Hi,
My beloved adopted feline friends used to have the bedroom to themselves while settling in, but
we finally started sleeping in there about 4 weeks ago. The cats love us being in there, and
I often wake up with one or both of them snuggled up to my legs, BUT the kitten hasn't yet
figured out that I prefer to sleep beyond 5.30 a.m!!!
Just as soon as it starts to get light she
runs up to my ear and lets out a loud meow and nudges me gently with a paw. Or pulls at the carpet.
If that doesn't work she reaches under the quilt and nudges somewhat less gently with claws!
Several times she's brought her favourite 'fetching' toy and pushed it right in to my hand
and wailed til I throw it for her. (Beware, kittens can get addicted to 'fetch' it seems!)
(see
www.youtube.com/watch
to see her in action!!)
I love her dearly, but am getting seriously sleep deprived and wonder if anyone has a solution?
She's a very vocal kitten so I think shutting her out of the bedroom won't work and so far she's
thwarted my attempts at blacking out the window (hoping delayed dawn might work?) by
pulling the curtains back/off.
I don't wish to shout at her or shoo her away too much as I don't want her to be put off coming for
cuddles, and she still jumps on her mum regularly despite being unceremoniously thrown off
and growled at quite often...and she's so smart she's figured out that she can reach us by
burrowing under the quilt, so playing 'dead' is not a great option!
any ideas?? The bags under my eyes are growing bags of their own!!
My beloved adopted feline friends used to have the bedroom to themselves while settling in, but
we finally started sleeping in there about 4 weeks ago. The cats love us being in there, and
I often wake up with one or both of them snuggled up to my legs, BUT the kitten hasn't yet
figured out that I prefer to sleep beyond 5.30 a.m!!!
Just as soon as it starts to get light she
runs up to my ear and lets out a loud meow and nudges me gently with a paw. Or pulls at the carpet.
If that doesn't work she reaches under the quilt and nudges somewhat less gently with claws!
Several times she's brought her favourite 'fetching' toy and pushed it right in to my hand
and wailed til I throw it for her. (Beware, kittens can get addicted to 'fetch' it seems!)
(see
www.youtube.com/watch
to see her in action!!)
I love her dearly, but am getting seriously sleep deprived and wonder if anyone has a solution?
She's a very vocal kitten so I think shutting her out of the bedroom won't work and so far she's
thwarted my attempts at blacking out the window (hoping delayed dawn might work?) by
pulling the curtains back/off.
I don't wish to shout at her or shoo her away too much as I don't want her to be put off coming for
cuddles, and she still jumps on her mum regularly despite being unceremoniously thrown off
and growled at quite often...and she's so smart she's figured out that she can reach us by
burrowing under the quilt, so playing 'dead' is not a great option!
any ideas?? The bags under my eyes are growing bags of their own!!
posted by:
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United Kingdom
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Re: Sleep deprivation! Please help!
Tue, March 18, 2008 - 12:33 PMOh god I was in the same boat for MONTHS living in a studio apartment with a crazed cat & his brother. They would keep me up all night. I think for a while I had some luck with a product called "Calm Down" which is a natural relaxant for cats. YOu put it in their food or water.
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Re: Sleep deprivation! Please help!
Tue, March 18, 2008 - 1:05 PMMy Jack does the same thing at 5am, when my fiance gets up. If it's not attacking me, its laying on my face. There's no escape. He's now 9 months old and still not over it. Sorry, I'm no help what so ever -
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Re: Sleep deprivation! Please help!
Tue, March 18, 2008 - 2:14 PMI know it's no help now, but these are the precious memories you'll be cherishing when your cats are 15 years old and slowing down.
Yeah. I know. I've been going through it too, with two half-Siamese in two years. You just ride it out, is all. It gets better even as it defies all your efforts to *make* it get better. They all outgrow these things at different rates but they do outgrow them.
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Re: Sleep deprivation! Please help!
Tue, March 18, 2008 - 2:14 PMI'm STILL dealing with it for the past 3 years with my kitty!!!! I have to shut her out and put pillows in front and behind the door cause she likes to take her paw and reach under and play with the spring!!! Now I just get up when she disturbs me at 3...4....5am and open the door to my screened in patio. -
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Re: Sleep deprivation! Please help!
Tue, March 18, 2008 - 4:27 PMIf we close the door mine either paws up the carpet or my personal favorite - reaches under the door, curls his paw around the bottom and then starts banging the door into the jamb to wake us up. -
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Re: Sleep deprivation! Please help!
Wed, March 19, 2008 - 10:35 AMI had exact same issue... What I do is lay a huge blanket around the area outside the door for the carpet. And u could stuff another blank under the door to prevent paw from coming under.... I usually use pillows cause they're easier to find when I'm half-asleep.... -
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Re: Sleep deprivation! Please help!
Wed, March 19, 2008 - 1:07 PMif you have a door, you have hope - but if you don't, you can try different stuff but you might be stuck. They do grow out of it - just like the kitten is ignoring its mom's rebuffs right now and pretending they're not happening, eventually the kitten will get the message and leave mom alone. And eventually, if you're consistent with refusing to react, just like the mom cat is being now, the kitten will ggive up trying to get you to wake up before you're ready. Plus in not much more time than that, the kitten will grow up herself, and probably just do things like stare at you or sit quietly on your chest until you wake up that way. You've made me think back so long ago when my babies were kittens and used to do this, along with rampaging thru the house starting promptly at 11:30 p.m. (sigh!) I'd be happy for a little sleep deprivation of that sort now.
