I have a new 5 month old kitten. She and my 3 year old male cat are getting along famously and I couldn't be happier about it. I've been through it before with a teenage cat, so I am patient about the 3:00 AM crazies. However, my neighbor is not. Understandably. I have followed all the instructions on playtime at night (no problem, they play hard), feeding after playtime just before bedtime, feeding before playtime (eating makes her more energetic). They eventually crash hard ... until 3:00 AM when they play again VERY hard for about an hour. I live in a hillside duplex so all the running and jumping is heard by my neighbor. Is there any way at all to get a 5 month old to sleep through the entire night? I sleep on the couch and shut my bedroom door so the cats at least are not playing in the bedroom (shared wall with her bedroom) but it's impossible to escape the noise so I am determined to fast track her into sleep training. My 3 year old would sleep through the night if he didn't have this new buddy to play with. Any suggestions? I'm worried that if I feed them at 3:00 AM it will only make it worse so I'm not willing to try. Thanks!
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Playing Hard At 3:00 Am
- Thread starter Creperie
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If your floor does not have a carpet, I kindly suggest that you invest on a thick carpet so that the running / jumping sounds would be lessened. Remove also all the items/objects that can easily be toppled and cause unnecessary noises while they play. There is not much to be done for cats and kittens that want to play in the wee hours of the morning, especially if you mentioned that eating makes her more energetic. Kittens have too much energy in them so it is hard to control. I know as I have one now.
We have 6 cats; 3 kittens and 3 adults. 5 out of 6 are sleeping through the night with no problem. The only one that wakes up every night at exactly 3:00 AM is not one of the kittens, but one of our adult cats!
What we do is to give her her favourite toy to play with just before bedtime, for 30-45 minutes. We also remove all the noisy toys, all objects she may play with, all the items she may knock down easily and make noise. But she succeeds to find something new to make noise every night…
What I have discovered, that may also help you, is leaving plenty of soft toys for the 3:00 AM play time. If I pick up all the toys just before bed time, she tries hard to find something to make noise and she always finds... Leaving some soft toys helps a bit to satisfy her 3:00 AM play need
What we do is to give her her favourite toy to play with just before bedtime, for 30-45 minutes. We also remove all the noisy toys, all objects she may play with, all the items she may knock down easily and make noise. But she succeeds to find something new to make noise every night…
What I have discovered, that may also help you, is leaving plenty of soft toys for the 3:00 AM play time. If I pick up all the toys just before bed time, she tries hard to find something to make noise and she always finds... Leaving some soft toys helps a bit to satisfy her 3:00 AM play need
There have to be acceptable limits. It all comes down to "whose problem is it?" The person with the problem is your neighbor. They are having problems because of the poor construction of the building. Thin walls and a neighbor with sleep issues are NOT your fault. So why are you trying to fix it? Normal teen cat crazies (without loud/screaming meows) is not the loud. The real issue is thin walls without insulation in your duplex. If you had a crying baby it would make far MORE noise and your neighbor wouldn't say anything.
IMO if you feel kind you could invest in thick carpeting in your bedroom. Beyond that it is up to your neighbor to solve or get your land lord to fix.
IMO if you feel kind you could invest in thick carpeting in your bedroom. Beyond that it is up to your neighbor to solve or get your land lord to fix.
when I had this problem, I decided not to let my cat sleep during a day. I never woke him up directly, but I started running around a house like crazy, or playing with the other cat, or launching a laser toy. It worked. Of course I was not around them the whole day but I made sure to keep him awake after 6pm till sleep time for around a week, it was enough to break a habit. Plus very energetic play time before sleep as already mentioned.
Even if you went and found some used quilts cheap, you could spread them around at night and fold them in the morning. Give them soft toys to play with. Try to confine them away from the adjoining wall if possible, even if you have to use double baby gates in a doorway. You can't control some things, i think that if your neighbor is that sensitive they should be looking for a house, not an apartment. It's not like you are having loud music or anything. Good luck!
Personally, I have a very difficult time with 'sounds'.. I do have to rent due to financial issues.
Sounds from kids, bother me, as does loud noises and banging.
My upstairs neighbors had a kitten, which has now become a cat.
They were kind enough to inform me that what I was hearing was from a kitten.
That is ok... I know they are rambunctious~~ and the kitten pretty much grew out of it...
Now, when I hear the cat land, from jumping.. I just chuckle..
Perhaps explain the situation to your neighbor?
Perhaps they can use a sound machine at night or even an air cleaner.. those do help a lot..
Sounds from kids, bother me, as does loud noises and banging.
My upstairs neighbors had a kitten, which has now become a cat.
They were kind enough to inform me that what I was hearing was from a kitten.
That is ok... I know they are rambunctious~~ and the kitten pretty much grew out of it...
Now, when I hear the cat land, from jumping.. I just chuckle..
Perhaps explain the situation to your neighbor?
Perhaps they can use a sound machine at night or even an air cleaner.. those do help a lot..
