Posted on 04/04/2006 1:45:32 PM PDT by iPod Shuffle
Posted on Tue, Apr. 04, 2006
Outsmarting the cat that wakes you up
DR. ROLAN TRIPP Knight Ridder Newspapers
Gloria Stepps treasures her sleep. When her beloved 6-month-old kitten, Bongo, began interrupting her blissful slumber, she wondered what he wanted. At first, she thought he was just hungry so she gave him breakfast early. When her sleep disruption continued, she tried soothing him with verbal cooing.
Another night, when he destroyed some valuable items with his midnight kitten-crazies, she tried to calm him back to sleep with cuddling.
Mistake. Mistake. Mistake.
Bongo quickly figured out the secret to getting anything you want in life is to ask for it at 3 o'clock in the morning.
The first thing Gloria did right was take the young cat to her veterinarian to rule out bladder, parasite, and internal organ problems. Bongo was clean.
Her DVM then requested my help with a behavior case analysis before Gloria lost her patience and started beating Bongo like a drum. After an extensive behavioral and bond history, and with her vet's blessing, I created a Bongo sleep strategy.
First, I suggested ways to keep Bongo awake during the day so he might sleep better at night. Instead of breakfast, she began giving Bongo food puzzles to play with during the day while she was gone. Food puzzles are toys that hold food, and dispense it as the pet touches and plays with them.
Next, since Gloria had no reproductive plans for Bongo, she had him neutered. Some cats are stimulated to nocturnal activity because their hormones have them looking for love in all the wrong places!
Gloria then covered the windows at night to be sure Bongo would not see cats roaming outside, since that might arouse his budding territorial male ego.
She bought a cat windowsill-perch at www.petsmart.com, so Bongo would be entertained during the day and hopefully spend less daytime cat-napping.
We discussed it, but Gloria decided she wasn't ready for a fish tank, bird, or second cat to entertain Bongo, but I had more tricks up my sleeve.
A couple of hours before bed, I suggested that Gloria do prey-play games to tire Bongo so he would sleep through the night. I explained that most cat play is based on fantasy hunts. I told her to get a fake bird toy, a fake mouse on a string, and a laser pointer to imitate a bug on the rug. I explained two key aspects of cat prey-play.
The first objective in each fantasy prey-play game is to mimic the movement of the prey. The bird toy should be still, then flutter up through the air and over to a new resting place. The mouse toy should stay close to the wall, wobble when it moves along the floor, then stop and freeze. The laser pointer should mimic a bug that moves and stops, moves and stops. After all, birds don't drag along the floor, mice don't fly, and bugs can't move at laser speeds.
The second thing about cat play that Gloria learned was to give Bongo the thrill of victory. Most people play that with their cats only provide the agony of defeat because the cat never gets to catch and kill the fantasy prey.
Dr. Debra Horwitz of Veterinary Behavior Consultations in St Louis suggests this as one reason why many adult cats stop playing after 3 to 5 minutes. Horwitz quotes a study that suggests that most cats spend a limited number of minutes (depending on the individual) playing with a given toy. This might be the equivalent of hunting a given prey in the wild, and then if unsuccessful, giving up and moving on. One solution is to change toys to a new prey. Another solution is to have some special food treats handy, and when the cat begins to lose some steam, toss one and have the toy lead the cat to the fantasy kill meal. This also rewards longer play sessions.
After this prey-play Olympics, Gloria gave Bongo his biggest meal of the day. Just as in people, a stretched stomach tends to result in heavy eyelids.
Gloria and I talked about where Bongo sleeps. She had already tried closing him out of the bedroom, but he had used his claws on the bottom of the closed door to create loud percussive effects. There was no way in her house to get a two door separation, plus she couldn't bear to make him lonely.
I learned that Bongo typically slept on her bed at night. I suggested she provide at least one cushy pet bed as a cuddle up alternative such as the Petmate's Cuddle Cup bed found at most pet retailers. This not only moved Bongo a little farther away in the bedroom, it also prevented Gloria from waking Bongo unintentionally with her own normal sleep movements.
After we had satisfied Bongo's need for exercise, food and comfy bedding, he continued to wake up Gloria, even though she ignored him as best she could.
Like a gambler hoping his luck would turn, Bongo was the alarm cat without an off switch. We had satisfied all his needs, tried everything else, and determined his stable personality could handle a big surprise. Only then did I tell her about the secret switch.
I suggested Gloria purchase an inexpensive remote power switch. She kept the remote on the bed stand, and plugged her hair dryer into the special power switch so the exhaust pointed at the area of the bed that Bongo used as a starter's gate. When Bongo began playing his games, Gloria sneakily hit the switch, and Bongo nearly hit the ceiling. Since she was quiet and hid the switch, Bongo didn't associate the experience with Gloria. The gambler attempted feline sleep interruptus a couple more times with the same airborne outcome before he realized his lucky streak was over. From then on, Gloria and Bongo slept happily ever after.
Dr. Rolan Tripp is a veterinarian and animal-behavior specialist. You may view his work at www.AnimalBehavior.Net.
I never would have guessed.
:)
It's not a cat that wakes me up, but sometimes I sure feel like one slept in my mouth, and I don't own a cat. Neither does my GF!
Don't expect logic to be of any use with cat people.
Sorry I missed the G Grl rant last Friday. I got to read the thread this morning.
Yes we are!!
I'm quite talented in my own right... ;-)
Our cat at least waits until 4:30.
"a firm no, then kick the cat out of the bed...
hmmmmm, why not? It works on hubby."
As an ex hubby, I hear that.
My cat Gopher got on my nerves so badly last night and this morning...that this thread hit a nerve.
Chasing my "laser" pointer makes my cats NUTS! They love it.
oops...
You're asking for trouble if You-Know-Who reads your tag line, mister.
I have three cats at home. If they start bothering me at night out of the room they go and I shut the door.
I have three cats...when they see me coming, they scurry...makes me so mad!
No pics?
Wanna see the pics!
LOL.
Great story . . . though, to me, more than a bit long and indulgent in the preliminaries.
You wake yours?
True.
But too many humans seem to be incapable of outsmarting cats.
Wouldn't want to get to deep into the implications of that!
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