Cat wants into my bedroom at night, scratching and crying.

[shmuckluk]

I have a 5-6 month old cat, who won't stop crying outside my door. It happened when I first got him, and the only real way to stop it was for me to go to bed while my roomate played with him, then he'd go to bed 10 minutes later. The cat would only cry outside my door.
That was alleviated when we got my other cat, the 2 were buddies, and they just hung out in the living room.
Now I have moved, and my older kitty is crying outside my door again. All the time. I've tried squirting him, ignoring him, slamming the door from the inside when he cries. I can't ignore him because he will keep me up until 2, and I don't know how persistent he is, but when I wake up he's crying outside my door in the morning.
It's driving me up the wall, but I don't want to lock him in the bathroom every night where I can't hear him.

 

[GoldyCat]

Is there a reason you don't want him in the bedroom at night?

 

[shmuckluk]

He doesn't sleep the whole night, and will run around, and jump in my window, and play with my blinds.
It's better sleep to have him not in my room, and that too is disruptive.

 

[dave_l]

My kitties interrupted my sleep too when I first got them. Sometimes I would close them out of the bedroom. But I've gotten used to them, even though they sometimes play late at night or early in the morning, including walking on me in bed.

 

[yosemite]

He's just a baby and he will calm down as he ages. I don't know what to tell you, my cats have always slept with me and I wouldn't have it any other way.

It probably would have been better for you to adopt an older cat instead of a kitten. If this is going to continually be a problem for you, instead of spraying/fighting with the cat's normal behaviour, maybe rehome him to someone that doesn't mind the behaviour of a kitten and get yourself an older cat that has already calmed down. That's the only solution except locking him away somewhere that you can't hear his cries, poor baby.

 

[shmuckluk]

I don't mind it if my cat SLEPT with me. But he runs around my room an jumps on me, and plays with loud objects. I can't sleep when he's in the room. Gio (the cryer) and Orange Cat were perfectly fine not being in my bedroom at night in my old place, and it's just now that Gio is having issues again. I'm not looking for advice on whether I should get rid of him or not, I'm looking to see if maybe last time I inadvertently did something that made him not mind sleeping with Orange Cat in the living room.

I want Orange Cat to be Gio's nighttime buddy, not me. And like I said, if he would sleep, or actually just be quiet enough for me to sleep at night, I'd be willing to let him into my room.

Orange Cat has never cried outside my door, he just chills out in his bed.

I'm thinking about buying Gio a new bed, and putting it in my room for him to sleep in during the day, then moving it outside at night. Think that might help?

 

[persi & alley]

Originally Posted by Shmuckluk

I have a 5-6 month old cat, who won't stop crying outside my door. It happened when I first got him, and the only real way to stop it was for me to go to bed while my roomate played with him, then he'd go to bed 10 minutes later. The cat would only cry outside my door.
That was alleviated when we got my other cat, the 2 were buddies, and they just hung out in the living room.
Now I have moved, and my older kitty is crying outside my door again. All the time. I've tried squirting him, ignoring him, slamming the door from the inside when he cries. I can't ignore him because he will keep me up until 2, and I don't know how persistent he is, but when I wake up he's crying outside my door in the morning.
It's driving me up the wall, but I don't want to lock him in the bathroom every night where I can't hear him.

Please do not squirt your cat. Do read this: http://www.thecatsite.com/Behavior/1...t-Crazies.html
Most of our members let their cats sleep with them as I do. If I were to close the bedroom door I would not be getting any sleep. Alley would be crying her little heart out and Persi would be handling the matter in true Persi fashion, he would be throwing himself against the door.

 

[emmylou]

It might.

But the most important thing you can do is completely ignore the scratching. It's the only way to make him learn that that behavior will get no response and is therefore pointless. Whenever you get up and open the door, squirt the cat, talk or yell or even stir, in response to the cat's behavior, it rewards his scratching with attention. Since he's a kitten and probably bored and lonely, even negative responses from you are a reward.

