I don't think she knew what she was doing when she unplugged your alarm clock, but that made me laugh! (But I do think she knows you're talking about her. 8O )

How long have you had Zelda? Has she been fixed? How long have she and Phoenix been together? I don't really have any answers -- being relatively new at the cat ownership game -- but these are questions other members who have answers may ask you.

 

heheh yeah, she does play with chords a lot though, and they always seem to be cords to clocks!

We have had Zelda for about 6 months now, and that's the same amount of time Phoenix and Zelda have known eachother. It took them about a week to be comfortable with eachother, and Phoenix never posses a problem.
She has been fixed, before we got her (she was given up, then adopted, then given up again all before the age of 1) .
I read someone else having a problem with their cat flipping through magazines which 1)is absolutely hilarious, and 2) i completely understand. I will try to do paperwork on the bed or desk or couch and Zelda just sits on it, usually where i am writing, but sometimes on open books or folders. it seems to be anything that is white. i don't know if that is some kind of attention thing or if she just likes the coolness of paper. BUT anyway, she will rip paper at night also.

 

That's so strange about her behavior only being bad in the wee hours of the morning. :?: I'm sure you'll get good advice on every aspect of your post.

In the meantime, welcome! You'll like it here. :2kitties

 

Welcome to the forum.
Cats are, by nature, nocturnal, so it's very normal for her to get extra spunky at 3 am. She's still quite young too. I don't think any cat I've had has even started to settle down until 2 1/2, if they did at all! A couple suggestions I have would be to have a really good play session with her before you go to bed and then feed her. It might help tire her out a bit. Once you have turned out the lights completely ignore her. Any attention you give will be construed as playing. You may need to keep her out of your bedroom if all else fails.
As for her playing to rough, I would keep her nails clipped and you'll need to teach her whats too rough. If she hurts you, let her know with a good sharp "No!" and then ignore her. If she bites too hard, do the same as above, but also instead of pulling your hand (foot, chin...) away, gently press it into her mouth. I found that's the best way to get a cat to stop biting too hard.
Hope that helps!

 

i tried soooo hard last night to ignore her after lights out, but she just curls up in my neck or on the pillow and i can't help it.

i will try harder next time..: )

 

I know exactly what you are going through! Andi loves to hop up on the bed to bring a lil victory present (usually a toy of some sort... it is usually "her straw") and she'll tumble around the bed with it while I'm trying to get to sleep or read a book. It's really cute. Sometimes she'll chase her tail too. She's just really playful. She'll attack my feet too and I just have to spray her with some water. Last night I wasn't getting so mad that she was trying to play with my feet except she only uses her claws for this lil playtime hour. She never uses her claws for anything else. So I sprayed her claws right after she did it and she got the hint, laid down with her straw under her paws, and just sat there purring happily and once in a while biting her straw.

I think they are just naturally playful. We had to kick her out last night but of course when my husband gets up for work, he'll leave the door open while he's showering so she'll hop on me and go "MEEEEOOOOWWW" and she'll do this over and over again. Who needs an alarm clock when you've got her?!

I'm not sure if spraying Andi is helping her understand that I don't like it, but yesterday she curled up beneath the blankets with me by my feet and was just gently nibbling on the heel of my feet. I think she knows it is connected to me but finds it so much fun to play with lol! She's a weirdo.

If you find something that works, let me know! :lol: I've just given in to her lil quirks. I want her to remain kittenish forever and I know I'll miss the behavior when she gets older and settles down more (if she does).

 

Some cats are just like that. There are heck raisers and mellow cats. My first cat I have name Moncia was a mellow cat until we got a kittin and now they raise heck at night and early in the morning. They play fight at night and the morning. I found that if one of my cats raise heck I try to go and sit and talk to them, it works for me. try it and see if it works for you. Also there's tons of help about this on the net, try searching.

 

Krystalily:

If only Zelda would play with toys!! She has this need to play with everything else, no matter how much I push for her to play with the toys we buy her. She also likes to put her paws up on the sliding closet doors, so they make this loud banging sound. She loves it.
I will try some things this weekend. I have yet to try a spray bottle with the cats, but we'll see if I can make that work.
Zelda doesn't like to be under the covers, so at least my feet are protected by the thick comforter!!


BTW:
this time of year is going to be exciting for me. Zelda and Phoenix rarely snuggle, but since it's colder, we always wake up with them laying on top of eachother, Phoenix usually is grooming Zelda. I know a lot of people's cats do this, but its exciting now that MINE are : ) I'll post pictures when I can catch them together.

