Problem: Your baby cat keeps waiting you up at night when you try to get some sleep.
- You close your bedroom door, kitty will be outside meowing and whinning and scratching the door
- so you open the door to let them in, but they properly won't sleep as you dream of.
As parents of two cats, we were having hard time to sleep at night as Bruno and Peter (especially Bruno) would like to jump up and down and play with each other, or maybe one of them is hungry, then he will jump on to my chest and start meowing right into my face.
Reason: Cats have very different sleep-wake cycles than us and naturally they hunt and are active in the evening or early morning, but it might also because of the following reasons.
- Being home alone. When you are busy working or studying outside, guess what they do at home? Right, they SLEEP. I think that answer the question "why are they so active and excited at night?"
- Boredom. They might be alone or bored during the day at home, they will very likely to look for interaction or attention after you get home.
- Hunger. Cats get hungry at night naturally as this is a part of their natural instinct.
- Old age. They tend to change sleep pattern when they get older.
- Health problems. These can include:
- Pain
- Anxiety
- Hyperthyroidism Chronic illness and so on...
Therefore, if their sleep pattern suddenly changes and acts abnormally, it’s a good idea to check with your vet to find out the health problem.
Here are some suggestions for you
- Keep your cat entertained during the day. Spend time with your cat when you get home from work or study, but do not use catnip to train your cat. Buying new toys or rotate their toys periodically to keep your cat busy.
- Change feeding schedule GRADUALLY. Try not to change feeding time in a very short amount of time as this might cause anxiety to them. Introduce new feeding schedule slowly and gradually to help them to get used to it. Feed them with smaller amount of food during the day, and give them a bigger meal before bed.
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Save your own space at night. Set up a cozy sleep area with a litter box as far away from your room as possible. For a fluffy and calming cat bed, please click here to take a look.
- IGNORE—YOU NEED TO STAY STRONG. I know it's really hard...but giving attention at night actually rewards their behavior, which you don't want to do that.
Helpfully this would help, and have a good sleep my dear cat parents!