You can try shutting the kitten in a medium-sized carrier when you go to bed, covering it with a light cloth or blanket, and putting it as far away from your bed as possible until morning. She needs to not have too much space to rocket around in the carrier but not be squished either. She might very well cry for awhile but should get bored and go to sleep. For best results, you could start her off with short times in the carrier and a nice treat after she's let out rather than freak her out with a whole night at once.
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Re: Sleep deprivation! Please help!
Wed, March 19, 2008 - 1:26 PMlove your video - what beautiful kitties! that patchy one seems really really intelligent, and the classic tabby is one of my most favorites (they're rare around here but I had one for 17 years) -
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Re: Sleep deprivation! Please help!
Wed, March 19, 2008 - 1:45 PMIt's kinda comforting to know I'm not the only sleepless cat lover! :)
Thanks for the compliments Lily. Yes, my patchy kitten is ridiculously
intelligent. Her tabby mum is too, and has a lovely temperement despite
her feral (and I think traumatic) past.
I don't think I dare try the 'carrier' technique tho. She hates
being confined. Even scrambles on to shoulders rather than be
held...the vets already know they have to examine her on my back
rather than the table...
but I will take comfort in the hope she'll grow out of it and try ignoring
her dawn behaviour more. Her mum is very patient.
My previous cat (who adopted me when she was a year
or two old) used to lie patiently on my torso til I got up - as if she
was guarding me so she knew when I was moving. Far more civilised
way to wake up! -
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Re: Sleep deprivation! Please help!
Thu, March 20, 2008 - 12:00 PMMy boy Neo loves to get up early and let's you know when it's time to go outside :-). Good thing for me I am an early riser too so no worries there (well mostly).
His sister Trinity was opposite...she would wake up and then just sit there next to me until I woke up then we would begin our day together when I got to work from home...I sure miss her!
You could try the squirt bottle but I don't believe in them myself...I mean it's the kitties home too! :-)
aren't dem kittehs the BEST??? :-)
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Re: Sleep deprivation! Please help!
Fri, March 21, 2008 - 2:26 AMThat's a great video and those cats are very cool. I like how the other one has this look of "What the..." when the other one is running around!
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Re: Sleep deprivation! Please help!
Fri, March 21, 2008 - 6:17 AMSee if you can grab her and get her to lie down with you and let you pet her. Might be better than trying to play dead, the attention could reinforce the idea that everyone else is still trying to sleep.
Oh, the head sleeping mentioned. When i first brought Hannah home, she slept on my head. Glad she outgrew that, as big as she is now. She learned that if I wanted to keep sleeping, that she could lay down or leave the room...from me gently pulling her down next to me. -
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Re: Sleep deprivation! Please help!
Fri, March 28, 2008 - 12:07 PMOh geeses only a wake up call at sunrise, try all night, most nights with two cats taking turns . If they are not in another room meowing and rattleing at the door they are pouncing on me. -
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Re: Sleep deprivation! Please help!
Fri, March 28, 2008 - 12:10 PMThey have been sleeping to 5am lately because it is vacation for my kids and we stay up late playing with the cats and this seems to tucker them out so that they sleep till day light. No sounds from 12:30 am til about 5am yippee!!! -
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Re: Sleep deprivation! Please help!
Fri, March 28, 2008 - 4:22 PMwe did initially have the bed below the window but soon found that impossible as
both cats were up and down, via us, to the window sill all night. Large cat or
high velocity kitten landing on stomach, not good.
We didn't realise the kitten was on the verge of her
first heat when I posted (my partner was soon apologising for not being a male
cat as she kept offering her bottom...) and things are definitely improving. She paws
her kittie biscuit bag now to get my attention. I dish out a handful (I put it next to
bed), they get an early breakfastx=-dfc &**$
(typos courtesy of kitten...)
and provided one of them hasn't pulled the extra blackout curtain down, we all
go back to sleep til about 7.
She's starting to sleep next to me. awwwwh! -
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Re: Sleep deprivation! Please help!
Sun, March 30, 2008 - 8:06 PMsounds good :)
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Re: Sleep deprivation! Please help!
Wed, April 2, 2008 - 6:15 AMI love the video.
thanks -
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Re: Sleep deprivation! Please help!
Thu, April 3, 2008 - 7:33 AMThanks Cathy. I'm so proud of my clever feline companions!
I need to do a new one. We vary the game with mid air catches
(paws and/or mouth)
and often she drops her earplug in a lampshade, shoes, her water
bowl or even the loo (NOT being encouraged...) just for the fun
of fishing it out. She can't resist my blusher brush either!
Am being allowed to sleep til dawn now, when they get a
handful of kittie bisquits, and then I get a bit of a lie in til
she gets too impatient and wants me to play... -
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Re: Sleep deprivation! Please help!
Thu, April 3, 2008 - 7:35 AMoops, think i repeated bits of previous post!!! Am still catching up on the zzzz's
but work up with BOTH of them snuggled up to me this morning :)
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