How to teach kitten that the bed is not a playground?

[Yania]

I’ve been wanting to give my kittens Oreo and Nugget some more access to the rooms in my home. Specifically my room which is smaller but there are lots of cables around that they love to chew on and they love playing on my bed instead of on the floor. When I first introduced them both to my room when they were a bit older they only wanted to play under the bed and now it’s blocked so they can’t go on either side of under the bed but now they want to play on top of it and go crazy in my room. Oreo never used to go crazy on my bed and she mainly played on the floor before I got Nugget. A couple months ago I tried to keep them in there with me at night but Oreo started biting my leg so I took them out of my room and I haven’t let them in ever since until yesterday. How can I teach them to be calm and relax in my room?

 

[game misconduct]

a really good play session to wear them out before taking them in there to sleep. if you havent cat proofed or gotten rid of all the cables,wires yet i wouldnt even allow them into that room then from the risk of injury or death by chewing the cables not to mention the cost of replacing the chewed cables. it can be done with time though graycie is allowed to sleep with us now took a while of getting booted out of the bedroom at night after biting toes etc.(then allowed back in after a lil time) cats are smart they figure it out fast.helps alot that i am up and moving by 430 am to feed and play with her.also stop playing with them on the bed if you are that way they dont associate the bed as a place to play

 

[LTS3]

See if there's anything here you can use: How To Stop My Cat From Waking Me Up At Night (step-by-step Plan) – TheCatSite Articles

Any new space is going to be a kitten playground until the kittens get bored of it. Keep up proper discipline to teach your kittens what they can and can't do.

How To Set Healthy Boundaries For Your Cat [A Complete Guide] - TheCatSite

Discover effective strategies to establish healthy boundaries for your cat. From creating safe spaces to managing behavior, learn how to set boundaries for your cat and foster a harmonious living environment.

thecatsite.com

A mysterious moving object under a blanket is always going to be something to pounce on. Most kittens grow out of the phase once they realize that it's just your body.

 

[susanm9006]

If you remove them from the bedroom whenever they get too wild they will eventually figure out that if they want to come in the bedroom they need to sneak in and stay very quiet while you sleep. With one kitten it can take dozens of removals. With two, even longer. But it is worth the effort if eventually they let you get a good nights sleep.

 

[UnoMama]

Somewhat similar to what the others on this thread are saying.

When I got Uno he was barely 6 weeks old and flatly refused to sleep anywhere but with me on the bed. and I had a studio apartment so there was no real question of restricting his access to it. there were literally no doors.

What I did diligently was:
1. nightly play sessions, so he was tired enough to want to sleep by 10ish.
2. he was welcome to sleep or cuddle in bed, but he got booted out immediately the moment he got frisky. no matter what time of day or night.

he learnt to associate the bed with sleeping quite quickly and began taking some of his daytime naps there, and didn't try to play around after the first few weeks.

It takes some patience to do it repeatedly till they figure it out because they WILL try to test you hoping to break you down! But it's worth the effort.

 

[sivyaleah]

Most kittens will grow out of this phase. Ours started doing it around 6 months old and it lasted several weeks. But after consistently not reacting when she did do it (very difficult, yes) together with gently removing her she learned pretty fast it wasn't acceptable. She became a great sleep partner afterwards. Sadly, once she turned about 1ish she decided she preferred doing other things as we slept and little by little weaned herself away from us in bed. Now I wish she'd join again, I miss the snuggly kitten phase!

 

[Purr-fect]

They are kittens. Thats what they do. They were playing under the bed and it was taken from them. Now they are playing on the bed. If you tried that with some older cats, they might start spraying.

Be happy, enjoy the laughs. Soon they will be older and will calm down. And then you might miss them being kittens.

 

[Xena44]

You can also get cord protectors. Your cords go in then and thus, the cats don’t have direct access to them. You can also coat the outside of the protector with vinegar or the like to be a taste deterrent. They usually get the hint very quickly.

 

[tarasgirl06]

Purr-fect "...spraying"??? Not if they are neutered at the earliest possible age (over 2# for kittens, or around four months of age)! Very few cats who are spayed/neutered at an early age will spray, and spraying is a territorial behavior not at all associated with playing.
Yania absolutely agree with all of the posters who advocate for a good play session, with a wand-and-lure interactive toy such as da Bird or Cat Dancer (widely available at most cat supply store and 'pet' stores, online or physically. Amazon, etc. probably have them as well) right before bed.
Personally, I sleep with two cats who regard THEIR Cal King bed as a combo trampoline/football field. All. Night. Long. sometimes. They are 16 and 13. Years. I have insomnia anyway, and get up several times in a night, so it's all in a night's, umm, rest.

