Cat meowing

orchidsrpretty

I have a male kitten, he is just over a year old and in the past month or two he is up at 4 or 5 in the morning meowing his little head off. I found out he is doing it for attention, so when he starts I take him up and give him loads of cuddles and he settles down again- until I fall back asleep! I was told to ignore him for a fews days and the meowing would stop, but it hasnt. Has anyone ever been through something similar, and how did you sort it out? I would really like to get a full night sleep one of these days soon:p
thanks.

luckat

Poor fellow wants his bit. Snip snip.

hadook

If he hasn't been neutered yet get him done

The other thing you need to do is train him that sleeping time is time to sleep.
A cat will snooze for 18 hours a day and it sounds like your cat gets the best part of his kips in while you're not around, leaving him full of energy when you are.

You need to get him moving in the evenings - get a wand toy, laser mouse etc and tire him out. Don't give in to his late night demands anymore or you'll end up with a cat demanding attention in the middle of the night for the next 15 years or so :rolleyes: The great thing is that they're creatures of habit so, with a little persuasion, you can adapt their routine to not keep you awake.

The horde sleep from 11pm - 3am and have a mad dash around (leaving me alone) for a half hour or so. Then they snooze from 4 - 6:30am, have brekkie and make the rounds of the favourite places to sleep til 7pm. From 7pm - 11pm chaos reigns :rolleyes:

My younger cats are active a little earlier these days - a combination of the extra light and the birds getting up earlier I think.

comongethappy

I have a male cat who's the same... and yes, he is neutered. We had tried to ignore him as well, I put up cloth on the door so his door scratching wouldn't disturb us, but then he learned how to open the door :eek: . My female didn't give us any trouble, but then again, she's quite independent. We don't have a door in our kitchen, they've knocked down our sitting room tele already, so closing them in their was a no-no, and if we put them in our spare room (which is right next to our room, he would jump on the door handle all night.

I had tried wearing them out with play as well, but it had no effect... 2am was a great time to try to get mommy and daddy out of bed for our little son cat! So, after about two months being sleep deprived, I decided to crate train them. Many people crate train dogs for the night, so I figured why not cats? I've a large crate... probably too large (it could fit a German Shepherd), and I have it lined with vet bedding, a water bowl in the front corner, and a small litter box (which was an extremely large tupperware box) in the back. I always put a couple toys in, and, when they hop into bed at night, I give them a treat or a bit of dry food as a snack.

It took a couple nights, but they quickly got used to it. It will help regulate their sleep time, and, if something were to happen during the night like a fire, at least you'd know where they are so you could have a better chance of rescuing them. They love it now, and they'll use it as a place to relax or nap during the day as well. They'll actually come to me and whine when it's time to put them to bed at night, and they'll go into the crate of their own will. My male cat doesn't mind as long as my other cat is next to him - what can I say, he's very needy

So, if you try everything else and all else fails, I recommend giving this a go. It will help you get the sleep you need and help the cats get a good night time routine.

orchidsrpretty

comongethappy wrote: »

I have a male cat who's the same... and yes, he is neutered. We had tried to ignore him as well, I put up cloth on the door so his door scratching wouldn't disturb us, but then he learned how to open the door :eek: . My female didn't give us any trouble, but then again, she's quite independent. We don't have a door in our kitchen, they've knocked down our sitting room tele already, so closing them in their was a no-no, and if we put them in our spare room (which is right next to our room, he would jump on the door handle all night.

I had tried wearing them out with play as well, but it had no effect... 2am was a great time to try to get mommy and daddy out of bed for our little son cat! So, after about two months being sleep deprived, I decided to crate train them. Many people crate train dogs for the night, so I figured why not cats? I've a large crate... probably too large (it could fit a German Shepherd), and I have it lined with vet bedding, a water bowl in the front corner, and a small litter box (which was an extremely large tupperware box) in the back. I always put a couple toys in, and, when they hop into bed at night, I give them a treat or a bit of dry food as a snack.

It took a couple nights, but they quickly got used to it. It will help regulate their sleep time, and, if something were to happen during the night like a fire, at least you'd know where they are so you could have a better chance of rescuing them. They love it now, and they'll use it as a place to relax or nap during the day as well. They'll actually come to me and whine when it's time to put them to bed at night, and they'll go into the crate of their own will. My male cat doesn't mind as long as my other cat is next to him - what can I say, he's very needy

So, if you try everything else and all else fails, I recommend giving this a go. It will help you get the sleep you need and help the cats get a good night time routine.

Sounds like a great idea, I will give it a go. I have a female who is no trouble but I will put them in together, as they sleep together anyway.