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My cat, a 3 yr old female, fixed, has for about 3 months been waking me in middle of night (3 to 4am)...even if I lock her out of bedroom, she sets and howls until I get up...She seems to think I should feed her then, tho normal feeding time is generally 5-6 am....I have no basement/garage/spare room to put her in.....can anyone help??? Is there any medicines-products of some kind that would make her sleep at nite?? Once I'm awake I cannot go back to sleep, so this is causing major problem for me....
Thanks

How often do you feed her a day?
Maybe if you play with her right before bed time and then give her a small amount of food. She will leave you alone until you get up in the morning. I have also found that once you have given in and get up the first time, it is hard to break the cycle.
Try ignoring her no matter how annoying it gets. Maybe earplugs?
Let us know how it goes.
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PHMoxie

i know she is very young still but have you had a medical checkup done on her. my cat smokey was hyperthyroid and restless and wanted to eat all the time. now i know my cat was very old but it wouldn't hurt to get yours a complete check up.

i also have a 10 year old that is very clingy since the loss of my cat smokey. she will constantly get in my face all night. i have to lock her out of my room and even then she will set outside my door wanting in. i have been trying to give her a snack before bed time and it helps some. i know she just wants attention but i have to get sleep. she will not leave me alone.

i would suggest trying the bed time treats or even a little of her favorite food to see if it helps. with my daisy i know its becasue of the loss of smokey that the routine has changed and she doesn't understand. has your routine changed with your kitty? just some idea for you...

Moxie & Janome, thanks for your input...food is not the problem, as she "grazes" on dry food all day, and her "wet" food is given in am and pm, plus her "milk" treat just before bed.....and no our routines haven't changed any...and her last vet check went fine...thanks again.

well then perhaps she needs more stimulation...playing with her, toys before bed or something to give her attention and maybe that will help to get her tired to sleep when you do. just another idea...

Posted by: baron66 at Sun Jan 15 06:27:38 2006 [ Report Abuse ] [ Email Message ]

My cat, a 3 yr old female, fixed, has for about 3 months been waking me in middle of night (3 to 4am)...even if I lock her out of bedroom, she sets and howls until I get up...She seems to think I should feed her then, tho normal feeding time is generally 5-6 am....I have no basement/garage/spare room to put her in.....can anyone help??? Is there any medicines-products of some kind that would make her sleep at nite?? Once I'm awake I cannot go back to sleep, so this is causing major problem for me....
Thanks
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Well Babba gets me up between 5 and 6 every morning and i even get up even when hes late.Now he has dry food 24-7 so its not like hes hungry but he knows when its breakfast time and he gets his canned food.I really don't think any of the above solutions are good and it would be best if you and her have a truce.
I guess you could set your clock back.LOL

Lou

You may have to brace yourself for a series of restless nights. About the only way to extinguish this behavior is to put the cat in some sort of "time out" when she disturbs your rest. Just using a carrier or better yet a large cage would help. You just calmly get up, pick up the cat without any major attention and put her into the carrier and then walk away and let her howl. Yes, it's disturbing, but eventually she'll get the message.

Or you could do like I did - learn to practically sleep-walk to the bowl, dump a little food in and then go back to bed. After I'd trained myself not to wake up fully and to go back to sleep the early morning kitty alarm isn't such a nuisance anymore.
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Smile, it will make them wonder what you are up to!

welcome to my world.
my pita is the same way. between 430am and 600am he'll decide it's time for me to get up. and sometimes it's to feed him and othertimes he's just bored. my pita is an indoor/outdoor cat but mostly stuck indoors for winter. i love him dearly but i to wish there was a way to break him of practicing his kitty opera so darn early. then if i still don't get up he pounces on my bed and paws at me (and he still has claws and forgets they stick out a bit.....nothing like a sharp hairy little foot in the face at 5am). my revenge so far...i've made my alarm clock go off. he took off running.

Im not sure if this post is too old but may I inform you of one little detail. Cats are nocturnal animals. Meaning they are awake at night naturaly. But to break the cat of this behavior perhaps try not giving him the wet food in the evening. and if you work all day perhaps if you know someone have them come over and play with your cat for a little while everyday you work. and play with your cat an hour or so before bedtime. also maybe consider getting him a playmate. and also keep a skwirt bottle or gun next to your bed filled with water and when it starts just spray him with it! sorry so long