Are domestic cats truly nocturnal animals...

[WildRosie]

...or is it an urban myth perpetuated by the old tradition of putting the cat out for the night ? Does anyone still do this ?

Mine don't stick to the dusk/dawn timings.
One of mine will try to wake me a couple of times throughout the night to let me know he's off out gallivanting for a bit and then again to let me know he's back from his sheenanigans. We have a cat flap, no need to inform me but he does.

The other only goes out at dawn and has no interest in evening outings as she's busy taking it in turns to sleep on everybodys bed.

They still occasionally indulge in the Grand Prix midnight racing @Alphabet1spaghetti2 has experience of despite being approx 6, but as kittens they were a sodding nightmare during the night, that is when they would destroy any soft furnishing/houseplants and race across us as we slept.

Unlike humans, I don't think cats care whether it is day or night. They like to hunt at dawn and at dusk, but apart from that they're not bothered. If they are kept in and get used to a human-driven routine of activity during the day and no activity during the night, then they do that. But given free choice, they rarely settle into a day/night routine.

Many of us think our cats sleep all night at the foot of our bed, but we're just not awake when they come and go. Insomnia is very useful for noticing this

Mine sleeps on the bed too, although she does go for nighttime wanders around the house. She is habituated to the weekday 6.20am alarm and wakes me up if the alarm hasn’t gone off, but has also learnt “sod off it’s the weekend / holidays” means she can settle down again.

Mine goes out once it’s dark (so 9.30 at the moment) and comes in at 11.30 when he has his dinner. He used to have dinner before he went out, but then he stayed out much later. This seems to work for him and us.
After that he has a wander then goes to his bedroom, where he stays until he hears one of us get up (about 7)

Hes a big cat, so also has a pouch at lunchtime, and biscuits available all
the time, which he picks at.

So not nocturnal, he keeps the same hours as us, more or less.

It depends on the weather for my younger two. If it's sunny and warm, they're out all day playing, paddling in the stream, ambushing each other and generally getting up to shenanigans. If it's raining, they spend much more time asleep during the day. They don't sleep any less at night though!

The older one is allurnal (sorry, I had to make it up, I don't think there's a word for it other than all-year-hibernation!) - she sleeps all the time. Indoors if it's wet, but if it's nice, she'll go out to the front garden and just sleep curled up on the lawn, completely exposed. I've never seen another cat do that!

Many years ago, when my Mum and Dad used to spend weekends with my eldest sister, her then cat would ostensibly go out for the night and then find his way back indoors during the small hours via the car bonnet, garage roof and guest bedroom window. He would then launch himself inside said window and crash-land on M&D's bed, usually making both wake up in a blind panic.

Ours were kept in overnight and so loved the routine (last feed with treats) they got stroppy if you put them to bed late (which hot ever earlier) and if you got them up too early in the morning.

They LOVE their "big sleep" overnight 🤷🏽‍♀️

@GorgeousLadyofWrestling yes South London or just outside and yes it is awful how can anybody do something so barbaric.

Oh yes, if I’m up late watching a movie then I get grumbled at because it’s way past “cat bedtime”.

My boys are like tiny male lions. Small bursts of energy to eat and sleep then…zzz. It’s amazing how many hours they can snooze. Definitely mad hour at dawn and dusk though.

My cat and the kitten spend the night running over my head and scrapping. They both sleep all day.

My 3 cats are all indoor cats for various health reasons and generally are more active first thing in the morning and in the evening but then thats when there is more activity in the house with us all getting ready for work/school or coming in from work/school. If you sit down long enough they will jump on your knee for snooze no matter what time of day it is.

I wish mine would bloody sleep at night. I usually hear them going a bit mad around 3am

My cat starts being a pain at 3 or 4am, headbutting us, purring in our ears that kind of thing

We don't let him out until 8 or 9am though after he has eaten a good meal and the birds have finished their morning business (this ensures the only prey he catches are the mice and rats on the farm, instead of the birds which nest in our roof and bushes)

He comes home at 3pm looking for more food then sleeps for most of the time (mostly because we won't let him out after 5pm, again for the birds sake) with a quick evening wake up period where he plays with the child, taunts our St Bernard Cross and gets all lovey dovey and playful with the German Shepherd

Theb back to sleep until he starts being a pain at stupid am

My cat who I wrote about earlier was in our bedroom from 9pm, got up around 11 to have a bite to eat and is in the same place now. He hasn't disturbed us at all. He's a young cat of nearly 3 years old.

My cat is incredibly lazy. She is incapable of hunting and demands very expensive cat food.

She spends most of her life asleep on a heated mat.

She does go out but mainly for a wee and she's back pretty quickly.

I won’t let Capn out at night. Last thing we go and stand on the terrace where he can inspect for foxes in the big garden, give the nextdoor cat the evils and have a drink.

We both get into bed with Dreamies for The Cuddle and lights out. Snuggly.

Another one here with a cat who was so desperate to go out at night he broke the cat flap. He is a bit nervous of people so prefers the stillness of the night but just sits on a wall mainly. He’s less keen in colder weather and as he gets a bit older.

I try to keep mine in at night but the younger one often has different plans. He'll look at me like crap when I shout him in and just walk off

If ds2 shouts him he comes back though.

My 2 have a catflap to come and go as they please...one decides to meow at the front door to get the staff up to be let in instead at 5am🤔

My cat sleeps all night, wakes up at 6am for breakfast, goes back to sleep for most of the day on someone's bed, then reappears at about 8pm to watch TV with us until we go to bed.

Was about to say the same - my kittens are bouncy from dusk, sleep late morning and afternoon then up til bedtime.
Older cat much the same but she's got her own cat door so less noticeable as she treats the place like a hotel

I keep mine in at night, but no, they're not nocturnal. Pretty much passed out by 11pm.

I don’t think it’s a good idea to let them out at night- the risk on the roads and from foxes is to great. We bring ours in before it starts to get dark, because if we leave it til dusk she gets excited and fucks off somewhere and it’s a pain to retrieve her. Occasionally we’ve unavoidably come home after dark when she’s still out, especially in Winter, but she has never spent a whole night out. My boy cat used to occasionally and it worried the hell out of me.

Mine miaow at the back door to be let in and then let themselves out the catflap in the front door (or come in the catflap and ask to be let out the back door).

We are well trained and do as we are told!