Waking up at 4am for attention

This is a place to gain some understanding of cat behavior and to assist people in training their cats and dealing with common behavior problems, regardless of the method(s) used. Keep in mind that you may be receiving advice from other cat owners and lovers...not professionals. If you have a major problem, always seek the advice of a trainer or behaviorist!

Ozzy

1062778

Purred: Thu Nov 5, '09 9:39am PST


	My cat Ozzy is driving my boyfriend and I INSANE. Every morning, right around 4am, he wakes up and wants to be fed. He gets fed, and he's content for five minutes. Then the whining starts. He is very obviously making noise for attention. He likes it when we watch him eat. He claws at the closet doors, the walls, or the dressers - bascally anything he can get his paws on. He meows in this pathetic sort of way that makes him sound like he's crying - it sounds really sad actually He will meow (we wake up, stir a little), wait a minute (we fall back asleep), then meow again. All the while he is just standing on the floor, looking at us. If I close the door to the bedroom, he will claw at it and scratch it up which is not okay since we are renting! Not to mention it makes so much noise. We have tried various things... 1) Ignoring him (though this admittedly did not last long) - I think this is our best bet but the Bf gets so annoyed that he always wants to give in 2) Giving him cat nip - sometimes this works, but usually not 3) Squirting him with a water bottle 4) Getting up and hanging out with him - which he loves... but I don't 5) Putting him back in bed and petting him to sleep - he just wakes up a couple minutes later The most frustrating part of all of this? FIVE MINUTES before my alarm goes off, he runs into his cat bed and falls fast asleep. sigh I've always thought that ignoring him is the only thing that will work, but my boyfriend is an extremely light sleeper and he thinks it will be impossible to ignore. Tips/help/anything pleeeease!! Edited by author Thu Nov 5, '09 10:46am PST

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Charity- Valentine- Fajer

Charity - Agent of sleep.

Purred: Thu Nov 5, '09 1:47pm PST


	My Charity does this sometimes. She used to do it more often. I started consistently removing her from the room when she pestered me. Like your kitty she would often sit outside the door and scratch it. Next step was to pick her up put her in another room and shut that door. With two doors shut in between us we can sleep without hearing her. She still does decide to be a pain sometimes (last night), but it's gotten so much better. If I wake up later to go the bathroom I let her out and she is generally very well behaved. Consistency is key!

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Ozzy

1062778

Purred: Fri Nov 6, '09 5:33am PST


	Thank you for the advice! I guess I need to figure out a way to cover the bottom of the door somehow so he can't ruin it... thanks again

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Aura

I love whole- chicks and mice!

Purred: Fri Nov 6, '09 9:37am PST


	I do the same as the previous poster with Aura. Sometimes she'll sleep nice with us, but usually at some time during the night she starts attacking us. So we pick her up and put her in "her room." In there is the blanket she loves, food, water, condo, and toys. She then sleeps (I hope I don't jinx myself here) until she hears us get up in the morning. You can put double sided tape on the floor and door. Also try taping down tin foil. They say most cats hate it.