Hmmm, this is a tough one! That is an excellent thought about the cats being able to escape if there was ever a fire. You've got me thinking now and that is a good idea. We're moving in the near future and I'm going to keep this in mind for our next house.
Sounds like you're almost back to your normal 6:00 a.m. routine with her now getting frisky at 5:30 instead of at 5:00. Maybe you could go to bed half an hour later for a week so she sleeps a bit longer in the a.m.
Of course that doesn't solve your lack of sleep problem, you'd still be losing half an hour but at the beginning instead of the end. I was just thinking that if she fell asleep a bit later, she'd hopefully sleep until 6:00.