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9:41am

Young cat with too much energy!

4 comments

My cat Gracie is almost 20 months old. In the past month, she has decided 5:30am is a wonderful time to get Mommy up. I have added extra play time and put her pieces of her food in different places, so she has to look for her yummies. Around 12:50am Sunday morning, she started crying. I have talked to a behavorist and she made some suggestions, all of which I all ready do. Does anyone have any ideas? I need some input.



Discussion

4 comments found.
Have you tried feeding her later in the evening? Do you leave dry food out during the night for you cat to eat if it gets hungry? It might help.

Brea
Brea (Brea1)
4 months ago
My cats have done the same. My younger girl is still fond of it and my older cat has mellowed. I have told them to go back to sleep. I don't give them what they want or they'll think this is okay behavior to get what they want. I also don't feed them in the AM anymore because they think breakfast should be earlier and earlier each day.

The older kitty doesn't do it very often so I'll get up and check on her to make sure everything is alright with her. She has health issues. I don't scold them or anything like that. I want them to wake me up if something is wrong but I don't give them more than a couple little pets and I don't play with them or give them more food if they've run out.

One of the things I did with my older cat years ago that really helped her bad behavior is that I stopped feeding her dinner before I ate mine. She was so mad about it at first she stopped eating dinner for a little while. She still asks to be fed while I'm cooking dinner but I make her wait. The point of this is to establish that you're the alpha member of the family so they'll follow your lead. You can even pretend to take a bit of their food before giving it to them so it establishes even more that you're in charge. Your behaviorist probably already told you all this but it works in time.

You'll have to be patient because it takes them a while to learn that they're not going to get played with, food or much attention in the middle of the night. Establishing yourself as the alpha works for both dogs and cats. Your young cat is just feeling nocturnal and can't help wanting to be up in the middle of the night. It will take your cat some time to figure out that you're not even slightly nocturnal.

goofygracie
goofygracie
4 months ago
For the last two nights, Grace has left me alone. The heat has something to do with it. I am feeding her right before I go to bed and I think that and playtime is helping tremendously. Thanks so much for your suggestions!

goofygracie
goofygracie
3 months ago
Gracie update. She has calmed down considerably and sleeps through the night. I think I have learned to ignore her in the wee hours of the morning. Thank goodness this phase is over!

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