It may take a few weeks or even months, but once he learns that his scratching can't make you wake up or stir, he'll stop.

 

[shmuckluk]

Yah, I just wish he was able to relax and be happy out with Orange Cat at night like he used to be able to.
During the day they like to sleep in my room, so I suspect I'm sending them mixed messages. At my old place we used to spend more time in the living room than the bedroom, and that's changed a little now. So i figure that is what it is, only the one cat adjusted really well.

 

[dave_l]

You might try to remove objects in the bedroom that make noise when the cat plays with them, make the objects quieter, or block access to them.

I have a stack of magazines that the kitties loved to jump on and knock the magazines onto the floor. Covering the stack with a quilt solved that problem.

Perhaps you could put a box under the window(s) with the blinds, and put double-sticky tape, carpet runner or a plastic spiky mat on top of the box, to deter the cat from playing with the blinds.

It's the kitties' house after all; they're just letting you share it with them.

 

[yosemite]

As I said, he's still a baby. And, as another poster said, any attention you give him (positive or negative) is reinforcing his behaviour. My advice was that if you could not handle his behaviour until he matured, then an older cat would have been a better choice for you.

I really don't like to read that people are "spraying" their cats for behaviour when all the cats are doing are acting like cats. Almost makes me want to spray the owners when they don't please me to see how they would feel.

You will need to persevere and ignore him until he recognizes he will not get attention. Buy some earplugs if you have to.

 

[kozziosko]

Hello, when I first got Mush I never let her sleep in my room. I thought I had to have boundaries and show who was boss. She meowed at the door also and I ignored it. I now leave the door open, she sleeps on the couch for a little while, then will come to bed when she likes. I wouldn't have it any other way.
I understand the Cat is frisky while you are trying to sleep. Does he have a good routine? Get home from work play, dinner, play, chill out time and then bed is what we do and seems to work. A good amount of play time is essential I think of an afternoon. Then at bedtime leave your door open and ignore him if you can if he starts to misbehave. I'm sure the sleeping patterns will adjust.
Maybe also your recent move has made Gio unsettled, you could also try some feliway spray before you go to bed?

 

[hwc]

I wish my kitties would sleep with me! With a lot of kitties, it takes a lot of work to get them to come to bed. Heck, that's what makes having cats worth it! I was so happy last night when my Scaredy Cat hopped up on my bed and plopped down next to my head for some scratchin' for the very first time.

With kittens, the best bet might be to get some good comfy soft foam ear plugs. I like the Howard Leight Max brand, myself.

 

[althekitty]

My kitty sleeps with me and I wouldn't have it any other way either. I do realise though that its not for everyone. The issue is that they want to be with you and don't understand why you don't want them to be!! That is why all the crying and scratching occurs. Its just like a baby in some ways and I doubt you would spray a baby or shout at a baby for it so please don't do it to your kitties. It is very unpleasent for them and they are probably looking for some comfort as it can be a big deal for kitties to move. Home is obviously a very important place for them too. I would spray some cat nip on there beds to make them more attractive. So they know that they have there own place. Cats love routine, I give mine a treat when we are all in bed and that signafies night time to them. Maybe you could do the same but give it to them in there beds? A lot of these things do take time and patience and a lot of assurance. I hope you manage to find a solution that suits all of you.

 

[persi & alley]

Originally Posted by Yosemite

As I said, he's still a baby. And, as another poster said, any attention you give him (positive or negative) is reinforcing his behaviour. My advice was that if you could not handle his behaviour until he matured, then an older cat would have been a better choice for you.

I really don't like to read that people are "spraying" their cats for behaviour when all the cats are doing are acting like cats. Almost makes me want to spray the owners when they don't please me to see how they would feel.

You will need to persevere and ignore him until he recognizes he will not get attention. Buy some earplugs if you have to.

Well put. I could not have said it better.

