My cat is waking us up before the alarm!

[carole]

Hi,
I have 2 dogs and 4 cats. 2 of my cats are twin brothers. The twin brothers are forever waking up my hubby and I before the alarm (and we wake up early) every day to get their wet cat food. (like the cartoon cats on TV). My hubby is getting p*ssed and say for me to fix it. I'm considering either caging them nightly or outside (I don't like the outside one much). Is there anyway for me to stop them from destroying the house and crying?
Carole

 

[meg]

My kitten does the same thing. Somehow she manages to come up and wake me exactly 1/2 hour before the alarm. She actually herds me out of bed. If I pet her for a minute, she will typically run away. Sorry I can't be much more help.

 

[hell603]

Mine too - my little boy usee to wake me up at 4AM in anticipation for his morning breakfast. That is why I switched to giving him wet food in the evening. The rest of the time I free feed him dry. Problem solved - he now goes downs stairs in the morning has his breakfast comes back up and cuddles up with me.

 

[donna]

I have 7 cats and they do the same thing. Every day at EXACTLY 6:50 a.m. my cat Maya Linn walks across me, bites my nose (gently, of course) until I get up and feed them. Usually I do. But there are times when I'll pretend I'm going to feed them and then run back in the bedroom and close the door and go back to sleep. I would suggest that you do the same. I hope it helps.

It could also be the time change.

 

[deb25]

Ooh, if they are waking you specifically because they want to be fed, that could be a tough one. My freind's cat pokes you with one claw on the nose at precisely 5 a.m. for breakfast. He is 18 years old and quite set in his ways. He goes from person to person in the house because the first one to react to his claw gets hounded until you get up and feed him!

My cats used to wake me up too, especially on the weekends, same time as weekdays. (Every day is a weekend to them!) I used to just bury myself under the covers until they went away. These days they know I'm getting up not when the alarm goes off, but when I flip on the tv for the morning news. When they hear the tv, they come running. I find cats to be quite intelligent, and given time they come to understand the routine of the household.

 

[kittykratz]

My cats do this too. If you can stand to lose a little sleep for about a week...when they meow for breakfast, put the covers over your head and hide. They will whine for a little while, but soon learn that you are not getting up. Hopefully it will only take about a week of whimpering for them to get the idea.
I also started feeding them wet food late at night. They seemed to be content to sleep longer when they ate later the night before.

 

[carole]

Thanks for all your input. Right now, I'm keeping them segregated in their cages till my hubby calms down. Then I'm gonna try an aversion technique i found online. Open door. Spray with water. Wait 5 minutes. IF occurs again, Spray quickly and shut door..

 

[swalker]

I am a little confused as to why the cats are being punished for being hungry. I think all of the advice given makes a lot of sense. Show them that you decide when you will get up. Patience with this matter for about a week, doesn't seem like to much to ask. I feel bad for your cats having to be caged and sprayed with water.

 

[donna]

I agree with Shannon. You shouldn't punish them because they want to eat. Cats get into a routine. My cats don't get fed until I feel like getting out of bed to feed them. If that means shutting them all out, that's what I do. I have also stopped letting them sleep with me because I was constantly getting up in the middle of the night to let one of them in or out of my room. End of that little fiasco.

 

[carole]

There are a couple of issues here.
1. With the # of animals in the household, we decided that they were not allowed in the bedroom while we sleep.
2. It isn't just noise; It's scratching too.
3. Sometimes they also fight at night. They minor hurt the other cats.

I only put them in a cage as a temp solution. As I see it, the spray of water is not punishment but aversion therapy that does no harm.

We are also considering changing meal time to the evenign to see if it helps.

I love my babies (all of them) otherwise I would not have them.

All I know for sure is that this dominant attitude of my babies must stop. They are spoilt.

I appreciate all the help offered. However ignoring has not helped the situation.

If hypnosis would work I would try it. I want a better way without my hubby or my animals upset.

I'm sorry if this seems offends someone, but I really could not think of anywhere to turn to get solid advice on the situation.

I do Appreciate the kindness of intent of those who helped me and hope they understand what i am saying.

 

[donna]

Carole,

You didn't offend me at all! I know what it's like. Whenever I close my cats out, every once in a while a minor fight will break out. That's when I close Casey, my older cat in my room away from the others. He's a scaredy cat and the other tend to gang up on him. The only problem with THAT is Casey likes to munch the dry food at night and wants to be let out of the room to snack and back in. So, I wake up feeling like I haven't slept very well from getting up and letting him in and out. At one point, if I tried to ignore him, he would "snap" the carpeting to get my attention. It drove me NUTS!!! I have run out of suggestions. I hope you find a solution. Good luck!

 

[carole]

Have you considered putting a small bowl in your room? So the cat can eat??? I did that litter box wise for when I was letting them in!!! Hope it helps.

 

[sandie]

I have never had to deal with any of this. All of my cats eat dry food only and I have since they were all kittens gotten them into the routine of eating in the evening. The bowls all get filled between 5pm and 8pm. It has worked so far and theres 11 of them.

 

[tashajd]

Carole, I am new here but know exactly what you are going through. My parents live 2 doors up and since Ace(my 3 year old black longhair) was a baby(Ace was the runt of the litter) Dad has called him for breakfast every morning. Dad gets up at 6am everyday. I used to work nights, not pleasant to be woken at 6am to let the cat out after just getting to sleep at 3am. Tryed to convince Dad early not to start this. Said he thought my cats would only come up until they were older!

Yea right! Now Ace eats dry food at house at about 5am, wet mixed with dry at Dad's at 6am, and then table scaps at a neighbors at 7am. Needless to say he is a large cat! Not fat just very long, lots of muscle, and hair.

 

[alieneater]

My boyfriend had the same problem with his kitten. What he found that worked was that when she got on the bed and bugged for food, he would put her back on the floor, clap his hands, and says no firmly. The first couple days she would get on the bed again and purr in his ear, but after 2 weeks she got the hint and would wait at the foot of the bed for the alarm before jumping up and begging for food.