- My cat is keeping me awake at night! She comes and jumps on me until I either play with her or feed her some canned food!! I used to use a spray bottle but it no longer works. She is great at dodging the water! How can I stop this behavior? Sleepless in Pittsburgh
- HI. I am wondering if you can help. My young cats play on my bed at night and they keep me up. If I try to put them out, they scratch under and at the door. I don’t want to be mean to them and I am so frustrated. Thank you. Carrie from North Hills
PLEASE NOTE: The suggestions here are in regard to cats that regularly disturb you during sleep. IF YOUR CAT IS OLDER OR IF THIS BEHAVIOR IS UNUSUAL FO R YOUR CAT, I SUGGEST THAT YOU HAVE YOUR VETERINARIAN EVALUATE THE PROBLEM
- While it IS true that a cat’s natural active state is at Dusk and at Dawn, it is ALSO true we are able to either strengthen behaviors in one direction or another. That is, we can teach our cats and develop their inclination to play and ask for attention during the hours that are convenient for us OR we can “feed into” their tendency to develop the desire to be active and receive attention during our sleep time. So let’s look at the ways in which we can encourage them to settle and rest during the night or at least refrain from disturbing you!
CHANGE FEEDING SCHEDULE: Instead of feeding your cat all of her food early in the day, use a measured amount of food and withhold some of it until the evening. Your cat having a full belly at your bedtime will reduce the probability that your cat will awaken you during the night for food. What you feed your cat matters as well. Make sure your cat food has some type of meat (not the word meat but fish, chicken, beef etc.) listed as the first ingredient and that there are no fillers in the food.
PLAY THERAPY and ATTENTION BEFORE BED AND DURING THE DAY: Play with your cat in the evening and before bed to vent some of that playful and predatory energy. There are many wonderful toys and stimulating games on the market. Go on the internet and explore…..What would be appealing to your cat? You may also want to purchase some interactive toys for your cat to play with independently during the day. An animal needs to exercise and have stimulation. The expression a tired dog (or cat) is a well behaved dog (or cat) is indeed true! If your cat is not exercised regularly, she may develop undesirable ways to vent. Much like us—if we exercise, we are less likely to develop unhealthy conditions and habits.
LEVEL OF LIGHT IN YOUR HOUSE: Some folks have a night light in their bedroom or they leave on the TV when they fall asleep. If your cat is easily aroused or if you have kittens, that stimulation may be enough to get them going at night.
STOP GIVING ATTENTION WHEN THE CAT IS BEHAVING INNAPPROPRIATELY: The most reliable and sometimes the ONLY treatment for attention getting behavior is extinction. This means that you MUST ignore the cat when she bothers you 100% of the time! It may be difficult for a week or so but you must Completely ignore unwanted behavior. Intermittent attention strengthens a behavior. So this means that if you ignore your cat for 30 minutes and then yell at her or pet her or even push her off the bed, she will know that she has been successful in getting your attention. If you consistently ignore this behavior, your cat will realize that you are not willing to do it her way.
Ignoring demands for attention along with these others suggestions can yield great success!! Go for it!
If you are having a behavioral issue with your cat, visit Judith’s website @ www.judithlevywellness.com
