My female Calico, Patches, has always decided that sometime between 4:30 - 5:30 AM is the best time for me to wake up. When plain meowing doesn't work she knocks things off of the nightstand. The Weds. before Thanksgiving she knocked the clock radio off. That seemed to work in getting me up so she remembered that. Thanksgiving morning she tried again and I heard myself say "if you knock that radio off, there will be no turkey for you today - your birthday." What cracked me up is that she stopped, laid down on the corner of the bed and went back to sleep. For some reason all of the cats that I have lived with feel that at the crack of dawn it is their duty to wake us up. What really gets me is that they then go right back to sleep on the warm spot you have left on the bed or someplace else in the house. I think it is just part of their duties and we have to live with it. Sometimes it is related to "breakfast" but not always. I too hate it when I need to go to the bathroom at 3:30 - or 4:00 AM because then they are raring to go and think that the day has begun. Patches has always told me when it is time to go to bed and leads me into the bedroom and jumps on the bed. When it is all said and done, I wouldn't trade any of it for the world even though it sometimes makes me irritable to be awake so early.