Attention Seeking & Waking Us Up @ 5am

[meep]

Darcy and Minsky are both very active cats. They're 2 years old and still act like big kittens. They quite frequently will demand to be played with and cuddled in the following ways:

- Sitting in front of us and meowing
- Sitting in the other room and yowling until we run through to see what's wrong
- Jumping onto our knees or beside us on the couch and sitting in front of our face
- Jumping up behind us, wherever we're sitting, and eating our hair
- Scratching and yowling at the front door.

Now this is all very cute, but I've made sure not to give in every time they demand; and haven't pandered to their attention seeking. They don't do it for food, but for play and attention - well mainly.

This is easy to ignore during the day, but much much harder at night in bed.

It's mainly Darcy who attempts to wake us up at night, although Minsky maybe does it one time out of 10. It's turned into a habit that's happening every night, and I'm starting to be deprived too much sleep!

Basically, every morning around 5 or 6am Darcy will try to wake us up; unlike during the day, which is for attention, this is for their breakfast.

Originally he started just jumping on the bed and meowing and purring beside us. Easy to ignore. But then he discovered that the front door rattles in its lock and bangs quite loudly when moved; so he began scratching at the front door furiously, banging it, for a good 10 minutes until we woke up and couldn't take it any longer.

This became a nightly habit and we put up with it for a week, until we decided to do something. So we barricaded the front door! We put a beanbag in front of it, then wedged a fold up chair underneath it which stops the rattling. So he can still scratch at it but it doesn't rattle.

He's realised now that the front door scratching isn't as effective as it used to be. So he's resorting to increasingly desperate measures. This morning I woke up to hear him digging at the chair and beanbag to try and move them; and then I heard him launch himself at the door! I think he must have just taken a running jump at it or something!

I really don't think it's because he wants out the front door or is upset. He just has learnt from experience that making a fuss at the front door is the easiest way to get our attention.

Minsky also has a habit of digging at my legs in bed. Again, around 5am Ill wake up to him just digging and digging and digging my legs. He's on top of the covers and I'm under but it's constant digging and he won't stop - even if I kick him off!

On a week day it isn't too bad as we get up at 7.30am anyway, but getting woken up 2 hours earlier isn't ideal! But at a weekend it's NOT fun. I usually get up at 730 anyway to feed them, then go back to bed and go back to sleep, as I know i'd be kept awake all morning otherwise!

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Basically, it is becoming a problem as it's disturbing our sleep and making us grumpy! I appreciate that in the morning they are hungry, but they can surely wait an extra hour! I'm thinking it might be that the sun rise is when they wake up as it is the same time every morning, and come winter when it gets darker they may do it later and later *fingers crossed* but I really am started to lose my patience with them!

They are lovely boys, I love them to bits, and they have no real behavioural problems apart from this! They snuggle up at the bottom of the bed at night and fall asleep, but just wake up earlier than us.

Has anyone experienced anything similar, and any suggestions? We've tried shutting the bedroom door in the evening to get some "alone time" but all that happens is Darcy scratches and meows at it non-stop until we open it again, then is extra affectionate till he's calmed down a little. So I'm not sure if doing that all night would help us get any sleep?

Sorry for the really really long post! Any suggestions anyone has would be really appreciated! It's a catch-22. We try to ignore them doing it, but we can't get back to sleep and because we want to sleep we get up to feed them!

[calismum]

Alfie tends to dig at the door to get in and out - if he is in the room he usuallytends to sleep until we get up. If he is not in the room with us he has been known to scratch at the door and bang it to get in/outside/fed/cuddled - it can be anytime from sunup (so I think you're right about the light)

We did go through a phase of trying to ignore him - the outcome of that is I now have a saucer sized bit of carpet missing at the bedroom door.

Tried everything, he knows everyone in the house is firmly wrapped round his smallest toe!!!

