How do I make my kitten sleep more at night?

[soopermouse]

Hello

I am new here so please be gentle, I am yet to read all of the wisdom and experience on these boards.

 I recently- 4 weeks ago, got a kitten- a little black ball of adorableness.

Her name is Midnight.

 She is currently 11 weeks old- I got her at 7 weeks because all of her litter mates were gone and the older cats in her old family were bullying her.

She has adjusted wonderfully to my flat, eats well, almost doubled in size and is litter trained.

She is very sweet and adorable, and like all kittens likes to rough house.

And that's OK , I love spending time with her and playing with her.

 The problem I have is that I am a very light sleeper- I wake up during the night repeatedly and so does she, and at some point she feels the need to wake up and play around 3 AM.

I can pet her back to sleep most of the times, but I wonder if there is any way to change her sleeping pattern a bit, I am exhausted and it's affecting my work.

 Unfortunately my flat is a studio, so I cannot put her in another room. And locking her in the kitchen seems cruel.

Please help

 

[msbedelia]

Lock her in the kitchen with everything she needs and lots of toys. Many cats are especially active at night. Cats also tend to have a cycle of hunt (or play), eat, groom, sleep that they repeat many times throughout the day- rather than most of us humans who sleep for one large block of the day, eat between activities, and groom once (twice in a date night ). And kittens are giant activity/play machines. It really isnt cruel. You need your sleep, and she need to play, and you both need that at that same time! She may resist at first, but she'll soon come to accept it and not be bothered by it at all! Tiring her out with a big play session and then giving her a big meal immediately before may extend her sleep another hour or two, but she's unlikely (IMO) to sleep through the night.

 

[soopermouse]

Thank you, will try

she sleeps most of the night, that extra hour or two would make the difference.

She's a very good and happy kitty, just this little snag to work out

 

[dahlia]

Msbedelia's advice is great.  I would emphasize the importance of some play time before bed.  Try to make it at least 20 minutes of chasing something.  That should buy you a little extra time.  Doing that has helped me out with my cats, although they still get active at some point during the night and I have to shut them out of the room.

 

[dragulescugirl]

I agree with misbedelia and dahlia - I found good results in 20 min playtime (I sometimes just wiggle various feather toys while I watch TV) followed by warmed (not hot) moist food - to simulate dining on prey - and then start a quick grooming session. The combo makes most of my cats sleepy. I have one holdout unfortunately.
And it won't be cruel to place her in the kitchen if she has everything she needs. We bought one of those automated feather toys and my cats loved it!
And remember - the kitten phase is short. Mine are all 4 or 11 and we have had them on a play/feed routine for a few years with success.

 

[msbedelia]

Maybe my young cat (1.5 years) is an anomaly, but for a BIG GIANT LONG sleep that rivals mine I'd need to do 45 minutes to an hour of play. 20 minutes at 10 pm will send her into a nap until maybe 3 am at the latest. ^^

However, I find that 20 minutes if intense play combined with a lazier 25-40 minutes (where i can do something else while playing) can work well.

But, as you might imagine, I mostly just lock her out when she wakes up in the wee hours instead. (Don't worry- she still gets played with! Just not for a continuous hour every night!)

 

[ldg]

Actually, I like Natalie_ca's method of getting kittens adjusted to a human schedule. On a weekend clear your schedule. Stay home with the kitten, and simply do not let kitty sleep all day. At all. No nap, no sleep. Doesn't have to be playing all the time, but if you keep kitty awake from when you wake up until you go to sleep, and then do it again the next day, they should adjust to your day/night schedule. I've never tried it, our kitties are already on our schedule (for the most part). But Linda (Natalie_ca) swears by this method. :rub:

 

[icy87]

Maybe my young cat (1.5 years) is an anomaly, but for a BIG GIANT LONG sleep that rivals mine I'd need to do 45 minutes to an hour of play. 20 minutes at 10 pm will send her into a nap until maybe 3 am at the latest. ^^

However, I find that 20 minutes if intense play combined with a lazier 25-40 minutes (where i can do something else while playing) can work well.