 

Just remember not to spray the cats for playing or for fun. That will make them think they are being bad. Also, make sure you say "No!" or "Bad!" to the cats when you spray them. It helps them understand the word no or bad. Good luck!

 

my only problem is that Zelda likes water, so im interested to see how she would react. she'll probably think its something good.

 

but she just curls up in my neck or on the pillow and i can't help it

You don't have to ignore her if she's not playing. You want to enchourage her to sleep, so, as long as she's just sleeping or cuddling (in a non annoying way) there's no need to ignore her.
Personally, I wouldn't bother with the water bottle. It would go into the "gving attention" catagory. It can also get some cats even more excited. You don't want to punish her, anyway, for playing. You just want to teach her when it's appropriate. It will take time but with lots of play before bed and igoring her once the lights are out, she will learn, eventually. That isn't to say she may ever sleep all night but she will figure out that YOU are not her playmate at night and learn to play on her own.

 

this weekend has been wonderful at night!
I sprayed Zelda when she was knocking off the alarm clock on Friday night, and then once when she wouldn't come out from behind the tv (we're paranoid she will knock over our new plasma). I keep the spray bottle on my nightstand, and she stares at it a lot.
Saturday and SUnday night she slept with me as usual, and though i didn't wake up in the morning with her laying next to me, she must be causing trouble some where else in the apartment! what a relief.
not sure if its the spray bottle or just a couple of fluke nights, but ive slept VERY well this weekend.
thanks for everyone's advise

 

I agree with Nanook.

You should have a play session that really wears her out.

But simply playing with her isn't enough if don't do it the right way. The reason cats get so active at night is because in the wild, they hunt right before the sun comes up.

So you need to stimulate her "prey drive" and then get her completely worn out and make sure she has satisfied that natural instinct to hunt.

My advice would be to get an interactive "fishing pole" toy, and let her "hunt" it. Do this for at least 15-20 minutes every single night before you go to bed (you need to establish a pattern so she will reset her sleeping schedule.)

At the end of the 15-20 minutes, let her catch the "prey" and then immediately afterward, feed her and then top it off with a treat that is high in protein.

In the wild, cats Hunt - Feast - Groom - Sleep.

If you have properly "satisfied" this natural instinct, and you do it consistently (to form a new schedule) the behavior will stop.

I've dealt with this on more than one occasion. I once fostered a 7 month old kitten who took a little less than 2 weeks to finally adhere to this new schedule. Consistency is the key. You must do it every night without fail, to reset your cat's internal clock.

 

Oh - and to keep her away from your new TV - put something stinky (to your cat) behind the TV.

Most cats despise the smell of citrus - so you'll find a citrus scented air freshener or candle will work well.

Menthol is another smell cats hate. I used to put a bottle of Vicks on top of my CD player to keep my orange tabby - Drew - from "hanging out" up there. He hasn't gone up there once since the day I put it there!

 

Tink was the same way for us, and like mentioned, really didnt change her ways till about 2yrs old. And I can totally relate to "that look" she gets. Me and my wife will usually in unision say "oh oh... she's in a mood" right before she goes on the "person hunt".

Now that Tink is 4yrs old however, her night time shinanigans has changed to her waking me up for a 3am snack! She jumps up, and starts rubbing her face on mine, and if you ignore her too much she then shoves her nose (usually all wet and cold) right on your face and holds it there for minutes till you wake up. And she never gives up... put her out of the room and lock the door... yup... meow meow meow till you give in.

Good thing is, you put down a tablespoon of food and she is content with that.

As a note, you mentioned his aggresive play. Tink used to be that way but early on we diciplined her any time she played too ruff... a small tap on the paw with a sturn "No!"

Now, even if she is in a very pissy mood, where she bats at your hand or gives you the "leave me alone" bite (never hard but harder than her playful ones) on the hand, we can put our face up to hers and she will never bit or swat at our face. That was the one thing we really forced onto her as far as a major no no.

Not sure how older cats are at learning new tricks, but I would try to use some tough love on her to get her to understand that is not acceptable. Trust me, your first instinct may be "I dont want her to hate me" but if you disipline her but are then affectionate a short time after they will get to understand what you accept and what you dont with no resentment to you. Not sure if you have ever had the opportunity to watch a mother cat with her kittens... she puts them in their place when they start to play too rough, usually resulting in a painful meow from the kitten. Thier very similar to humans and act as you would do with your children. Cats are smarter han most people think :wink: