Day Kitty/Night Kitty

[shoshanna]

Not long ago I brought Mickey into the house and made him part of the family and for the most part it has been a smooth and effortless transition between the two cats.

The only real problem is that one (Sammi) is a Day Kitty and wants to get up at 5 a.m. and by 9 p.m. he is begging for me to go to bed but he will go without me.  That routine is as old as he is.  He does not sleep during the day but "patrols" the apartment and watches out the windows for any movement that may need his attention.

Mickey on the other hand sleeps all day long and by midnight he is up and wanting to PLAY and he wants an audience.  After all what fun is it to be cute when no one is watching?  Right?  

Besides the fact that in my house, the cats rule and I am getting very little sleep, the cats are grouchy as neither of them is getting things the way they want them totally.  

What can be done and can I do anything to influence the way it comes out?  Naturally I would rather have it go toward the Day Kitty side for pure logical reasons.  I lived a lot of years in the Middle East and the time there is a lot different and besides being in military job meant pretty much a 24/7 on call situation but I am 22 years beyond that life and was kind of hoping for an uneventful sunset years life.

Not really complaining for myself as much as for them.  One grouchy cat is a handful but 2 is a bit of a pain.  I need some harmony.

 

[mservant]

It could be that they both have different natural body clocks or it could be they are time sharing your attention much as outdoor cats time share their shared territory. 

  Perhaps trying to gradually shift times of attention towards the end of one shift in the morning and then end of the other in the evening to see if you can get them to adjust in to a time zone that doesn't keep you up 24 hours?  Good luck!

 

[shoshanna]

You know that makes perfect sense.  I have had several people tell me that they seem to think of me as the toy that they both want and they do not know how to share.  Maybe they are learning to share.  I will try what you recommended and let you know if it works.  

 

[mservant]

Ooh, I do hope this goes well for you.  It has to be exhausting.  There is a positive side to this predicament, somewhere under the depths of no sleep, and that is that your cats love you and want your undivided attention.  It is also positive that they are not stalking and terrorizing each other in competition for space.

Some people get 2 cats and then find the cats are only intersted in each other and stop seeking human companionship as much as the person / people would like.  We humans must be very difficult for cats to understand.  

 

[shoshanna]

LOL... well right now one of them is beside me on the loveseat and the other is on the back of the loveseat right behind my head.  They are both resting and watching me and occasionally chirping at me and rubbing me for a "pet session"  so yes I do feel loved and I know that eventually this will probably let up and I may just have to go to sleep and ignore them for a few hours.  It is nice to be loved...