Posted on 03/04/2013 8:57:36 AM PST by Slings and Arrows
There is nothing quite like waking up to the jarring sound of your cat’s steady meows. In the corresponding groggy frustration, it’s important to remember that she’s not purposely torturing you. Cats use vocalized cues, such as hissing, yowling, and growling, to communicate with each other-- meows, on the other hand, are more commonly reserved for communicating with humans. If she has been waking you up in the middle of the night, or earlier than you’d like in the morning, consider what she is trying to communicate to you.
Not enough activity. If your cat isn’t stimulated enough during the day, she may be up all night, attempting to work out her pent-up energy. Remedy this problem by incorporating more enriching activities into your cat’s day, such as food puzzles, climbing frames, non-toxic cat grasses, and toys. You may also try creating several feeding stations around the home so she will have to search for her food. These tactics will keep her awake and stimulated for more of the day and help her sleep better throughout the night.
Early internal hunting alarm clock. A typical hunting time for cats is between 3 and 5am, but you can try to reset your cat’s hunting time clock to a more human-friendly time. Try triggering her prey drive later in the evening by maneuvering a wanded toy for her. Dishing out her last meal of the day after the play time will help her feel like she caught, killed, and ate her prey. You can then groom (brush) your cat, as she would normally do herself after a hunt, to help relax her.
Feeding needs adjusting. If your cat isn’t being fed late enough in the evening, it may be causing her to wake you up early. Try offering several smaller meals throughout the day (which will help keep her awake and stimulated), including a later evening meal. Timed feeders and food puzzles are great options for easily achieving multiple and prolonged meals.
Owner reinforcement is a secondary problem that often develops after the issue initially causes the meowing. Once you have pinpointed the problem and made the necessary changes to your cat’s environment, stop acknowledging her when she wakes you up. The meowing may temporarily worsen once you stop reacting, as she pulls out all the stops to regain your attention (perhaps even resorting to measures like knocking books off your nightstand). Standing your ground will pay off. Addressing the problems listed above, then refusing to reinforce her behavior, will have you on the sweet road to restful sleep (for both you and her) in no time.
Cats are nocturnal. They tend to hunt in the evenings.
One way to quiet them down is to play with them in the evening, then feed them before you go to bed.
Heeeeeereee.... kitty... kitty... kitty...
/johnny
Other suggestions:
-Garage
-Lock outside at night
It’s caused by a lead deficiency.
It’s caused by a lead deficiency.
Oh is that an F1 savanna cat?
If I lived in the country I would get one to hunt all the varmints!!!
What, you don’t like cats?
At least cats don’t bark all the time at the slightest drop of a hat....
I get up for work at 4:00 am - they are both ready to rock-n-roll ("what took you so long, dad" they say in their Cat-alonian dialect....)
We had a cat who liked to walk on the piano keys at night. I don’t remember why we didn’t just close up the piano, but we didn’t.
Cat’s are fine. I was just trying to be provacative ;)
There’s nothing like being woken up early for breakfast by someone who sleeps 16 hours a day. Luckily she has otherwise excellent people skills.
Yup--- varmint control extraordinaire..
info @WIKI...
Enjoy your day...
I baby-sat a sweet little kitty cat for 2 weeks, and I was warned to go to bed with the door closed, and to ignore the cat trying to get in.
That first night the kitty jumped into bed with me to snuggle and get petted, and after about 15 minutes, she was ready to go to sleep, got up, curled up between my knees, and went to sleep (I had played with her quite a bit before bed time).
At about 4:30 am, the formerly sweet little kitty cat (anything that wakes me up at 4:30am is no longer “sweet,” with the possible exception of Kate Upton), by head butting my chin... I get out of bed and check her food bowl, and it’s still full... When I go back to the bedroom, she’s sitting on my bed, waiting for me to get back in... At which point she hops back on my chest for another 15 minutes or so of petting, at which point, she gets up and curls up between my knees and goes back to sleep.
It turns out that she just believed that 4:30am was pet the kitty time. And being a loyal member of her staff, who was I to disagree. Seriously though, it’s really funny that she just wanted to get some loving then go right back to sleep. And this went on for all 2 weeks!
Mark
Party Cat is now my youngest’s nickname.
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