 

[She's a witch]

From my own experience, it was much easier to let go and let them own the bed than teach them not to play on it, and so much more rewarding. To this day they absolutely love the fresh linen and chase anything on it and it’s so much laughs to just watch them do this

 

[maggie101]

I tried the idea of playing first but that made her more playful. So now I lock them out of my bedroom til they calm down,few minutes, then let back in or lock one out. Of course she will bang on the door but she has learned her lesson- she can't always get her way. I now have a routine. Bed 11 pm,bathroom 6 am and feed my cats a snack,back to bed,get up 8 am to take pills, back to bed til 9

 

[pearl99]

With Mooshoo I'd sit up in the dark and say "stop!" firmly each time she did it and it did work. It didn't take too long with her. When she started bringing little stuffed toys on the bed in the night to throw them around I'd take the toy and put it under my pillow. That worked too!
Oh the fun of playing cats!!

 

[tarasgirl06]

*My cat ate my homework* is NOT a valid excuse.

 

[danteshuman]

You need to train them to let you sleep. I wish there was a quick fix for this. You can loose sleep for a few weeks while you train them or loose sleep for years because you never trained them. Like puppies & kids; kittens need to be taught the house rules/routine of the house.

Every time they wake you up, calmly pick them up & move them into a spare bedroom (with food/litter/water/couple toys/cat bed in it.) If you can, I would train one at a time. Eventually they learn when it is bedtime & to play elsewhere.(Expect them to meow loudly & rattle the door at first...... I suggest a loud fan. Whether you sleep or not do NOT let them out or pay attention to them until your alarm goes off. Do not crack, do not cave. The more consistent you are, the faster they will learn. I don’t bother training kittens to let me sleep until they are 4 months old at least. The wee babies are to young to train but you can start establishing a routine with them. Like a 3 month old kitten keeping you up, don’t kick them out ..... but only give them soft pets until it is wake up time.

A bedtime routine helps a lot to. Play with them after you get off work; then feed them. Then an hour (or two) before bedtime play with them some more. Before you go to bed; feed them. Some dry food midnight snacks work to. Kittens are always hungry.

Good luck!

 

[Suru]

I dont allow my cat in my room anymore. But when I did, I pushed him off the bed and hiss at him every time he crossed the bed boundary. There are a few things i can use to express my displeasure that I learned that my cats don’t react negatively to, pushing and hissing being two of those. After a while he learned to sleep on the ottoman next to the bed if he wanted to be close to me.

When he got too rowdy, i would take him out of the room and close the door. Though this was after I taught him that meowing at the door will get zero attention from me.

 

[zoes]

This is why I love senior cats

I agree, your cats will likely age out of this behaviour. I DO play with my cats on the bed (they like it because they get better traction compared with the wood floors), and then a half hour later they sleep through the night with us on the bed. They probably do get up overnight, but they don't wake us up and are there when we wake up in the morning.

That said, my cats are 5-17yo so you might not be able to lose sleep for as long as it takes them to age out, which could be a few more months or more. The training methods above (give them a good hard play before dinner, then bed time; remove from bed when they get rowdy) will work but might take a week or two; maybe start doing it on the weekend so you can lose a bit of sleep without having to work the next day! You could also just close your door for now - let them in maybe once a week overnight and see how it goes.

 

[Xena44]

With Mooshoo I'd sit up in the dark and say "stop!" firmly each time she did it and it did work. It didn't take too long with her. When she started bringing little stuffed toys on the bed in the night to throw them around I'd take the toy and put it under my pillow. That worked too!
Oh the fun of playing cats!!

Mean mean so mean!!! Taking away her toys so you can sleep. Wow. You’re lucky she lets you live there and pay the rent!!!

 

[Xena44]

I dont allow my cat in my room anymore. But when I did, I pushed him off the bed and hiss at him every time he crossed the bed boundary. There are a few things i can use to express my displeasure that I learned that my cats don’t react negatively to, pushing and hissing being two of those. After a while he learned to sleep on the ottoman next to the bed if he wanted to be close to me.

When he got too rowdy, i would take him out of the room and close the door. Though this was after I taught him that meowing at the door will get zero attention from me.

Hissing. Interesting!

 

[pearl99]

Mean mean so mean!!! Taking away her toys so you can sleep. Wow. You’re lucky she lets you live there and pay the rent!!!

I'm just soooo harsh

 

[pearl99]

Hissing. Interesting!

I hissed at Gracie once and she smacked me in the face. So make sure you're out of *paw reach!*