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What are your cat's favorite "wake up, human!" tactics?

3.9K views 24 replies 23 participants last post by  marie73  
#1 ·
My previous cat, Alcestis, would love to sit just out of reach on top of the dresser and meow at the top of her lungs. Considering the nigh-operatic voice she had, this usually produced the desired effect (from her point of view, anyway).

My new kitty, Artemisia, though, has a larger variety of methods (which tend to be used at 3:00 AM).

She usually starts by running back and forth on the pillow, just behind my head.

If that doesn't work, then she'll give scratching at the head board a try.

If that fails, she'll move on to the "serious stuff". Often, she'll stick her wet little noise right on my eyelid while purring like a maniac. Good luck ignoring that!

Still, even after that rude shock, I occasionally will roll over and try to go back to sleep.

That's when she'll check and see if I left a hand exposed above the covers. If so, soon her little kitty teeth will be gnawing on one of my knuckles.

Finally, if that fails, she pulls out her super-ultra-unfallible-vampire-kitteh attack and bites my neck. Not hard, mind you, but, I assure you, feeling two pointy little teeth digging into your aorta in the middle of the night with even the gentlest pressure is guaranteed to wake up anyone.


So, what are your cat's favorite tactics?
 
#2 ·
My current two usually don't try to wake me up. But then again I'm a very sound sleeper, maybe they tried and eventually gave up. Although I'll sometimes wake up with Lucy in my face.

When my mom was alive her cat Bella would wake her up every morning licking and/or biting her chin. Bella would also pat her cheek with a paw. Sometimes I would catch her doing it, so sweet!
 
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#4 ·
My cats don't usually try to wake me up. Sayonara will occasionally bite me on the chin, and that's usually good to get me up.

My cat Sheba (RIP) did everything in the book to wake me up. She'd knead, meow, mess with stuff on the dresser and the nightstand. I'm usually a very sound sleeper until I hear one of the kitties messing with stuff and she used to drive me crazy. I miss it though.
 
#7 ·
Jeckel meows. For HOURS. Every morning I am ready to smother him... and once I'm awake, the boyfriend wakes up to because I am moving. Jeckel doesn't want anything. Not food, not attention, not a clean litter. He just gets some sick pleasure out of bugging his mother, I guess! He does be quiet for a little bit if you yell at him to shut up, though. Silly cat.

Tavish, on the other hand, sleep quietly through the night and keeps my feet warm. :luv
 
#8 ·
Mine are pretty good about not bugging me when my lights are out. (I guess I've thrown them out of the bedroom often enough for it to sink in that disturbing The Human when she's trying to sleep produces Bad Things, not Good Things.)

Once the light is on, though, I'm fair game for head-butts and patting my face with a paw. (The face-patting is Misty's technique. Stormy is more the head-butt type.)

It's also not uncommon for me to wake up to find Stormy sitting next to my pillow staring down at me. I guess she's waiting for me to wake up and turn on the light so she can bug me!

If I've slept much later than usual and they're hungry, they don't necessarily wake me up per se, but they may go into Hyperactive Mode, and the noise of them chasing each other around the house (sometimes across my torso) will often wake me up then. Or Misty will attack a random spot on the bed. Or my feet. Sometimes Stormy will attack my hair. This doesn't happen often, though. I don't feed them until before I leave for work usually so they don't really connect "The Human wakes up" with "we get fed."
 
#11 ·
Des_Esseintes said:
I assure you, feeling two pointy little teeth digging into your aorta in the middle of the night with even the gentlest pressure is guaranteed to wake up anyone.
Bound to considering the Aorta is one of the main arterys next to your heart 8O :lol:

Peggy is usually shut up in the kitchen, but on the occasions when she gets out (the door doesn't always get shut properly), she'll either sit outside and go OWOWOWOAOWOAOWOOW really loudly, or if my door is cracked open, she'll come and bounce on me. My windowsill makes a good launching pad apparently.
 
#12 ·
My Wesley is usually waiting utill I'm waking up myself, but Xanthos... this one is a tough one to ignore. At 3-4 a.m. Xanthos starts to feel lonely, and has to be hugged and stroked. He begins with tickling my face with whiskers, nosing my eyes, and then he starts to lick me... :roll: especially my fingers. The thing itself would not be the worst, but he makes lots of noises :twisted: when he licks. Then, when he gets what he wants, he's falling asleep again.
 
#13 ·
Gizmo is pretty simple, he'll jump up on the bed and meow really quietly, almost like he's making sure I'm asleep, then when I least expect it he lays on me and headbonks me in the face.

Then if that doesn't work, he'll start licking my face while laying on me. Then if that doesn't work, he'll put his paw on my face and fall asleep with me.

I think he gave up though trying to get me up, he hasn't done it lately unless I close a door, in which case he acts like I abandoned him and he sits on me to punish me.
 
#17 ·
Toby is very cute. I often wake up to see him staring at me :lol: Then he will climb onto me and make biscuits and bunt me and make little meowing noises. He will give up if I ignore him for long enough, but he is very cute. :luv
 
#19 ·
jango never ONCE woke me up in the 6 months we had him alone.. oh those were the days.

now, if I am not awakened by a track meet across my torso, legs, or FACE, 2 cats in hot pursuit, then boba will come and attempt to smother me. he just lays his belly right over my nose and mouth. and if I move him, he'll first try to knead my face, then my armpit, then try to lay on my face again if I have managed to look like I've got back to sleep. however, if I hold him and pet him, he seems to have gotten the outcome he wanted and will usually take a little nap.
 
#21 ·
Jazz usually can't be bothered. She just waits, patiently for a human to get up and feed her. Misha, on the other hand? If the launch pad, er, top of the chest of drawers is clear, she pounces on whoever is in her way when she launches. 8O Usually me, because I sleep on that side of the bed. The launch pad now had a couple of piles of clothes on it, specifically to prevent it from becoming a launch pad. :lol: Or she'll s-t-r-e-t-c-h as far as she can up the wall and then claws extended, scratch her way slowly down, the nails-on-the-chalkboard type sound. :yikes If that doesn't work, she'll headbutt one of us or, in the remote possibility that one of our hands is not tucked under the covers, it becomes fair game to pet, pet, pet. That cold wet nose on the underside of one's hand is usually enough to get one or both of us up. :?
 
#23 ·
I never used to have this 'problem' before. Apparently, these days Miu decided that waking me up is a fun part of the day.

Her tactics include purring rather loudly, cozying up to me, laying herself across my shoulder/arm like how a girl does that with her boyfriend, burying her nose into that shoulder, hugging the arm, putting an arm across my chest. Anyways, the list goes on. All these actions are only half a min long because she'll be constantly changing tactics. She can't stay still! Then after she's realized I'm not getting up, she runs off.
 
#24 ·
My boy loves running back and forth behind my pillows and sits on my alarm clock. If that doesn't do it, he gets real close to your face and starts licking you. I open my eyes and he is literally 1inch away from my eyes. :lol:

His new thing....straddling my leg and pretending its a chew toy. He bites, rolls over, hugs and kicks my leg vigorously! I still love him. :luv
 
#25 ·
Cleo talks. And talks and talks and talks. She'll come right up to my face, noses almost touching.

The twins have their own room, thank goodness! But sometimes Cleo wakes them up with her nonstop talking, then they want out earlier than I want to get up. When I'm working, I do take a perverse joy in waking THEM up in the morning.

Cinderella used to lick my eyelids open on occasion. 8O Hard to fake sleep when you're laughing! :D