I havn't had a full nights sleep in 9 years

[HotCrossNun]

Our family cat meows to be let out at 3-4am every morning. Every morning. With out fail.

The problem started 9 years ago since we adopted her as a young 3 year old cat. My DH generally sleeps right through it, as do the children. I try letting her out in the evening. I try shutting all the doors, trapping her as far away as possible from my bedroom. I try ignoring her. But the meows, they drill into my head, each like a small screw being tapped into my skull, never stopping, until eventually I'm wide awake and clenching my fists with irritation that I just get up and let her outside, or inside, or wherever she wants to go. Even on the rare occasion that my DH is awoken and sees to the cat, I'm already wide awake, driven slowly insane by the endless mews.

I've tried moving where she sleeps, feeding her at different times, locking her outside for the entire day so that she is tired and sleeps all night. But no, still she cries on in the early hours.

On several occasions I've pleded about getting a cat flap, but DH is set dead against the idea, 'in case it encourages burglary'.

Now I have raised 8 children. Even the nights of screaming babies and troublesome toddlers who can't sleep eventually came to an end. But this has just been a constant irritation that somehow I just can't stop.

My family love the cat. I love our cat. I really don't want to get rid of her. But please, I don't think I can take it much longer. WWYD?

I would tell DH it's the catflap or no cat. Or start working nights. :)

How does a catflap encourage burglary ?

Wake your DH every time the cat wakes you. Then maybe he'll get it.

How many burglars crawl through a cat flap?

As funny as it sounds, there's been a spout of 'cat flap burglaries' this year, and a similar thing a few years ago - that, and the fact that 9 years of being manually let in and out, I don't know whether she'd adapt to using a cat flap.

Wake your DH every time the cat wakes you. Then maybe he'll get it.

All well and good, but it doesn't stop me being woken up in the first place!

You can get catflaps that only open with the right chip in the cat's collar, so other cats (and burglars?) can't open them. Your only other option is to make sure the cat is shut in a room far enough away that you can't hear her.

Wear ear plugs!

Your cat could live for a good few years yet , so unless you carry on as you are you need to find a workable solution.

As MyCat has said you can get electronic cats flaps. You can also get microchip cat flaps (you code them to your cats number), but these are £90 and (obviously) only work if your cat is chipped.

You don't only have to put a cat flap in a door, you can also get round ones which go in windows, or maybe you could put a flap in your shed/summerhouse or garage side door, and put your cat out at night and train her to go into one of these. The only reason people can nick stuff is if you leave keys in the door lock where they can easily be hooked out of the lock by a curved metal pole, or if items like car keys, wallets etc are left within reach of a stick or hook through the cat flap.

Think you'll just have to be creative

Thank you for your replies. I will certainly look into the chipped cat flaps - still not sure what DH will say, but I'm getting so grumpy being woken up every night I think he's just going to have to deal with it!

(Autocorrect suggests 'flatcap' instead of 'catflap' !!!)

I'd hate to get rid of poor cat - she's basically like a little sister to the younger DC :(

Wear earplugs!