my cat is waking me up at 4.00 am everyday?

Question

do you know why, have you experienced something similar. At first I though he wanted food, but he has. He is now with my ex girl friend and he does the same with her, so she is suffering from sleep deprivartion because the cat doesnt let her sleep properly, even if she close the door of the room he scratches the door.
May be is he looking for attention, but I have had thim for 11 years and he started to do this may be six months ago only. His health is ok, recently went to vet.

Answer 1

My cat used to wake me up at all silly hours of the morn, they just wanted to go out, so now they stay out all night and I get a miaow at the front door in the morn - after having a peaceful nights sleep!!!!

Answer 2

Cats are very intelligent. Was there ever a time that you regularly woke up at 4AM? There are also other factors that can cause this. Is there anything that makes a certain type of noise that can either make them feel the need to wake you up or perhaps upsets them, such as a garbage truck, passing traffic, perhaps they hear a neighbors alarm clock which a human could not hear from a distance? My cat used to wake me up when someone delivered a newspaper to my neighbor at 5:30 every morning. I cured it by taking the cat out just before 5:30 and let her see the person who delivered the paper and what they were delivering, from that point on, she knew what the sound was and she let me sleep.

Answer 3

I am having the exact same problem with my 13 year old female cat. I don't know what it is, either. We also went to see the vet, just to be sure there was no health problem. She is losing most of her teeth, so I thought maybe she was having a problem with the dry food, and stepped up her canned food to several feedings a day instead of two. That has helped some, but she still does it (and yes it is right around 4:00 am). Maybe we should start a "Sleepless in Catsville" club!

Answer 4

I had that problem for a while with my kitten (he is not yet a year old) when he didn't get enough attention / play for a while. He would wake me up at exactly one hour before my alarm was set to go off (which time does not change, I guess he learned the timing of it somehow). It's not as bad as 4.00 a.m., but it's still very frustrating, because by the time I have settled him down somehow, I'm already alert... and by the time I manage to fall asleep again, I have about 20 minutes left, say, and waking up that soon is not a lot of fun.

What I did was that I took care to play with him in the evening, before we both go to bed. If he has fallen asleep earlier, I gently prod him awake (by using his toys and moving them before his nose until he decides correctly I am not going to let him sleep right then). A couple of nights I needed to play with him for almost an hour at a time, afterwards he got tired faster (I know he has had enough when he goes to his food and eats some - play = hunt, and when they have hunted enough, they eat, and then rest).

But again, mine is a kitten. I have no idea what would start such behaviour in a much older cat... I hope I help at least somewhat.

Good luck!

Answer 5

He obviously wants to go out for something, a wander round his territory or to answer a call of nature.

Firstly, does he have access to a litter tray? if not, get one.
Secondly, is it possible to have a cat flap fitted in an outside door? The only other thing is to leave him out all night, no harm will come to him (if he watches the road!) cats are very resilient and will always find shelter if needed.

Your ex should then start to get a good nights sleep!

Answer 6

This is the cat speaking. Why won't people get up and play with me when it is early? You would think they would get me some catnip mousies or some other toys so that I could bat them around the room. Also, there should always be some good dry food like Science Diet and lots of fresh water around and a window I can look out of. Oh, and I would like a round cat bed to curl up in, and I would also like a toy dangling from a string to play with. Well, thats about it for now. Love, your cat.

Answer 7

My cat is 5 years old and she does the same thing evey so often then she stops and I just wake up and pet her and play with her, also give her some catnip and she tends to calm down so I can get some more sleep. Have you tried getting him a companion of his own to see if that will settle him down? Some times that will divert his attention and then after he gets to know his new companion they will before long end up cuddled up together and he may sleep better.

Answer 8

Ya know, that's not a bad suggestion AmericanG.....except that he already stated the cat scratches the door when it's closed. Ahem.

I'd just like to say I'm SO glad neither of my cats do this. I'm not a cheerful person when woke up too soon.

Answer 9

Cat brains are about the size of a walnut. They're basically creatures of habit. Once they figure out they can get your attention at 4am, they'll file that away in their walnut until 4am rolls around again.

They're also eternal optimists. If you avoid making contact at 4am, they might forget in a few months.

Answer 10

seeing which you're at your wit's end right here, i visit advise some thing that ought to o.k. artwork, It infrequently fees something, even however you get it out of your vet. I even have cats that pass on peeing jags, so while this happens, I provide them a 0.5 tab of fluoxetine crushed up in moist nutrients, as quickly as an afternoon. This drugs is time-honored for Prozac. They metabolize it in any different case, besides the undeniable fact that it particularly works wonders once you ought to substitute a bad habit! It retains my domicile from being crammed with pee! seeing which you in user-friendly terms had your cat thoroughly examined, you may call the vet and ask for this drugs and he ought to provide it to you. It sounds like the cat is having issues adjusting to the recent "existence type". He ought to probable use some help. in case you saved him in a small room along with his container for a brief time, that ought to help him to endure in innovations the place to pass. that's once you get the drugs. in any different case you may try in the previous, and spot if it has any result. you desire the tabs, little white rectangular pills, not the pills. it ought to in user-friendly terms take a even as to surprising this, or he might desire it long term. I trust Mircat on the subject of the container.