How Can I Get My Cats To Stop Waking Me Up In The Morning?

[WooWooWoo]

I get up pretty early in the morning (around 4:15) and once I do, I head over in the kitchen, the cats follow me, meowing all the way, I crack open a can of cat food, split it into their separate bowls and let them eat.

Everything with that is fine, except on the weekends, when I get to sleep in late, but the cats don't care. They'll walk on top of me, scratch at the blanket, at the headboard, until I get up and feed them.

How can I get them to let me sleep in? I'd really like to sleep past 4 on the weekends.

[Duer 157099]

1. Feed them before you go to bed

hopefully they won't be as hungry in the morning

[WooWooWoo]

2. i've tried that

they'll nibble at the food at night, but let it sit there.

I don't understand why they insist on being fed the same time every morning. It's not like they'll go hungry, I already leave a double feeder with dry food out for them.

[Duer 157099]

7. OK then they are evil

No, just kidding, they are just cats.

How late can you feed them on weekdays? Maybe try to change their habit, don't feed them as early as you do, feed them as late as you possibly can? It might take some days but eventually it may work

[WooWooWoo]

12. well, i feed them that early

because I have to be at work by 5:45 and my wife can't feed them because she's allergic (she's Celiac). So I kinda have to feed them once before I leave for work and once when I get home.

I know I don't HAVE to feed them in the morning, but I feel bad because they obviously love the wet food more than the dry stuff.

[RedStateLiberal]

8. Stop feeding them canned food in the morning altogether.

Change the time they're accustomed to getting their favorite food. It might take some time for them to get used to it, but they probably will eventually.

[GoCubsGo]

14. Yep. Or, at the very least...

...don't feed them immediately on days when you get up early. Go about your business before you put out the food, and keep pushing that time back later and later, until it's around the time you get up on weekends. Cats are creatures of habit, and you just need to change their habit.

If that doesn't work, I recommend ear plugs. That way, you can ignore them, and they will eventually get the hint.

[RedStateLiberal]

16. Yep - creatures of habit.

Gradually changing the feeding time is a good idea.

And don't I know it about cats being creatures of habit. At this moment my neediest cat is begging for attention. She is never satisfied no matter how much attention I give her. Scratching her back is the only petting that's acceptable and she bugs me non-stop. I've had to learn to ignore her when she is constantly meowing for a back scratch because if I don't she'll always ask for it in an annoying way and never give up until I relent. I love petting her but not all the damn time, so I make sure to give her attention only when she's not being so needy. It's worked to some extent, but it's sometimes easier to just give in and pet her when she's relentlessly begging and loudly meowing. I swear she has no long-term memory. I will pet her and pet her for a half-hour straight and 2 minutes after I stop she's back again begging as if that never happened and I'm neglecting her.

To really change a cat's behavior you have to change your own behavior.

[rug]

3. Lock them in the bathroom.

[WooWooWoo]

5. that's a no go

I'll describe my two cats.

The older one is named Cece and she's a grey DS. She's quiet and shy and only meows for food. Most of the time she likes to be left alone, but also kinda wants to know what you're up to - if that makes any sense.

The younger one is named Camo and she's a white and orange Calico. She's spunky and loud and fearless. I can't even go to the bathroom without her following me in, and if I close the door on her she'll scratch at it until I let her in. She only stops scratching long enough to meow at me. When I do let her in she constantly wants to be petted and rub against me.

If I lock either of them (or worse, both) in the bathroom they'll scream and claw at the door all night. I can't even just leave them outside the bedroom, they just wail and wail and wail.

I love my cats, but Jeez, I never knew owning them could be so irritating.

[rug]

9. In that case, leave a can next to your bed. Pop it when they wake you up.

When they're done eating they'll join you.

[WooWooWoo]

10. yeah but...

i don't want to be woken up. Once I'm up I'm pretty much incapable of going back to sleep.

[rug]

13. Well, I'm tapped, Henry.

Good luck.

[HarveyDarkey]

4. close the door

with them on the other side

[meti57b]

6. All those little cat paws scraping up and down a closed door, are actually kind of noisy ........

to sleep through.

[HarveyDarkey]

11. Another solution

or just get some ear plugs

[marzipanni]

21. or whatever else the little buggers can come up with....

[meti57b]

34. LOLZ ........ much too funny!!!

[emilyg]

15. Leave a bowl of

dry food overnight.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

17. Cats are crepuscular.

They are naturally most active evenings and early mornings. I've heard this suggestion for getting cats to sleep later in the morning: Get blackout curtains.; that way they can't tell dawn is coming. Other than that, I got nothing. My own cats usually don't get up until I do, maybe because I'm now retired and always get up at the same time, whether weekdays or weekends. They know that they won't get fed until I get up.

[Patiod]

18. Stopped feeding in the morning after a vacation.

It took her THREE YEARS for her to stop waking us up in the morning.

But she did stop.

We will never, ever, ever feed a cat in the morning again. She kept trying to wake us earlier and earlier - it just got out of hand.

[applegrove]

19. Put dry food on the menu and put it out the night before.

[riderinthestorm]

20. You have to stop feeding them in the morning. Leave dry food 24/7

so you know they aren't hungry but only feed them the canned food at night.

The first few days/week will be rough but stay strong. They'll eventually figure out that you aren't open for business in the am.

