Ox will not let me sleep. : (

[oxthecat]

Hi all,

It's been a little while since I've posted here. Ox has been an amazing addition to our home and we've finally got him happy and healthy. Yay!

Problem is, he's a bit too *active* in the wee hours of the morning. He wakes me up regularly at 3am crying for attention (I'm assuming) and is generally restless -- will lie down for a bit, but if one of us moves he gets up and starts crying again. This usually happens for around an hour -- and then he cries to be fed around 5am.

Has anyone dealt with this before? It's not entirely new behavior (say 6-7 months) and he's otherwise healthy.

Thoughts?

Thank you!

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi! How old is Ox baby? Can you give him self entertaining toys and keep him out of your room? Does he need a little kibble for overnight?

 

[SirenSong]

I've seen lots of members reference this article before so hopefully this will help!

How To Stop My Cat From Waking Me Up At Night (step-by-step Plan)

 

[Maria Bayote]

Play with him before bedtime until he gets exhausted, and make sure his stomach is full as well.

My 5month old Graham is quite the same, but she does not cry like yours do. She just keeps walking around our chests while we lay in bed, and when one of us stirs, she would meow a bit and stop. I make sure she has food though in her food bowl as kittens get hungry every few hours.

 

[duncanmac]

Ignore him - pretend to be asleep and just totally ignore him as hard as he might make it and you'll break him of the habit eventually but it could take weeks. Also set a "wake up" routine: Alarm goes off you get up and do anything except feed him and then feed him. If he associates waking you up with play or food, he will keep getting you up earlier.

Our first cat would wake us up at a ridiculous time - like 2 a.m. - for attention. He was just a kitten so I would pet him once or twice to reassure him that all was ok and then gently push him to lay down. He would either lay down and sleep for a bit or pop up and go roaming about. Now they try to wake us up by pawing at the curtains. They either get a "get down" with no other interaction or we get up and carry them out of the room. it mostly works.

 

[susanm9006]

All of my cats were taught to let me sleep. If ignoring doesn’t work then you give the cat a warning word or phrase like “bedtime!” or “settle down” and when that doesn’t work you shut the cat out of the room for the night. You may need to repeat this dozens of times but the cat will learn what the word means and that they either need to be quiet or they will loose bedroom privileges.