Need some advice.. PLEASE

I have a bit of a problem with the kids.. particularly Bassett and Nutmeg. I'm not getting any sleep because of it. Around 4:30am, they want to play, make all kinds of racket, and keep me up. This goes on until about 8:30am. Because it's so late after I go to bed, I don't know if playing before sleep time would work? I'm almost at the point where I want to keep them in a separate room at night, but I know that Nutmeg will howl and cry all night long.. she hates being apart from me and the rest of the house. Does anyone know what I can do? I'm exhausted!!!! :p

Filou and Tigris also can behave like that because their daddy gets up in the night and gives them food and entertainment. When I was alone with them for some days -I strictly ignored them one night (which was tough because they begin to scratch books and to destroy newspapers etc.). The second night it was already over-they were much more quiet.

Playing a lot during daytime so that they are really tired can also help.

Now as they are getting older it is all better but from time to time there still is a night..... (Especially with the full moon).

I would give them a good play before you go to bed. When they wake you up in the middle of the night, just ignore them totally and hopefully they'll settle down. You could try to move all their toys to a different room so if they wanna play while you're sleeping, maybe they'll go to that other room instead?

Quote:

---

Originally posted by aly
I would give them a good play before you go to bed. When they wake you up in the middle of the night, just ignore them totally and hopefully they'll settle down. You could try to move all their toys to a different room so if they wanna play while you're sleeping, maybe they'll go to that other room instead?

---

By ignoring them, they continiue to play. They aren't bugging ME they are whapping their toys around and hitting the closet door, playing with each other, and just doing normal, noisy cat stuff. If they bug me I ignore it and they go away.

Their toys are supposed to be in a box in the hall.. :rolleyes: They must be to easy to pick up! :D

Ohhhhhh!!!

Hmm.. invest in ear plugs! Hehe, just kidding.

Let me see... maybe you could baby gate your room. Make it so they can still get in by jumping over the gate but maybe it will be too hard to carry toys over?

This is a tough one. I'll keep thinking! (You know how well I think when I don't have sleep :rolleyes: :p )

hide the toys away ..?

eddies mom would put him in his cat carrier when that happened.
just as long as i wasn't there.

i just put up with it........it's part of having a cat.

I used to have that problem with Corkscrew and Tibby, so a few things I've learned.
1. hide all toys and plastic bags at night
2. give them a good workout before I go to bed so they are tired
3. I give them some canned food before I go to bed at night so they have a full belly and they sleep longer. It's also good to feed them after a play session because it helps with the hunt then eat instinct that a cat has.

I like Uabassoon's 3rd piece of advice (the others as well)

I am a heavy sleeper, so I rarely even know this is going on, but Charlie, on the other hand will shut them out of the bedroom if it bugs him. Not all night, they can stay in as long as we get our sleep, but if at 4 a.m. or so, they are being rowdy, the door gets shut.

Is good advise, Uabassoon!
Aly, that thing about earplugs also crossed my mind, ha ha! I use those thingies often when I need a rest and don't want to leave my cats or kids alone, he he!:D :D

Thats happens at our house too.

All doors are open at the start of the evening but if it gets too noisy the offending cats are placed in the living room (with toys) and behind a closed door.

Man trapped in bathroom by cat

A Canadian man had to be rescued by police after his cat went berserk and trapped him in a bathroom.

It took two police officers and animal control officer Ron Sabean, to subdue the seven-year-old cat.

The pet was snarling and hissing at the bathroom door in the house near Greenwood, Nova Scotia, when Mr Sabean arrived.

He said: "I've been in this business going on 24 years and I've never seen a cat focus on a person like that one did."

He had been called by police, who were unable to catch the cat on their own.

Mr Sabean said the cat has lived indoors all its life and has had no contact with other animals.

Although it had previously been good with its owners, it has been known to spit and hiss at strangers.

The trapped man suffered scratches in the incident, reports the Canoe website.


Story filed: 13:19 Tuesday 11th March 2003

hmm.. I always feed them right before bed, but I'll try a bigger meal to make them sleepy.

I will also try the big playing session before bed.

And I'll let you know tomorrow how well I sleep!!! :D

Noah, Noel, Basie and Livvy did this when we had Oliver....drove me nuts!! I was sleeping in the living room so David could be in the room with Oliver at night and it seemed that the cats felt better playing with him gone.

I really like this idea:
3. I give them some canned food before I go to bed at night so they have a full belly and they sleep longer. It's also good to feed them after a play session because it helps with the hunt then eat instinct that a cat has.

If that doesn't work, what about throwing toys AWAY from your bedroom when they come in at 4:30?? Like, have a stash of mousies in a drawer or something.

Good luck! I hope you sleep really well. :)

Ours rise at about 5am in warmer weather and when the sunrise is early so we make sure all the curtains are shut at night to try fooling them into sleeping longer :rolleyes:

Bastet does this mostly in summer.

How I deal with it:

1. Gave her food just before I went to bed. That helped heaps - at least she didn't wake me up until 5am.

2. Gave her a catkong - its a rubber ball that you place food in - like cheese or something cat attracting that she can run around with at night trying to get the treat out. It makes no noise when it hits walls - leaves no marks either - AND its QUIET!

3. Hid her toys at night after she and I had a big play.

Naomi, I'm sorry that you haven't been getting much sleep but I can also relate to you. My cats take a nap in the early evening and then while I'm getting ready for bed they decide it's time to play. Sunny is the worst because he's very noisy. He'll run down the hallway chirping and yowling. I've learned to sleep with ear plugs and it does help some. Sunny is also a very early riser and will sometimes chirp in my ear around 5am. Last night he did this at around 1am. Good luck.

I think it's in a cats nature to be hunting and roaming during the early morning hours. You have received good advice from the posters above.

I also have a long playing session with Nakita before bed. I also keep all her 'portable' toys (balls, mouse etc) away from her during the night. I had to start doing that since she would always bring them into my bed at night and start playing with them right by my head!!

:rolleyes:

And if all else fails, ear plugs are a cheap alternative!

;)