[Incitatus]

40. +1

This sounds like the easiest way. Feed them canned food at night instead and do it consistently, it might take them a while to get used to the transition. Which means NOT giving in to them in the mornings during that transition.

[MrMickeysMom]

22. !!!

[rDigital]

23. Spray Bottle filled with water

They harass you in bed, spray them with harmless annoying jets of water. Let them know they will be fed at your leisure and not on their insistence. Show those kitty boos who's the boss, like Tony Danza.

I love cats. Endless entertainment.

[SoDesuKa]

24. Don't Spoil Animals

Companion animals aren't so delicate that they can't handle some correction in their behavior. You have to set limits or they'll walk all over you. If you don't let them know what's OK and what's not, they'll just act out of their own animal natures.

[Lasher]

25. Mine your bedroom.

When you take one of them out with a Claymore, the surviving cat will get the point.

No need to thank me.

[Ikonoklast]

35. The cats would turn those mines around as soon as OP went to sleep.

My advice to the OP is that he is totally fucked, and needs to learn how to live a life of sleep deprivation.

[gkhouston]

38. LOL, I knew someone who plugged in a vaccuum cleaner next to their bed.

When the cats started nagging him at o'-dark-hundred, he flipped on the Agent of Satan for a minute. High-speed cat exodus. After 2-3 days, the cats stopped nagging for wet food for breakfast.

[Lasher]

43. That is a funny trick.

And actually a pretty good idea.

[intaglio]

26. Here are some methods

Give them to someone else

Have a Rmoney residence and sleep in one of your other homes

Sleep in a soundproofed room with an airlock - or better yet the Space Station (in space no one can hear a "mew!"

[JonLP24]

27. Eat some cat food

sniff some glue and drink a beer and you should be able to fall back asleep.

[JesterCS]

28. looks like i picked the wrong day to quit sniffing glue. *Airplane*

love that movie lol

[HopeHoops]

29. Duct tape.

[raccoon]

30. You can't. You must do what I do. Either go ahead and feed the cats, and go back to bed.

Or else put them out and then go back to bed.

[TrogL]

31. Feed them in the evening.

Mine get a packet of wet food when I get home from work and they've got access to a big bucket of kibble whenever they want it.

[GreenPartyVoter]

32. My kittehs have their own little bedroom, and they don't come out until someone wakes up for the day

They are still young (4 mo) and I don't want them getting into trouble while we're sleeping.

Not sure if this will work for older kittehs who never had to stay in one room overnight before.

[Arugula Latte]

33. Submit to the kitties and just be happy you don't have an annoying dog that needs to go outside.

[derby378]

36. I treated it as a little miracle

Banjo would tenderly pat my face until I woke up and gave her scritches. She was more reliable than my alarm clock.

[Xipe Totec]

37. Specify constraints. Otherwise, the slution is trivial nt

[Lydia Leftcoast]

39. I often have to stay up late working on translations for Japanese clients, so

being awakened at first light (which is about 5:00AM in Minnesota during the summer) is not an option.

Before I got my cat, I asked some cat-expert friends how to prevent the Alarm Cat syndrome.

They had two suggestions:

1. Feed the cat wet food only at night or midday

2. If he woke me up at the wrong time, I should say "no!" sharply and pull the covers over my head. If he woke me at the right time, I should pet him and praise him and generally make a fuss over him.

Eventually I trained him to wait till the radio comes on in the morning. He learned quickly and waits patiently before the nuzzling and pawing starts. However, if I sleep in too late, say about 9:00 or 10:00, he gets impatient and starts waking me up anyway, radio or no radio.

[nadine_mn]

41. My little torturer...err Kitteh does the same damn thing

He gets wet food at night for dinner (around 5:30) and dry food for breakfast at 5:30 am. The dogs are on the same schedule. We could never leave an auto feeder for our cat because he would eat all day or the dogs would eat it all.

Usually right before bed I try to leave some dry kibble out for him...most of the time that works, but he usually starts trying to wake me up at 3 or 4 am.


I agree with other posters about switching to kibble breakfast...I am sorry your cats do this, I feel your pain.

I have an older dog who usually has to potty in the middle of the night so sleeping through the night is a luxury I can only dream about.

[SoDesuKa]

42. Greet Them With Compressed Air

You have to adjust to life with them; and they have to adjust to life with you. One way to let them know their attentions aren't welcome is to greet them with compressed air. Eventually they'll understand the difference between 4:00 a.m. with you asleep in bed and the same time of day with you sitting on the edge of the bed while putting your feet into your slippers. If it's a BIG difference to you, it should be a big difference to them as well.

[lastlib]

44. Stop sleeping in the morning! That's company time to the felines!

Or, stick 'em in a gunny sack with a couple big rocks, tie it shut, and take it swimming with you.....(I don't recommend that solution, mind you, but their biological clock is set, and you can't adjust it.)

You could try keeping them awake during the day, to show them how it feels, and try to readjust their sleep schedule that way. 'Sworth a try...

[musiclawyer]

45. Many won't like this solution but it works

if you start when they are young or new in the house. Yell at them and appear angry. They can sense moods. And they don't like it when their human is PO'd. After a while they won't engage you until you are awake and engage them. Cats train you. You can train them to a certain extent.