[yola]

I leave our bedroom door open and food down overnight (dry) and the cats feed, sleep, chase each other and toilet at their own convenience. I do occasionally get woken up at some ungodly hour by Balie either wanting to cuddle or yakking up furballs or by Myshka trying to get comfortable above my head on the pillow; but I have got used to them now and only kind of 1/2 wake up!

However I have 2 small children so, unlike you for us, sadly at the moment, lie ins are a thing of the past

[meep]

Thanks for sharing your experiences calismum and yola! it's nice to know I'm not alone!

Yola - my night time routine for the boys is pretty much the same as yours. All doors are left open, fresh water and plenty dry food is left out, and they do run around and play at night whilst we sleep. They never really wake us up (on purpose) at all whilst playing etc. but it's just this 5am / 6am wake-up call them seem intent on giving us! Even though there's dry food left, they do want their wet-food breakfast as I give them two wet food meals a day, which are their 'main meals'.

I almost feel like having them IS like having kids, although I'm sure you'd beg to differ

[Elaine]

Have you thought about the possibility of getting one of those timed feeders? Or maybe even feeding them before bedtime rather than tea time? It might make a difference, just a thought.

[meep]

Elaine - I had that very thought this morning, and actually mentioned it to my OH! I am looking into buying a timed feeder, that can pop open at 6am. Thanks for the suggestion!

I'm also not sure about feeding them at bed time; they're usually begging for food when I come home from work around 5pm, and get fed around 5.15pm I could try and stretch out the feeding to two in the evening...

I've just started introducing Orijen in with their Go-Cat - a teeny bit at a time. Hopefully when they start to eat more of that it will fill them up for longer as it does seem like really good stuff! And they love it

[fancyabrew]

Join the club, our lump insists on sleeping right next to me just about every night, if she wants to wake you up either to be fed or to climb under the covers it has this habit of tapping your face with her paw, grrrrrr

Last week it woke us up around midnight by running up and down the bed and jumping up to the wall beside me, and then bolting to the room next door and bouncing off the furniture, generally making a hell of a noise. I got up and went next door to find it chasing, and catching, a massive moth, about the size of a baby seagull!

[meep]

Sorry I shouldn't laugh, but the way you describe her jumping off the furniture to catch a moth just sounds so cute!

It really isn't funny when you get woken up from a sound sleep! I don't mind so much getting half woken up vaguely at about 3am, from Darcy walking on top of me. It's just the persistent yowling and meowing at 5am that gets me. If they move around at night, they don't mean to wake us up, but this alarm-call we're getting every morning does seem to be on purpose as they don't let up until one of us gets up!

I'd like everyone's thoughts on something a bit controversial...


I know a little sprinkling of water on the face is good for deterring them. My OH can see the front door from where he lies in bed and as a joke, he said "I'm just going to get a water pistol and fire at Darcy next time he scratches there at 5am!" We laughed, but it got me thinking, would this be feasible?

I am by no means cruel to my boys at all, and am asking this as I'm not sure whether this would be considered a fair or nice way of disciplining them? A teeny bit of water squirted onto his back? It isn't pleasant, but wouldn't soak him or damage him in any way!

Thoughts?

[fancyabrew]

would have been cute if it wasn't midnight!

she's bad enough trying to catch flies but when theres a moth around she's a total nightmare

[angieh]

I do sympathise meep! I really can't remember such problems with Merlin. He is such an old fellow now that he sleeps soundly on our bed without waking us. He doesn't run about, catch moths or play. Sometimes he wants a cuddle and that's just fine as we both go back to sleep together.

The problem as I see it is a collision of wants - you want to sleep, especially at the weekends and Darcy wants his breakfast. I think that you should try the timed food dispenser first and see if that helps. I would actually not worry about using a water pistol to put him off banging your front door. It is not something I see as being cruel. If your OH's aim is good, that is! Would be no good for me or my OH as we'd have to scrabble about to find our glasses first and by that time we'd be wide awake anyway!

Good luck with the timed dispenser - excellent idea.