Cat crys at 4am

jjjade

Hey Guys,

me and my partner moved to his home over 8 months ago and they have a pet cat. she is 15 and such a lovely cat,

my partner plays with her whenever she wants. his mam doesnt work so the cat isnt at home by herself while we all work.

over the last 2 weeks at 4am she cries at our bedroom door (it sounds like a cry). from researching i am told that when they get older sometimes they wake up and need to be reasurred that their humans are still in the house (i dont know if this is true) and the best thing is to ignore her as it will become habit to get attention.

we sleep with the door closed and his parents with their door open so you think if she needs to be reassured she isnt alone is to go into their room?

anyways, personally i think she is at our door to get my partner to play with her... over the last couple of weeks she is playing a lot more and for longer which is great !

it is sad to hear her cry, but just wondering is there anything we can do to reassure her? or calm her down. at this point i think its becoming a habit.

last night my partners dad let a shout at her (just called her name) and she still presisted

Nody

Well are you sure it's simply not waking up earlier due to the light and wants to get fed?

The other thing to do would be to play with her until she's exhausted right before bed and give her some food to make it more likely she'll sleep through until morning.

jjjade

something to do, its just strange as she has never done this before so it wouldn't be down to the light. we always make sure there is food in her bowl before we go to bed.

she eats more in the winter than the summer (what summer). so last few weeks she is eatting less

jjjade

any suggestions guys?

Solair

Cats are very good at figuring out what to do to make humans do stuff.

If your cat wants to play and knows you always respond she will just keep doing that.

Just politely ignore her. She'll eventually learn you like stepping through the night and stop disturbing you

Pumpkinseeds

Maybe she just wants to be close to your partner. Could you put cat bed in your room and let her sleep there? I know our cats go nuts and meow if we shut the door on them. They like to snuggle on the end of the bed but sometimes they just like to come into the room to check that we are in the house. I know it might not be practical from a privacy perspective while you are sharing the house.

MaryK666

Personally, I'd let her in, but then I'm a complete pushover when it comes to my cats and spoiling them. :rolleyes: We have seven in our house and leave our bedroom door open so they can come and go as they please. One or two of them will sleep on the bed with us but the others like to come in and check that we're still there and that everything is ok in their little world.

Considering that she's an older lady, there could be so many things going on with your cat. Like humans, when cats reach old age they can start to lose their hearing, their sight deteriorates and they can feel lonely and/or scared. She may not be your cat but it sounds like she has developed a special bond with your partner and it's important to nurture this bond now so that you'll have no regrets when she has gone.
If you don't want to leave your bedroom door open wide, why not invest in two heavy doorstops and place one on either side of the door, leaving just enough room for your cat to get through. That way, when she feels the need of some human company, she can just come in without having to become stressed at being denied. Stress is one of the biggest contributing factors to lowering a cats immune system and it's important, particularly for an older cat, to keep her life as stress-free as possible as it will help to prolong her life and make her happy.