

 

[sentimentalgirl]

My cat wakes me up too.... :
http://www.catforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=5224

 

[mccorma]

Yes it seems like for us also the amount of nighttime mischief is directly proportional to the amount of sleep the cat's gotten in the evening. We try to play with her and/or keep her awake if possible.

We've also had some success with keeping the blinds up 6" or so and a chair or stool at the window in at least one room on each side of the house so that she can see out during the night. I'll usually put a towel or blanket on each one. Our cat will spend hours looking out at night into the darkness. Of course I don't see a thing but she does. Many times she will curl up and go to sleep in one of these spots. Of course leaving the blinds up like that depends on your neighborhood and the proximity of your neighbors, but it seems to help for us.

Luckily, if she does continue to misbehave, we will put her out of the bedroom- she will cry for a minute or so but then settle down, unlike some of the experiences you folks describe.