But, as you might imagine, I mostly just lock her out when she wakes up in the wee hours instead. (Don't worry- she still gets played with! Just not for a continuous hour every night!)

Ha! Same with my cat. He'll play forever!!! And even after a play session before sleep night, he still wakes me up at 3am on the dot! At that point I wage up and lock him out.

One time he jumped on my bed's headboard but since its somewhat sloped he slipped and fell on top of me... I was sleeping...

 

[msbedelia]

One time he jumped on my bed's headboard but since its somewhat sloped he slipped and fell on top of me... I was sleeping...

Lolololol!

 

[soopermouse]

I tried playing with her before bed but she again woke me up at 2 AM, so I put her in the conservatory and got 3 more hours of sleep. But in the morning she was crying- meowing so sad I am feeling awful about it. She's just a baby and doesn't know better yet, but she is sweet and smart and adorable- never an accident since I brought her home, very affectionate and curious...

I feel really bad to put her out since she just wants to be with me

 

[reiten]

The tips that were given is what I usually do and it works for my cat. In the beginning Kika used to wake me around 3-4 AM and was rather loud in her nighttime strolls. Now 6 months later the first time she trys to wake me is about 5 AM and if I don't respond she goes away and does something by herself(quietly most of the time). If I don't have to get up for work it usually gets bad at about 7-8 AM when she's demanding breakfast.

If you really need to get some sleep the putting her in the kitchen is an option, When you have time it might be a good idea to sacrifice some sleep and get her used to the fact that disturbing you in the night gets her nothing, but if you don't want to do it the night time activity is usually something that gets better as she gets older.

 

[chloespriestess]

You can also leave her in the kitchen with toys that she can use by herself, like Turbo Track or similar track toys. You can replace the hard plastic ball with a soft ball at night so it won't wake you up.

Other good "self-occupying" type of toys are nylon tubes, "Peek-a-Prize" box and the all time favorite, cardboard box. You can connect two big cardboard boxes in "L" shape, leave a couple of light, soft toys inside, watch her go bananas. It can also double as her nap place once she is ready for a nap. If you place an old towel and something with your scent such as a old sleep T-shirt, she will be comforted.

A plain brown paper bags without handle works too, but it will be very noisy at night as she will dart in and out of it.

"Peek-a-Prize" box can be made also. Take a cardboard box, seal it with tape on all sides, make just large enough holes in a few strategical places for her to stick a paw in, thrown a toy mouse (please make sure it is cat safe-no "eyes" or "nose" she can swallow). I have made "Peek-a-Prize" using a flat shipping box and it works well.

Good-luck!

 

[dragulescugirl]

I'm personally also in the "let them cry" camp. When we made the decision to move the cats out of our bedroom at night it was about two weeks if non stop wailing every night. And with 4 of them I swear they were taking turns. But eventually they got used to the idea and got accustomed to the new routine. Now they hardly come upstairs as downstairs is where all their stuff and fun is.

 

[msbedelia]

The crying sounds worse than it really is.

 

[tulosai]

I'm personally also in the "let them cry" camp. When we made the decision to move the cats out of our bedroom at night it was about two weeks if non stop wailing every night. And with 4 of them I swear they were taking turns. But eventually they got used to the idea and got accustomed to the new routine. Now they hardly come upstairs as downstairs is where all their stuff and fun is.

 Mine are used to not being allowed into my room at night. Unfortunately, they have figured out what time I wake up for work, and at around that time they will begin meowing and scratching on the door, and I can't figure out how to stop them as I have to exit the room shortly thereafter (thereby rewarding the behavior) but even then, on Saturday and Sunday when I don't emerge for a solid half hour they give up and let me come out when I want.  

 

[soopermouse]

when i let her back in in the morning she meowed for an hour and was very affectionate- i think she's afraid i deserted her. Poor little baby. Yet she comes next to my pillow in bed and needs to sleep next to my head. She also wouldn't quiet down until she had my hand on her, then she fell asleep like that.