Cat Waking Me Up Each Night

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Jemima Mouse

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Hello.

So I have a recently adopted a second cat, who is seven months. I love him to bits, but I am starting to feel a bit weary about having my sleep interrupted - my children are finally sleeping through and now the bloody cat wakes me up instead!

I love having cats sleeping nearby - however, I need to find a way for him not to wake me up - usually at 5am, but this morning at 4am! He came up from the end of the bed (where he usually sleeps) purring so loudly and wants to sleep on my head pretty much. Or sleeps over my neck like a scarf! He usually will settle in a comfortable spot (for him), and then when it gets nearer to 5am and the birds start singing, he starts by tapping my face gently with his paw. When I ignore this, he starts including a pin or two! Not badly but enough for me to turn over or put my arm over my face!

Then he'll walk over my husband's head or try to sit on him - and my husband is not impressed!

So, he has dry food in his bowl in the office at all times. But what he really wants is wet food. I give him extra wet food just before bed so he is eating late. But alas, it makes no difference.

Maybe it is just because he's still a kitten really, so he wants me up and to play. I am going to start introducing him to the outside this week, so perhaps he'll burn off more energy when he gets used to that, and will therefore be more restful in the early hours of the morning?!

Any kind and useful advice or suggestions welcome.
 
rubysmama

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Jemima Mouse said:
my children are finally sleeping through and now the bloody cat wakes me up instead!
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:lol:

TCS has this article How To Stop My Cat From Waking Me Up At Night (step-by-step Plan) that might have some tips for you.

Jemima Mouse said:
Maybe it is just because he's still a kitten really, so he wants me up and to play. I
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I think maybe he'll learn his human's schedule and adjust to it once he's out of kittenhood. :crossfingers:

I do understand sleep deprivation, btw, as when I first adopted my Ruby she used to wake me up every morning 1 to 2 hours too early. She would pester me until I finally got up. Eventually I started getting up and putting her out of the room and closing the door, telling her she had to wait for the radio. This went on for a few weeks, and then finally one day she didn't come in till she heard the radio.

Now occasionally, she'll wake me too early, but I just ignore her, and she goes away.

Good luck. I hope you're back to having uninterrupted sleep soon. :sleep2:
 
Mamanyt1953

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DO try to ignore him...or at least pretend to ignore him. If there's no payoff, he'll eventually quit. This is a really common issue with cats. They are crepuscular, that is, their most active times are dawn and dusk. In the wild, this is when cats are slinking along the watering holes and prime hunting areas, looking for prey before it becomes too hot to hunt efficiency. LOL, a few thousand years of domestication won't overcome a few hundred thousand (or a few million) years of evolution!
 
amethyst

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I love having cats sleep with me (though only a couple are allowed in the bedroom), but they do often cause an issue. What I do is if they are a real pain one night they get kicked out of the room and not let back in the next night. So basically as soon as he starts bugging you pick him up and escort him out of the room. No petting, talking, or anything "good/rewarding" involved, just scooped up and closed out of the room.

Another thought, if the reason for waking you is he wants food, since he is still a kitten, what about trying a timer feeder? They make them for wet food too, you put ice packs in them to keep the food from going bad.
 
HPeters

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Play with him as late as possible in the evening, cats are multiwinded so play him out a few times then feed him and go to bed. as stated in other posts, ignore him during the night (if you give in even once it will make the problem worse)
 
PushPurrCatPaws

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I don't have anything truly encouraging to say, as many cats are primed to be alert, social or active from 3-6 am -- but I do want to empathize! I know firsthand how hard it is to ignore a young cat at 3 or 4 am.
:stars:
 
weebeasties

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If he is trying to wake you up to be fed-
Do you feed him first thing when you get up in the morning? If you do, is it possible to delay the feeding a bit? I've never fed our cats when I first get up. I wait about an hour. They don't associate waking me up with food, so they let me sleep. Even on my days off work I can sleep in an extra hour or so and they don't disturb me.

It's tough if they are waking you up to play. Other than tiring them out pre-bed, all I can offer is my sympathies :alright: and the promise he should grow out of eventually.

