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- May 27, 2022
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Hi everyone,
I'm here at a point of desperation looking for advice on my beautiful little cat Cosy, who I adopted in the middle of March this year and absolutely adore. I've never had a cat before and she's really special to me, however.... we have a problem and I can't find the solution.
She's an 18 year old domestic short-hair whose previous owner sadly died. She lived with another older cat and the adoption agency said they barely acknowledged each other so felt she was fine being adopted alone. She was also adopted as an indoor cat. She's in good health for her age, a slight heart murmer however around two weeks ago was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism and is now taking medication twice a day.
She was described as quiet and contented when I got her, and that's mostly true however my issue is early mornings. My flat is largely open plan, with open plan kitchen and living room and a mezzanine bedroom overlooking both - so it's one big open space. Basically.... noise carries through the whole place.
When she first arrived, she slept under my bed however would waken me at 5am so after a few days I decided to draw a firm line that she had to sleep downstairs. This was a disaster, I held the line for about three weeks however from 3am till 8am she yowled... loudly. It took me to breaking point and I gave in and she's now got full access to the bedroom. She's in and out of it all day and sleeps quite contently on my bed each night however if she leaves the room for any reason, she yowls downstairs for hours and hours - this happens ever morning about 4am. If I get up for any reason, she'll see it as a chance to rush upstairs back into the bedroom. It's like she doesn't understand that the door is always open for her even when I'm in bed. Even when I'm going to bed, if she's left downstairs she'll quickly start to yowl until I go down and usher her upstairs. She doesn't particularly like my acoustic guitar and goes upstairs when I reach for it, so I've started reaching for my guitar as part of the bed-time routine just to try and get her in the bedroom and settled (not something I particularly want to do).
When she does get up I'm trying to ignore her as I don't want her making an association with me getting up and getting back into the bedroom. However, it's been weeks and even with earplugs in and a memory foam pillow over my head I'm not getting any sleep. It's starting to affect my work and I look absolutely exhausted all the time.
I've tried advice to get her sleeping well at night. I play with her late at night. She's always got a clean litter tray, plenty of water. I've recently bought an automatic feeder to go off near the time when she usually gets up (which she usually ignores). She's got toys and a treat puzzle - (none of which she's particularly interested in). I know the thyroid problem might be contributing here.
All that aside, I'm convinced the fundamental issue is that she doesn't seem to understand that when I'm in bed she can still come and go. I'm at my wits end on how to change this behaviour?
Any help would be appreciated!
I'm here at a point of desperation looking for advice on my beautiful little cat Cosy, who I adopted in the middle of March this year and absolutely adore. I've never had a cat before and she's really special to me, however.... we have a problem and I can't find the solution.
She's an 18 year old domestic short-hair whose previous owner sadly died. She lived with another older cat and the adoption agency said they barely acknowledged each other so felt she was fine being adopted alone. She was also adopted as an indoor cat. She's in good health for her age, a slight heart murmer however around two weeks ago was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism and is now taking medication twice a day.
She was described as quiet and contented when I got her, and that's mostly true however my issue is early mornings. My flat is largely open plan, with open plan kitchen and living room and a mezzanine bedroom overlooking both - so it's one big open space. Basically.... noise carries through the whole place.
When she first arrived, she slept under my bed however would waken me at 5am so after a few days I decided to draw a firm line that she had to sleep downstairs. This was a disaster, I held the line for about three weeks however from 3am till 8am she yowled... loudly. It took me to breaking point and I gave in and she's now got full access to the bedroom. She's in and out of it all day and sleeps quite contently on my bed each night however if she leaves the room for any reason, she yowls downstairs for hours and hours - this happens ever morning about 4am. If I get up for any reason, she'll see it as a chance to rush upstairs back into the bedroom. It's like she doesn't understand that the door is always open for her even when I'm in bed. Even when I'm going to bed, if she's left downstairs she'll quickly start to yowl until I go down and usher her upstairs. She doesn't particularly like my acoustic guitar and goes upstairs when I reach for it, so I've started reaching for my guitar as part of the bed-time routine just to try and get her in the bedroom and settled (not something I particularly want to do).
When she does get up I'm trying to ignore her as I don't want her making an association with me getting up and getting back into the bedroom. However, it's been weeks and even with earplugs in and a memory foam pillow over my head I'm not getting any sleep. It's starting to affect my work and I look absolutely exhausted all the time.
I've tried advice to get her sleeping well at night. I play with her late at night. She's always got a clean litter tray, plenty of water. I've recently bought an automatic feeder to go off near the time when she usually gets up (which she usually ignores). She's got toys and a treat puzzle - (none of which she's particularly interested in). I know the thyroid problem might be contributing here.
All that aside, I'm convinced the fundamental issue is that she doesn't seem to understand that when I'm in bed she can still come and go. I'm at my wits end on how to change this behaviour?
Any help would be appreciated!
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