Am I being cruel?

[GranolaLouise]

I have a teen cat mom and her 5 month old kitten.
It started at 3 am and went on until 5 am...ZOOMIES....the smack against the wall,run around the whole house,leap in the air and twist,sound like horses racing kind! Round and round..find toys and fling them, hiding and seeking.
I am losing my @&%$ mind. So I put them in a room that has a litter box ,water,beds a dim light and.....a door! Now I don't hear anything.
Am I being cruel ?
Is zooming around like feline maniacs for hours on end,non stop , highly unusual?

 

[tabbytom]

Zoomies are normal. It's their way of exercising and keeping in shape and playing and hunting. My Boy does his zoomies everyday and yes, sometimes early in the morning. All I did was sit and watch him run up the cabinets, over his runway and jump down to another runway with a big thump as the other is a storage box

You have a bunch there and probably it's more fun and it last longer. My boy will do a short one and then realize it's only himself doing the zoomies and he'll stop and rest

 

[Alldara]

Zoomies are very normal and healthy. It also means they are comfortable in your home.

You can encourage them to happen at certain times of day. For example by getting them into a play routine. My cats do their zoomies after we play with them at night.

I wouldn't punish them for playing.

 

[di and bob]

zoomies happen with every cat, especially young healthy ones like you have. In time, they will start to slow down as they get older. You might encourage the zoomies during the daytime or in the evenings before bed. Bring out some catnip. Can you shut your door and still let them have the run of the house? I have gotten up and shut my door when they are making too much noise. The only problem is they make noise trying to get in. I myself just learn to live with it.

 

[GranolaLouise]

Zoomies are very normal and healthy. It also means they are comfortable in your home.

You can encourage them to happen at certain times of day. For example by getting them into a play routine. My cats do their zoomies after we play with them at night.

I wouldn't punish them for playing.

A few hours before we played with several toys and games..especially their favorite,the fishing rod thingy with the feather that twirls. They would jump and leap for it. Then the feather going around the motorized disc under the circular cloth.Then they played with their pompom balls. And finally their Fling amma String.
By then I was tired and they went to sleep listening to quieting cat music.
THEN THEY.......... WE.........WOKE UP!
They have bursts of zoomies every day after they eat and I expect that..It is a norm for them. But last night was exceptional...and without food to give the energy.
This morning they just ate and were rather subdued and are now sleeping. However, if I am not being cruel, I would consider putting them in a separate closed in room again if it is in the wee hours waking everyone up!
And that is my reason for asking veteran cat owners here.

 

[GranolaLouise]

zoomies happen with every cat, especially young healthy ones like you have. In time, they will start to slow down as they get older. You might encourage the zoomies during the daytime or in the evenings before bed. Bring out some catnip. Can you shut your door and still let them have the run of the house? I have gotten up and shut my door when they are making too much noise. The only problem is they make noise trying to get in. I myself just learn to live with it.

CATNIP makes them run around more!
They already have the run of the house di and bob, and I live on the second floor and need to be considerate of others. Short bursts are acceptable, but 2 or 3 hours straight needs to be dealt with..without harming the cats.

 

[di and bob]

Hopefully they won’t keep that schedule. I suggested the catnip the evening before bedtime to tire them out. It is short lived.

 

[Alldara]

A few hours before we played with several toys and games..especially their favorite,the fishing rod thingy with the feather that twirls. They would jump and leap for it. Then the feather going around the motorized disc under the circular cloth.Then they played with their pompom balls. And finally their Fling amma String.
By then I was tired and they went to sleep listening to quieting cat music.
THEN THEY.......... WE.........WOKE UP!
They have bursts of zoomies every day after they eat and I expect that..It is a norm for them. But last night was exceptional...and without food to give the energy.
This morning they just ate and were rather subdued and are now sleeping. However, if I am not being cruel, I would consider putting them in a separate closed in room again if it is in the wee hours waking everyone up!
And that is my reason for asking veteran cat owners here.

Yes. But it's spring now in half of the world and that gives them a bit of extra energy temporarily. A cat's energy doesn't immediately disappear after they eat and play. Every creature stores energy from their food to be used throughout the day.

I consider cruel to be a harsh word so I hesitate to use it but it is punishing them for normal cat behaviour and that does make me sad. It's also going to discourage active behaviour which is not something that will be healthy as they age.

They're young cats. Especially the baby, you're going to have 2-3 hours multiple times a day of playtime. If it's not with a person, it's going to be on her own or with another cat as zoomies.


That's why I'm saying, it will take some time to get them on a schedule, but it is possible. In the meantime some earplugs and closing the bedroom doors of sleeping humans does wonders.

di and bob makes a good point of catnip. Use that during morning play at a time when most of the house is already awake and their bodies will get in the habit of that time rather than 3-5am.

I get up, feed myself and cats and then we play at around 8 am. On the weekend they zoom on their own because their bodies are used to play at that time. I also play again with them between 3&5 pm and again before bed. When they were younger they needed an additional two play sessions on top of those.

 

[tabbytom]

Try to let them sleep less in the day and also feed a heavy meal as late as you can. A full tummy sleeps better through the night.

 

[CaseysMom]

Nope, you're not. You need sleep to function and be healthy. I have always slept separately from my cats for this reason. As long as they have everything they need in the room they spend the night in, they will be fine. As the kitten matures, you may be able to give him/her run of the house. But for now, this solution is fine.