My cat won't let me sleep past 5 am. Help.

[Jojothepogo]

Hello. Thank you in advance for your advice. My husband and I adopted our cat when she was 10. She's now 13. She's crazy about food. She wakes us up at 5 am every morning howling for food. We tried a timed feeder that would go off at 5 am, that just delayed her until 5:30 am. It also attracted ants, so we got rid of it. Our ultimate solution was to lock her in our spare bedroom at night with toys and hidden treats. Works like a charm...except when we have guests. Not only does she wake us up at 5 am, she wakes our guests up at 5 am. The only option I have at that point is to just feed her (but then she wakes everyone up at 4:30 am the next morning) or throw her outside in her catio, which is a reactive solution at 5 am because I would never leave her out there overnight (we have coyotes and mountain lions around here). Still doesn't solve the howling at 5 am problem and it won't work in the winter. Any suggestions?

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. What time is her last meal of the night? Maybe it should be given to her a bit later to see if that would stop her howling at 5AM. My guess is that this could strictly be an attention getter too - especially since she starts the habit back up again even after she has spent time locked in a spare bedroom for nights on end. It would seem to make sense if she was given food via a timed feeder, and still proceeded to bug you just 1/2 hour later. I also wonder if she howls in that room, and you just can't hear it?

How is her eating during the rest of the time? Is she eating more than she used to? At her age, she probably should be checked for hyperthyroidism which can cause hunger - and howling. Cats as they age also tend to get a bit needier, regardless of any health issues.

Regarding the feeder - you can place it in a very low sided tray filled with water - that should help stop the ants. I've had success with this approach when feeding strays outdoors. So, if it works outside, it should work inside too!

 

[Jojothepogo]

Thanks for your advice. She gets a 3rd meal right before going to bed. We also play with her right before bed to wear her out. She gets blood work annually and her thyroid levels were high when we adopted her (she was also obese when we adopted her), but her thyroid levels have returned to a normal level over the last couple of years (better diet I'm assuming). She has the best appetite of any cat I've ever been owned by. Good idea with the feeder. And your probably right, it might be more about getting attention.

 

[Jojothepogo]

Thanks for your advice. She gets a 3rd meal right before going to bed. We also play with her right before bed to wear her out. She gets blood work annually and her thyroid levels were high when we adopted her (she was also obese when we adopted her), but her thyroid levels have returned to a normal level over the last couple of years (better diet I'm assuming). She has the best appetite of any cat I've ever been owned by. Good idea with the feeder. And your probably right, it might be more about getting attention.

I'm almost at the point where I'm considering reaching out to my vet for a calming / tranquilizing drug.

 

[D_H]

We had a similar issue when we went from free feeding to 3 meals a day. 5:30-6:00 am Torti would sit beside me and cry, and she has the most miserable voice tone.. ended up buying this automatic feeder, which solved the problem.

If your cat eat dry food, that might be an option. If it's just one cat you can find cheaper devices than the one I've linked to.

 

[ArtNJ]

Liquid borax ant traps ftw. The ants eat the borax, and carry it back to the nest. It kills the whole nest within a week. The brand I've used is Terro. My cats show no interest, and the small quantity of borax in the traps is considered pet safe. Its certainly possible that some cats would bat the Terro traps around and splash the borax all over the place. Even if its technically pet safe, that would be at a minimum annoying. So maybe I wouldn't use with a kitten. But even my playful 3 year old cat shows no interest.

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi! You said she was obese, how is her weight now? If you put her on a diet, is she getting enough calories?

Can you try Cat Music? One that's suggested is Music For Cats.

Also, can you take her for walks? Just in case there might be additional information here;

Harness And Leash Training For Cats – TheCatSite Articles

Playing With Your Cat: 10 Things You Need To Know – TheCatSite Articles

 

[danteshuman]

A few things:

Nightlights it helps senior cats with dementia.

Never ever reward her waking you up with attention!

Calming treats or CBD oil

Feed her at midnight or as late at night as you can.

Try a special alarm on your phone (& set times) and feeding her 3-4 mini meals a day. Cats are nibblers by nature so small fresh meals work best ( for wet.) My twerp gets fed 4 meals a day & because I hate mornings I feed him at 5 or 6 am then go back to sleep. He let’s me sleep in until 10 or 11am every morning because he knows afternoons (after caffeine) are prime attention giving times. He does want wet food every 6 hours. If I pushed it I could get him down to three meals a day (try mixing a 1/2 teaspoon to 1 teaspoon of water into their wet food to help keep it fresh.

I love the fish in a shallow baking tray of water ant trick! I wound up putting dish soap around the bottom edge of a saucer and stacking it on another saucer to keep the ants off my cat’s dry food. The exterminator used this clear liquid bait (in places my cat could not get to) & it worked great! It got rid of the ants. The store bought any bait was ignored (& is still on my walls!)

Get her thyroid checked again. You can treat thyroid issues with a few things (talk to your vet) medication may help. A cat with thyroid issues is a cat that is constantly desperately hungry. So I would keep an eye on her thyroid levels.

If she inhales her food you can try a slow feeder.

I run a box fan at night to block out the apartment noises. It works great on blocking out cat meows/door rattling.

 

[BoaztheAdventureCat]

Lots of great advice here! I'll second the encouragement to never reward your howling cat with attention. My cat used to wake me up as early as yours does. He still tries, but not nearly as early as he used to. I laid in bed, kept my eyes closed, and ignored him morning after morning until he finally decided that his attempts at throwing a tantrum were futile. Be patient and don't let the cat win.

 

[Robyn5678]

We can trade, my 3 start at 330am….

 

[misty8723]

Thanks for your advice. She gets a 3rd meal right before going to bed. We also play with her right before bed to wear her out. She gets blood work annually and her thyroid levels were high when we adopted her (she was also obese when we adopted her), but her thyroid levels have returned to a normal level over the last couple of years (better diet I'm assuming). She has the best appetite of any cat I've ever been owned by. Good idea with the feeder. And your probably right, it might be more about getting attention.

I don't have any advice, because I have one that wakes me up at early o'clock as well. If I ignore her on the floor, she'll get up on my nightstand and meow in my ear. I have noticed that if I reach over and pet her a bit, she'll go away, so it's not necessarily about food.

I also just wanted to mention that my vet (and my previous vet) recommend getting a checkup/bloodwork every 6 months (instead of waiting a year) when they get to be older kitties. A lot can go wrong as they start to age (as I sadly found out).

 

[Alldara]

Have you tried putting some food in treat enrichment items (regular food though).

Can she be in the rest of the house with yours and the guest room closed? It gives more space for the enrichment to be spread out.

What other things does she find really engaging?

The alarm for food does help in my house a bit.

 

[Ragdolls90]

Most people just continue to pretend sleeping. Because they don't succeed they give up.