I got lucky with Buddy in so many ways. Yes, he slept on my chest, my neck, my face (my actual face!:confused:) when he was a kitten. Amazingly, I was able to sleep right through it. He would be practically suffocating me and I would just reach up to give him a quick pet and turn my face slightly to get some air and fall immediately back to sleep. As he got older and heavier, I had to start shifting him to my side. Now he sleeps curled beside me with his head either on my shoulder or on my pillow. He sleeps through the night and just cuddles.:cloud9:

Just remember it's early days yet. You said you adopted him recently. He's still a kitten and had a lot of changes in his life. He's sleeping on your neck because he wants to be close to the person that makes him feel safe and that he loves. I don't know if that will make you feel any better when it's 3am and he's licking your nose, but I hope it does!;)
 
pearl99

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I used to put my pillow over my head and pull the covers up- but I'm a side and stomach sleeper so I could do that (not really helpful if you're a back sleeper.) They would get the message and leave me alone. I also use a timed feeder, one for each cat.
 
Mamanyt1953

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It really could be worse...when Hekitty wants me up, she inserts a paw in my mouth and jerks my cheek! Thankfully, without claws. HOWEVER, there is no even pretending not to notice a mouthful of paw!
 
Suru

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You could ignore him, OR you can do something he won't like such as shutting him out of the bedroom entirely, or put him in the bathroom with a litter box for half an hour. that way he will learn to associate waking you up with an unpleasant experience and will learn to leave you alone in the mornings.
 
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Jemima Mouse

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weebeasties said:
If he is trying to wake you up to be fed-
Do you feed him first thing when you get up in the morning? If you do, is it possible to delay the feeding a bit? I've never fed our cats when I first get up. I wait about an hour. They don't associate waking me up with food, so they let me sleep. Even on my days off work I can sleep in an extra hour or so and they don't disturb me.
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That is a really good idea!
 
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Jemima Mouse

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weebeasties said:
Just remember it's early days yet. You said you adopted him recently. He's still a kitten and had a lot of changes in his life. He's sleeping on your neck because he wants to be close to the person that makes him feel safe and that he loves. I don't know if that will make you feel any better when it's 3am and he's licking your nose, but I hope it does!;)
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thank you for your reply! For all of them. I do love him sleeping nearby. But the other issue is that he stole our resident cat's sleeping spot! She has slept with us for six years now, at the foot of our bed - not a peep from her. She doesn't wake us. Or didn't. But now she won't come and sleep on the bed with him there. So last night I actually shut him out of our room - I kept him in the living/dining/kitchen area, which is big! With a blanket on the bed and he can watch the birds out of the window... And what do you know... my old girl came straight up onto her old sleeping spot on our bed and stayed there quietly in peace, all night.
So now I really don't know what to do. I feel torn! I want to keep that bond with them both, and would like my boy kitten sleeping there, too - but as I keep them in at night, he has started to be a right monkey to my old cat, and bothers her. Trying to play I suppose. But she's not pleased about it!
So not sure whether to keep him out of our room at night for a while longer. But as soon as I let him back in, I know my girl will go elsewhere...
As if I don't have enough to think about with my human children!
 
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Mamanyt1953 said:
It really could be worse...when Hekitty wants me up, she inserts a paw in my mouth and jerks my cheek! Thankfully, without claws. HOWEVER, there is no even pretending not to notice a mouthful of paw!
Click to expand...
 
pearl99

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Well she's being nice, when Mooshoo steals Waffles' sleeping spot he will make Mooshoo go to another spot :D.
I know wanting them both there. But, she's the first cat...I would likely keep shutting him out for now?? Until he's a bit older and maybe settles down. There's other time for lap time for the youngster if you are reading, watching a movie etc.
 
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pearl99 said:
Well she's being nice, when Mooshoo steals Waffles' sleeping spot he will make Mooshoo go to another spot :D.
I know wanting them both there. But, she's the first cat...I would likely keep shutting him out for now?? Until he's a bit older and maybe settles down. There's other time for lap time for the youngster if you are reading, watching a movie etc.
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I think this is the decision I have come to for the time being, and am going to run with it for a week and see how it goes. I kept him in the living area three nights ago and my old girl came back. Then I let him out the night before last and he ambushed her in the middle of the night, so he went back in last night, but my old girl didn't come back on the bed. I am hoping she will tonight! As I've just called him in from the garden, fed him, kissed him and popped him into the main area for the night. I played with him lots in the garden this evening so hoping he'll be tired. He's so busy enjoying outside! He loves it.
 
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