My cat wakes me up too early

[halldj50]

Does anyone have any good tips to retrain my kitty’s morning routine? He wakes me up at 5:30 am every day to eat his wet food even tho I leave a little dry food out overnight for him to eat early in the morning if he’s hungry. So I guess he has me trained now. I don’t mind getting up at that time and feeding him because I go right back to bed. I stay up late and want to sleep in later that most people because I am retired and I can. He leaves me alone for an hour and a half but then he comes In-N-Out bedroom with his super loud yowl to wake me up and won’t stop till I get up. Should I shut my door and ignore him? Or how can I get him to wait longer for me to get up on my own. I’ve been doing this for 2 years. Thanks for any good advice.

 

[bikeman]

Cats have a great alarm clock in their heads, don't they? How about delaying the feeding a few minutes, then feeding. The next day delay another minute, or two, or three, then the feeding. Repeat. That should reset the little guy's clock a bit. Or not. Worth a try, anyway. Good luck.

 

[rubysmama]

When I first adopted my Ruby, she would wake me anywhere from 60 to 90 minutes before it was time for me to get up. I'd try to ignore her, but she'd keep coming and going, till I finally got up and fed her.

Eventually I started to get sleep deprived, so finally one morning when she woke me I put her out of the room, told her she had to wait for the radio to come on, and closed the door. I can't remember how long it took, but doing this morning after morning, one day my radio woke me up, and I then heard Ruby galloping down the hall, followed by her jumping up on the bed. She'd waited for the radio.

After that day, she rarely woke me before the radio came on. So, yes, try putting him out of the room when he wakes you, and see if that helps break his habit.

 

[Neko-chan's mama]

Neko-chan used to do this. My solution was to play dead. No matter what she did, I stayed in bed until I wanted to get up. It took a couple of months, but now she lets me sleep in on my days off. She still does come into bed for early morning snuggles though.

 

[ladytimedramon]

I was doing the same thing with Delilah, leaving the dry for overnight. Then I discovered she was eating the dry right after I went to bed. I got a timed feeder, the multi slot kind, and I put her kibble in for 3am. Helps tremendously especially since she was doing the same thing with her day snacks when I went to work.

 

[LTS3]

Here's a TCS article that will help:

How To Stop My Cat From Waking Me Up At Night (Step-By-Step Plan) - TheCatSite

Discover how to stop your cat from waking you up at night with our comprehensive step-by-step plan. This guide provides practical strategies to align your sleep patterns with your cat's, ensuring peaceful nights for everyone.

thecatsite.com

This one is helpful, too:

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

I suggest putting the morning canned food meal in a programmable timed feeder before you go to bed at night and set it to 5:30am or whenever your kitten starts to bother you. If the kitten is hungry for breakfast, it'll be ready for him and hopefully he'll leave you along once his tummy is full. Canned food is a cooked product so it's fine to leave out for a couple of hours or so. If the kitten doesn't eat the food and continues to bother you, he's just looking for attention and has learned that if he meows or paws your face etc he'll get a reaction from you. The best thing to do is get ear plugs and keep the kitten out of the bedroom at night.

 

[halldj50]

Cats have a great alarm clock in their heads, don't they? How about delaying the feeding a few minutes, then feeding. The next day delay another minute, or two, or three, then the feeding. Repeat. That should reset the little guy's clock a bit. Or not. Worth a try, anyway. Good luck.

Thanks that’s a good idea! I’ll try that

 

[halldj50]

When I first adopted my Ruby, she would wake me anywhere from 60 to 90 minutes before it was time for me to get up. I'd try to ignore her, but she'd keep coming and going, till I finally got up and fed her.

Eventually I started to get sleep deprived, so finally one morning when she woke me I put her out of the room, told her she had to wait for the radio to come on, and closed the door. I can't remember how long it took, but doing this morning after morning, one day my radio woke me up, and I then heard Ruby galloping down the hall, followed by her jumping up on the bed. She'd waited for the radio.

After that day, she rarely woke me before the radio came on. So, yes, try putting him out of the room when he wakes you, and see if that helps break his habit.

That is amazing ! Cats are pretty smart after all. I think Leo can learn too! Thank you!

 

[halldj50]

Neko-chan used to do this. My solution was to play dead. No matter what she did, I stayed in bed until I wanted to get up. It took a couple of months, but now she lets me sleep in on my days off. She still does come into bed for early morning snuggles though.

I do try that too. Maybe I don’t wait long enough. His meow is so loud that it wakes me so much I sort of want to get up to have him stop lol! Thanks. I’m going to try all these suggestions one at a time and see what works out.

 

[halldj50]

I was doing the same thing with Delilah, leaving the dry for overnight. Then I discovered she was eating the dry right after I went to bed. I got a timed feeder, the multi slot kind, and I put her kibble in for 3am. Helps tremendously especially since she was doing the same thing with her day snacks when I went to work.

When he gets me up early morning, the dry food is still in his dish I think he is super spoiled and I am to blame.

 

[halldj50]

Here's a TCS article that will help:

http://[URL]https://thecatsite.com/c/stop-cat-waking-up-at-night/

[/URL]

This one is helpful, too:

http://[URL]https://thecatsite.com/c/how-to-set-healthy-boundaries-for-your-cat/

[/URL]

I suggest putting the morning canned food meal in a programmable timed feeder before you go to bed at night and set it to 5:30am or whenever your kitten starts to bother you. If the kitten is hungry for breakfast, it'll be ready for him and hopefully he'll leave you along once his tummy is full. Canned food is a cooked product so it's fine to leave out for a couple of hours or so. If the kitten doesn't eat the food and continues to bother you, he's just looking for attention and has learned that if he meows or paws your face etc he'll get a reaction from you. The best thing to do is get ear plugs and keep the kitten out of the bedroom at night.

Starting to think closing the bedroom door on him is worth a try at least because he has never wanted to snuggle or sleep in the bed anyway. Thank you.

 

[ladytimedramon]

When he gets me up early morning, the dry food is still in his dish I think he is super spoiled and I am to blame.

You can put wet in it as well. They make some you can put a cooler pack in under the food.

 

[halldj50]

You can put wet in it as well. They make some you can put a cooler pack in under the food.

Thanks! I’ll check out the cooler pack dishes. I really don’t want to get the timed feeder just yet in case it doesn’t work. $$