Yowling in the morning non stop

[candees]

I have two cats, aged about 8, who are brother and sister. They dont really interact with each other unless is during meal times where they obviously share the same interest.

Terrence, the male cat, has began a terrible habit of yowling from downstairs in the early hours of the morning. He will then move upstairs and either bee line for the dustbin which he will knock over or come hop right up on the bed, lean in and yowl in our faces. If we show any sign of response or movement he will get louder and more persistent. I have tried locking him out in the morning when he starts this but it just makes it worse as he sits at the door scratching and yowling.

Understandably it is because he thinks its food time and wants to be fed, but i feel as this has made him a greedy cat due to me spending the first few weeks giving in and feeding him when ever he did this to make him stop.

Once Terrence starts, his sister Gurtie will hop on the band wagon too! I really am at loss at what to do. I am happy to wake up in the morning and feed then at a normal time but this sometimes starts at 4am. 

At first i thought their greediness may be worms or boredom, but i have just dewormed them and they have toys and other things to keep them entertained during the day.

I'd like to think i understand my cats and their needs but this just baffles me as they have never been this greedy before!

Any bit of advice would be appreciated as im not sure how much longer i can handle this rude awakening and have no idea what to do about it!

 

[shadowsrescue]

Lots of us have dealt with this before.  Once you start giving any bit of feedback to the cat, they will not stop!!  My two gang up and do the same thing.  It is a very hard hard habit to break.  You will either need to lock them out of your room or place them some place safe for the night where they will not disturb you.

We have found that an automatic timered feeder helps.  I place a small amount of dry food in the dispenser and it goes off during the middle of the night.  It helps stretch the time, but my two still want their wet food this just allows me to sleep until 6:30am instead of the dreaded 4am.