The midnight meowing must STOP!!!

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!

Holly- Weilhammer

Houdini of the- House

Purred: Tue Jan 24, '12 10:34am PST


	We adopted Holly very recently and she has slowly been getting used to our house and to us. She likes to hide during the day and comes out at about midnight and requests cuddles and attention in as loud of a voice that a Tiffany cat can manage. I don't mind this, my son was a baby not too long ago, so I am able to get up and accommodate her need for attention. What ever makes her comfortable, I understand that she is in a new house with new humans. However, last night, it seems she has made her decision that I am her favorite human and will only be satisfied if I pet her or call to her (If my significant other tries to call her to the bed she will continue to meow and ignore him but will instantly jump up if I call to her. Shes not afraid of him and allows him to pet her but she wont come to him). I usually go down stairs in order for my significant other to sleep while she and I bond. Does anyone have any advice on how I can help her to know that the bed is where night time snuggles happen, that we sleep at night, and to get used to being around the house during the day time hours rather than hiding. I'm worried that her mewing will wake up my son and then I will have two attention hogs on my hand at midnight!!!!!!

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Natalie the- Natcat Mad- Tail Py

Show some- respect,- youngster!

Purred: Tue Jan 24, '12 11:04am PST


	We ask alot of cats. Wild cats are mostly nocturnal, and our small domesticated Tigers have the same, gene, I believe. Most of my cats are sleepers during the day...after they eat, they snooze...with the exception of CK and the BUB. CKs only 6 months, the BUB is a little over a year. Natalie wakes my husband for food at 4 am, come weekends, rain or shine. He trained her that way...he gets up during the week that early for work...and if he 'sleeps in' he has a little orange alarm clock to walk on his head and remind him that it's time to get up and feed the kitties! There are a couple things that might help Holly...try feeding her a good meal of high quality grainless food before bed. I notice the more good protein my cats eat, the better they rest. Carbs appear to do to them what they do to us...make them more hyper. The other thing is to spend time in bed cuddling with Holly. Let your SO spend time doing things she likes with her...maybe he should be the one to feed her, and spend time brushing her and cuddling with her and just giving her lots of petting. Natalie loves mes, alot. But she is clearly 'Daddy's Girl'. It's just the way some cats are-some bond more strongly to some people than to others. Don't know why...just happens that way. But your SO should spend time establishing a quiet, quality bond with Holly. I would make bedtime something Holly really enjoys and looks forward to....something she can enjoy. Hope this helps a bit.

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Holly- Weilhammer

Houdini of the- House

Purred: Tue Jan 24, '12 11:32am PST


	It was helpful. Thank you I think I am going to have my SO get up with her tonight. He just told me he did that with her last night when I wouldn't wake up and he fed her some Ramen that he made himself (I about flipped when I heard that he fed her Ramen).

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Leo

purrrr

Purred: Tue Jan 24, '12 11:45am PST


	I know it sounds heartless, but we think the best thing to do for night time wake ups is to ignore, ignore, ignore. Anything you do will reinforce her, because she is getting attention. It will be hard to ignore those meows, but if you just tough it out surely they will subside over time. She probably knows she can hop up in bed with you without being invited, right? Good luck.

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Holly- Weilhammer

Houdini of the- House

Purred: Tue Jan 24, '12 12:13pm PST


	I feel so bad ignoring her especially since its a new place for her with new humans. I wake up at night because I want her to know that we are here for love and attention, but I can see how that might create a bad habit... She wont get on the bed unless I call to her for some reason, so I don't actually know if she thinks she needs permission or not... we never made it by permission only but maybe her previous foster family had a permission only rule. If she thinks that, how do I teach her that she has the run of the house?

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Leo

purrrr

Purred: Tue Jan 24, '12 1:42pm PST


	Well, having the run of the house comes very naturally to cats. I bet she'll figure out hopping up there without an invitation. You could try putting a blanket or stuffed toy up there that has her scent on it, playing with her on the bed during the day, or feeding her treats and just spending time in general with her there during the day...to make it feel more like hers.

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Holly- Weilhammer

Houdini of the- House

Purred: Thu Jan 26, '12 5:21am PST


	So we tried ignoring her, tried getting her to come up and lay down but there is still meowing all hours of the night. She is way more comfortable in the house now and doesn't hide all day so she has been getting more attention during the day. Is the crazy meowieness just because she is still technically a kitten? A result of her not being altered yet? Or is she lonely?

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Leo

purrrr

Purred: Thu Jan 26, '12 6:00am PST


	We feel so silly not asking if she had been spayed yet. So, she's 10 months old and hasn't been spayed? Yes, she definitely could be in heat and that WILL lead to obnoxious meowing. I'd get that done asap. And the ignoring of a behavior to extinguish it could take weeks...just have to tough it out. Good luck.

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Holly- Weilhammer

Houdini of the- House

Purred: Thu Jan 26, '12 7:54am PST


	Well, I guess that would explain it. We only got her early last week and because she is a Chantilly/Tiffany we have been in talks about lettering her have a liter of kittens before we get her fixed. IT was completely by chance that we got her and she turned out to be my favorite "breed" of cat. We had planned on adopting her with out knowing her breed (she was rescued by a nice family as a kitten when her mother was killed, all of her litter mates were adopted except her. man... now I have a lot of thinking to do. I've never had a cat in heat before...

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