 

[mschauer]

I would let him in the room after "kitten proofing" it. Raise the blinds so that he can't play with them. Put away everything that might cause noise when he plays with it. He may still pounce on you while you're trying to sleep but hopefully you will learn to sleep through it and if you make the room boring for him to play in he might not spend much time there. Your room might have to be inconveniently arranged for the short term but you might get more sleep. Hopefully as he matures he will calm down.

Be calm and patient. He's just an exuberant baby.

Good luck!

 

[jack31]

When we got our kitten we kept him overnight in our bathroom and when we were out of the hosue--it was an apartment and we truly weren't allowed to have a cat to begin with so we had to be extra cautious.

We really wanted him to sleep with us so we started locking him in our room at night (with a litter box of course). It was a very very long 3 weeks, the first week the hardest the 3rd week much easier. He quickly realized that meowmy and daddy sleep when its dark and aren't going to play. He learned to sleep at night and play during the day--granted he was a kitten, he played hard and slept alot regardless. But generally he slept at night.

Its been almost an entire year and our little man is still a night sleeper. We dont' lock him in our room anymore but I still often wake up with a kitty asleep on my pillow above my head (he takes up way more room these days, he really needs his own pillow).

Leslie

 

[artgecko]

Some suggestions to help make the scratching less appealing as a behavior....

1. You can buy removable double-sided tape at most stores. Put it on the lower part of your door and the kitten won't like the sensation when he touches it to scratch. They have a speciality product for cats, but it is more expensive than the double-sided tape.

2. Put a plastic car mat, pointy side up, outside the door. The kitten won't like the pointy sensation when he stands or sits on it, so will avoid it.

3. If the above doesn't work, they do make motion-sensor bottles that spray a "puff" of air when triggered. Very expensive and not a long-term solution, but could help break his habit.

4. Don't pay attention to him right before you go to bed and/or right after you get up. That way, he won't associate you coming out of the room with happy attention-time and won't associate you going into the room with the end-of-fun time.

Some things to help alter his behavior in a positive way (at night)...

1. I'd also suggest playing with him and/or being active with him right before you go to sleep. Might also try feeding him later so that his belly will be full and he'll go to sleep faster.

2. A treat toy, like a treat-ball that he can roll around to get treats or his food out of at night. That will give him something to do while you're asleep.

3. If you are home during the day... is he always allowed to follow you around? You might want to try closing doors behind you and not letting him follow. Ignore his crying until he is quiet, then reward him with attention and opening the door.

4. Possibly try confining him in a room by himself at night, with all the necessities and other "good" or special toys or treats that he doesn't get any other time. When he accepts this as a "good" place/thing and does not complain, then you can adjust to leaving that door open at night and he will probably go to that place by choice.

HTH,
Art

 

[meowers]

As he gets older, he may not even want to sleep with you as much. I think it is a matter of them wanting to know where you are. My two cats dont go to bed with me most nights, but I wake up every morning with them snuggled up to me.

the first week we had Holly, she had to be put in a seperate room so Kitty wouldnt kill her (Holly was a ting baby) and she cried allllll night and day if she was alone. I was up til almost 5 in the morning trying to comfort both cats before I had to go to work. Every lunch break I'd come home to be with her. Kittens are alot of work as we all know! Soif I were you, I'd get some sleeping pills, ear plugs, cat proof the room and smile at the fact that my cat wanted/needed to be with me so much. Enjoy being the meowmy while you can

BTW I cant even go to the bathroom with the door closed, they meow til I open it. Then they check out the room and wait at the door for me

 

[lore]

Be lucky all it is, is meowing & playing with blinds

I wake up Bloodied... kitten attached to the arms or face... feet or legs...

FANTASTIC way to be woken up in the middle of the night...

BUT, he's only been here for less than a week & he has already gotten way better & the attackings have gotten to be less... & will become less & less I'm sure

I've learned the challenges of my first kitten... they are a challenge, but so worth the the work thats for sure.