Bedtime Routine

[Paddycat2018]

Wikki will be one in April. Since July, he's been sleeping at night in a roomy "kitty fort" (a 5x5 soft-sided play-pen) that limited his movements around the house while providing him a comfy place to snooze. Now that he's older, I'd like to give him more independence at night. Does anyone have ideas how to transition Wikki away from his kitty fort?

 

[FeebysOwner]

Does the play pen have a 'door' to it? If so, just leave the door open and see what Wikki does. I don't know what you have for bedding in the play pen, but you could make something similar to lay a bit away from the pen and see if he might be interested in using it. If he does, you could probably get rid of the play pen after he is routinely using the other bedding.

 

[Kieka]

Cats are pretty routine driven, it provides a certain amount of comfort for them. That play pen has likely become his safe space and unless you have good reason, I wouldn't change his routine. That said, if you normally close him into it you could just not close him in. If it doesnt have a way in and out he can use, make one out of empty cardboard boxes or a pet step thing so he can get in and out. That would allow him the option to go in and out when he wants to. Which would maintain the routine of giving him that space but also the freedom to go outside of it. If he uses it less, you could replace it with a cave type bed or cat tree to still give him a spot without it being as large.

For comparison, my girl was feral and her first few weeks we kept her in a kennel under the dining room table. It provided her a safe space that was not super visible but still exposed her to things. Once she was no longer confined to the kennel we kept it in the spot. When she stopped going into it frequently we got rid of it (because kennel under dining room table was never a long term). However, even now 7 years later, she frequently goes under the dining room table when she is anxious or scared. She also prefers to be fed under the dining room table. We've taken to call it her thinking spot or safe spot depending on what's going on. She gets very anxious the few times we've moved the table out of the room (very few) because that is her safe space.

 

[ArtNJ]

It kind of depends what you mean I guess. Is the solution Kieka 's "just not close him in" or are there other factors concerning you that we aren't aware of? If you are concerned the cat will wake you up, for example, we might have different advice. Are there valuables or other pets that you are worried about if you aren't awake to supervise? Just don't really know what the concern is.

 

[Paddycat2018]

Yes, the kitty fort has a zippered door that could be opened.

I take care of my elderly mother, and I am concerned that, unsupervised, Wikki might disturb her sleep.

 

[FeebysOwner]

I take care of my elderly mother, and I am concerned that, unsupervised, Wikki might disturb her sleep.

If you can't close your mother's door, you could always consider making a blockade to keep kitty from going in that room at night. There are ways to make an accordion-type blockade that would enable your mother to use it if she would need to leave her room at night, using shelving from any home improvement store and some zip ties to create the folding door effect. See pic below for illustration purposes.

You might also take the play pen into your bedroom at night and start the process of getting the kitty used to sleeping in your room if that is not a problem for you.

 

[ArtNJ]

Its a great idea to be thinking about this, because in my experience one month they are happy following the nightime routine and sleeping where you want, and the next month they are breaking your ankles running around avoiding you because they dont want to do that anymore. I've put various cats in my furnished basement for years to sleep, I have sleep apnea and just dont want to deal with cats at night. I have plenty of tricks to bolster the ritual (they get their nighttime food in the basement, and I throw treats from the top of the stairs) but sometimes, with some cats, it just stops working.

I was going to suggest trying leaving the zippered door open and seeing if he bothered your mom, but on further reflection thats a bad idea because once you give him a taste of freedom it might not be so easy cramming the genie back in the bottle -- letting him roam even once or twice at night could damage the ritual. So I'd come up with a fallback plan like FeebysOwner suggests before you give this a try.

 

[Paddycat2018]

One extra issue: Mom isn't sleeping in her room; she's more comfortable in the living room in a recliner. Wikki has a history of both jumping at her arm or scratching her chair. I've cordoned her off fairly well...but he still has access to scratching the chair if he's determined. And he is a very determined fella.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Mom isn't sleeping in her room; she's more comfortable in the living room in a recliner.

Then, I hope you are OK with Wikki becoming your 'night-time bedroom' partner. I would suggest you try moving the play pen in your bedroom at night to get him used to that being his new sleeping area - and, getting that blockade made for your bedroom door.

 

[ArtNJ]

Honestly, if he isn't forcing the issue he isn't too unhappy about sleeping in there. Maybe just don't worry about it until he starts fussing, which could happen at any time, or not. If it starts bothering him, he will very much let you know.