Reptile & Amphibian Forums

When I first got Butch a year ago and he got used to the morning routine, he'd wake me up in the morning by sitting on my chest (all 16 pounds of him) and licking me in the face. (He loves his breakfast!)

At first I thought it was funny, but now it's annoying. I tried covering my head with the blanket, but then he sunk his teeth into my head through the blanket. He just wouldn't let up! (And this was hours before the alarm went off in the morning!)

So I invested in a spray bottle, which I used to spray him in the face when he licked me. He still lays on my chest (which is ok, I guess), but doesn't lick me nearly as much anymore. He also waits for the alarm to go off before he bothers me.

Does anyone else get the "wake up call" from their cats? If so, were you able to make it stop completely?

No, Boris gets us up at 4 am every morning. I swear that cat can tell time. He is always right on target at 4 am and very seldom varies it by more than 5 minutes. He developed a habit of licking my neck when he was a kitten and he still does this. I usually end up getting out of bed and putting him out of the bedroom and closing the door. Well this weekend, he found out how to open the bedroom door but at least it was around 7 am so that was acceptable.
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Boris's Human, Pam

You have one smart cat! If I put Butch out of the room, he'll just scratch at the door... which takes the paint off.

He's actually been pretty good about it lately... I have the new kitten confined to the bedroom (Butch has the rest of the house), and he hasn't scratched or meowed to get in yet in the mornings. He's a good boy.

Oh yeah... Gambol, when she was around 6 mos. (MUCH smaller than 16#, thank goodness!) would wake me up every morning, often licking some part of my face raw (it would scab over ever so slightly). I THINK the only reason it stopped was because I stopped giving her the "reward" - getting out of bed for her, and pretty soon she stopped the alarm clock routine. Generally I would just roll over & cover my face, but unlike yours, she wouldn't pursue the matter.

Good luck,
SheRa

Well, I thought I'd give you an update on the situation.

I've since gotten a five week old kitten, which I keep in the bedroom with the door closed at night. I thought Butch (my adult cat) would scratch at the door constantly toward breakfast time, but he's been a pretty good boy lately.

I'm quite proud of him! If only I could trust him alone with the kitten...