Sleep Habits

[DivaMama]

I have done my research & pulled out all the tricks to get my cat to stay up during the day & sleep during the night but nothing has worked. I adopted my cat to keep me company but now I rarely see her. When she is up I try & play with her, play cat videos whatever it takes to keep her entertained. I feed her a big meal before I go to bed in hopes she'll be ready for bed but no matter what when I go to bed she is ready to play. She starts meowing, bringing toys to my bedside until I fall asleep & again when I wake up in the morning she is meowing again. However I won't feed her right after I get up. I make her wait for a little bit. Oh & when she does meow when I am in bed I ignore her. So I don't know what else to do to get her to turn around. Also she likes to be petted but not held We've have had her for about a month now & was so hoping she would become more "social" at least towards me. And yes I am resisting picking her up when she doesn't want to be held etc. She gets her "space". Sadly she is not becoming the Pet that I need. I am retired and disabled & really needed a pet to be held and more lovable. Help!

 

[mightyboosh]

DivaMama How old is she?

 

[Mamanyt1953]

A toy like this:

may become your best friend. Play with her hard before the evening feeding. Try to wear her out, make her pant, the feed her, then go to bed. Since the toy is attached to a long string and wand, you can get a lot of movement out of it with very little movement out of you, once you get the hang of it! It's saved my life!

As she settles in, she may well start jumping into your lap for snuggles even if she never wants to be picked up and held.

 

[bodester413]

Second vote for the feather wand. Like Mamanyt1953 said cats love those. Those laser pointer mice things are good too. When he was young my cat always used to wake me up at midnight wanting to play hide and go seek. Anything that gets them moving and tired out before bed helps remedy that.

 

[Kieka]

It takes a few weeks of constant behavior to build a habit. You can't take a day or a night off if you are trying to change a cats habit. If you play with her every night, feed her, then go to bed and 100% ignore her she will eventually adapt to the routine and adopt the habit. I have a two cats who I did that with and both sleep through the night (well mostly, they tend to get up and drink or eat then go back to sleep). I think the part people have the hardest time with is once you are in bed you can call her to come to bed but if she wants to play or decides to leave you don't say anything else. Just go to sleep yourself. If she tries to get your attention don't even respond, if she is pushy cover your head with a blanket and ignore her. Minimum two weeks and you should see a change if you follow the routine perfectly. But each time you acknowledge her trying to wake you back up, skip the play time or go to bed off schedule you are resetting the two week clock.

The holding or picking up, it may never come. There are three cats in my home. One loves being held and picked up. One will tolerate it. One thinks you are trying to kill her. There isn't a way to make a cat a cuddler if they aren't already. You can push the boundaries ever so slightly (very very slightly, like lift an inch higher off the ground over a month period slow) and maybe over time you might wear them down if it is a fear driven issue. But if it isn't the preference to be picked up then they won't like being picked up ever. My boy who tolerates it doesn't like it for whatever reason. I pick him up once in a while just to keep him used to it but I swear he sighs each time and when I feel him tense I know he is done. My girl who hates it is tense from the moment two hands are on her. I don't push her on it because it scares her and it isn't worth it for me to force her to. She is who she is and I can grab her if I really need to (vet, flea medicine) so I leave her be.

 

[DivaMama]

DivaMama How old is she?

DivaMama How old is she?

Hi..she is 2 years old.

 

[mightyboosh]

You've had some good replies since I asked how old she is so not much to add except this I found on YouTube. It can't do any harm to try it.

 

[DivaMama]

You've had some good replies since I asked how old she is so not much to add except this I found on YouTube. It can't do any harm to try it.

Thank-you so much. Looks like some good advice. I'll give it a try.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

COOL! Let us know how the techniques work for you, which ones are best, and such! The information will get passed on! There are a lot of people wishing that their cats were more affectionate!