Cat keeps waking us up in the middle of the night. Any ideas?

Question

We have two 11 year old cats, both spoilt with a ridiculous amount of unconditional love (as all cats deserve). At night the female is no problem but, over the last couple of years the male has taken to walking all over us in bed, mee-owing in our ears and pawing at our faces during the early morning hours.

We've tried shutting him out of the bedroom but the scratching at the door (and wailing) kept us awake also. (Not surprising really as they have had the run of the house all their lives and my partner won't shut them downstairs in case of a fire). We have tried keeping him awake during the evenings by poking at him while he was trying to sleep to stop him being so active in the early hours but all that did was annoy him and it didn't really improve the situation.

Any (humane) ideas gratefully received!

Answer 1

Hi there...I'm partially reiterating some of the other suggestions here, but elaborating on them. It sounds like your kitty has found a schedule of his own. There are many possibilities as to why he may be waking you up at this particular time of night. Has anything in the distant or near past always occured around this time that was either frightening or pleasant? For example many cats who are fed at a scheduled time will learn when to expect their meals, the family members come home and leave for day, etc. It's more of a conditioned response from a pattern which is being continually reinforced...and is why I'm making this assumption.

If you would like to change/adjust his schedule to yours consider by playing with him using more physical active activities (e.g. laser light) if he's still interested in interactive play for 10-15 minutes prior to bedtime to exhaust him so he'll sleep longer. If your cat isn't free fed (food available at all times) some people who feed their cats on schedule (once in the morning and once at night) have found that by feeding right just before bedtime also note that this has a sedating effect because their tummy's are full.

This particular method isn't known to many as most people are not willing to consider it, however one the things we as animal trainers/behaviourists do to break bad behaviours with animals is to ignore the undesired behaviour. What follows is called an extinction burst where the behaviour becomes progressively worst for awhile hoping for the same positive reinforcement as received in past. Eventually the animal learns this behaviour does not gains them any positive reinforcement and eventually fades away.

Here's another example of how an extinction burst works: This happens when a proven method of doing something that brings a desired response (i.e. stealing socks always elicits a chase from a human), all of a sudden stops working. The extinction burst is the part where the dog tries the proven method again and again, and hundred times stronger before they figure out that it just doesn't work anymore. Human equivalent: you're at the elevator. You pressed the button 10 seconds ago. This has always made the elevator come and pick you up. For some reason, there's no sign that the elevator's coming. You press it again. And again, and again and again, harder and harder, with more force (extinction burst!), until finally you just give up and use the stairs. If the original method doesn't work anymore, why use it?!

More on Extinction Burst: http://www.shirleychong.com/keepers/archives/bursts.txt

If your kitty had more serious behavioural problems some cats can be successfully helped who are on antidepressants, but it's usually given to cats who suffer from aggression/anxiety disorders as well as inappropriate elimination (urine spraying/peeing) disorders: http://www.newmanveterinary.com/feline.html

Answer 2

When i first read your question i immediately thought she was calling for a mate but then i read on and i think she is just in need of some company at 12 years old if she is only doing it at a certain time of night she maybe wakes up and feels she is on her own have you thought of letting her in with you to see if she settles, does she have a litter tray or access to outside at her age she isn't going to have as long to get to go for the toilet maybe she just has a nature call, need more details really but you have my email add if you need anymore of a chat

Answer 3

I make sure that they have some dry food in left out for them in the kitcen for an early AM snack.
Now I used to be really mad at them for this early 4:30 am call but, just before the Northridge quake my darlings acted up. because I was up I was able to move fast to keep a bookshelf from falling on my little daughter asleep in her bed.
So you can do what I do for the spoiled sweeties......just get up and give em somthing to eat and a little attention..Oh well.

Answer 4

I have 7 cats. yes 7. Cats are nocturnal and theres not really a lot you can do about it short term. But you might want to think about giving them more things to keep them busy. New toys, climbing houses and treats hiden through out the house. My cats love to wander around at night and find all the hidden goodies I leave for them. I wouldnt recomend hiding any under your pillow lol. I have cat walks up around the house along the ceilings that they love to stroll along and I change their toys out all the time they get bored easy. Keep things fun for them. They now have cat baby sitting videos too that you can buy for like $12 and put on at night to keep them company. they have all kinda things that cats like to watch. If all else fails just roll over give them a good lovin and make lots of coffee.......

Answer 5

encourage him to play outside most of the day and that way he should sleep at night - i have a she cat and although she is cute and snuggly she too can be a real pain in the neck at night if she has been allowed to sleep during the day. I find this the most humane way - except i feel guilty if its pouring down!!

Answer 6

Instead of complaining about your lovely companions behavior, you might change your attitude to their activity. Of course, it can be very annoying being woken up in the middle of the night.
However, if you see it as a sign of love and affection, you might even come to like it.
I guess you have realised that you cannot change your cats’ natural instincts (they have a nocturnal streak in themselves).
I have always admired my cats for their independence, even if I could have kicked them at the same time.
Furthermore I am convinced that cats feel whe they are most bothering and go for just this situation. I could imagine that your cats might change their activities if you didn’t pay so much attention. (I am perfectly aware that this is not necessarily helpful, but it may help to get rid of a certain tension)
All the best with your friends

Answer 7

Is there another room upstairs he can be confined to? He will still protest for a while and will eventually give up with it. That's also true with making a fuss at the door.

It's really hard to outdo a cat on these issues as they are very determined to get their own way! Remember that interrmittant reinforcement is the most powerful kind. If you give in one time out of twenty you have lost the game.

If you want to email me I will look in my flower essence repertory book to see if there is something in that line that might help him.

Answer 8

give them warm milk and somthing that looks like............ instead get 2 milk bottleswith warm milk put a toy cat over the plastic where you can see the milk and show it to the cats and they'll think its their mother i did it with my 4 cats you can also make 2 holes in the big cat toy so they can only see the part where they suck on.

Answer 9

He could be hungry. Check the food bowl before you go to bed. My one cat use to wake us up early for food. So I started taking what I normally feed them and split it into two. So in the morning I give them food and than around dinner time I give them another meal. Since I started doing that he doesn't wake us up early in the morning.

Answer 10

cats tend to be nocturnal creatures so they tend to wander i nthe middle of the night. you should get him/her a more comfortable bed and try and teach it to go to bed whenever you go. in the morning when your cat meows consistently , it means that its trying to tell you something .. be patient and try to figure it out .. maybe it wants more attention or affection in the morning rather thaan at night,