The bloody cat

[LittleLapwing]

Life is pretty exhausting at the moment, and what little sleep I have time for - I really need.

We have an indoor/outdoor cat. He spends most nights in but sometimes stays out. I’m fond of him but he has form for being demanding/annoying.

This cat, in the last week or two, has taken to waking me between 3-5am yowling at my door. I then have to get up and put him out, then need the loo, then I am awake and take around an hour to get back to sleep. But I have to be up in just over an hour now ☹️

Would I be unreasonable to just insist he stays out at night? I have no capacity for this.

We live on a farm and there are plenty of pile-of-hay type places he could sleep, although he never seems to. I’ve no idea where he does go at night.

He’s now crying to come in but from outside it’s not loud enough to keep me up.

She does sound very juvenile and needs to get a grip looking at her posts. Clearly not a cat fan so rehome it or leave food and a litter tray down and keep it inside. It’s not rocket science! She can’t seem to parent a cat so goodness knows how she parents her kids! 🤦🏼‍♀️

Same problem with my cat. She wakes me up wanting to go in and out. I'm not allowed a cat flap so it's hard but I bear with it. She came to me after the death of a close relative and she's 14 now so I want to make it work. She's a sweet cat with a history of abuse prior to being with my relative. I try to occupy her in the day with toys and cat tv, plus ive taken the 'can't beat them, join them' approach and I go to bed earlier. I won't be getting another cat once she's gone.

Ultimately I think that unless you're prepared to find a solution that doesn't involve leaving a cat out all night when they don't want to be, you're best thinking about rehoming. Not everyone is suited to owning a cat.

This

My dad had a lovely outdoor house/kennel for his cat. It was insulated with an electric heat pad on a timer. She loved it. She was allowed in and out too but chose to use her box.

Don’t be daft, I’ve never had a cat flap I just shut mine in at night. She’s fine.

I’ve had cats all my life and we would never allow them to wake us at night. It is not part and parcel of being a cat owner! Ours are shut in our kitchen from around 11pm-7am and are very happy. They get lots of love and attention and can go out and come in as they please during rh day/evening. I don’t like them jumping on my bed and waking me at 2am. Hence shut in in the kitchen where their beds are.

Aren’t you worried about others accessing your open window?

My two have a litter tray for the night time. They go out during the day, come in for the night at tea time and sleep through the night in my room. No 3am or 5am shenanigans.

I don't see why your dog can't be in the living room and your cat in the kitchen with a tray, which he'll use if he's desperate.

Utter MN batshittery.
'Parent a cat'

This is crazy. Plenty of people have cats with no cat flap.

I had the same issue so installed one in a window. Cost about £80 to get the window pane made with the hole and kept the original to go back on when I move . Did even better at the back of the house …simply removed pane and replaced it with a piece of plywood (painted it white to match the window surrounds) with the cat flap in the middle . neighbour did the same and stained the wood to match her wooden surrounds. Pane put somewhere safe to go on when needed . Changed my life as he now comes and goes.

I’m on my second one with no cat flap
current cat isn’t bothered about outside much except in summer and I don’t want him out at night. He also won’t go outside without me there so it’s easy enough to open a window

also have two stable cats who live outside happily. They sleep in the straw, cuddled into horse rugs or on a willing horse’s back occasionally. A big pile of straw off the ground is really insulating with a heat reflective mat under it

The way people talk about rehoming family members as if they are just “things”

We have taught our cat that if she goes out after midnight she won't get back in until 07:00 at the earliest. Some nights she stays out, especially in summer, but otherwise she comes back in and settles down for the night.

Is he hungry? I got an automatic feeder on a timer when my cat started doing this at 5am.

I have cats. They wake up at 3-5am and want breakfast and to play. We have automatic feeders. Seems to work ok.

A reformed feral cat will be fine outside especially if you're on a farm. Plenty of places for him to sleep! I grew up on a farm and cats were always put outside at night. Snooze all day in front of the aga, outside to the barn at night.

My cat says inside now as we don't live on a farm and there's nowhere for him to sleep outside.

Edited for spelling!

You shouldn’t have a cat if you don’t understand how they behave. This is normal cat behaviour fur a cat used to access outdoors.
It’s not fair to lock him out in this weather whether he has a fur coat or not ! Would you like to be locked out with a coat on ! No .
So get a grip and either find a solution or rehire him.

This is what cats do. I think it’s way too cold to keep him out all night at the moment.

Just get a cat flap? They can be fitted to all types of door.

Mine used to get locked out at night before we had a cat flap. I certainly wasn't waking up to let him in or out in the night! He was perfectly fine, he could get in the shed if he needed to. He's would perch on the wall outside the kitchen window and wait for signs of movement before springing in to action and demanding to be let in for breakfast.

A cat on a farm.will in have plenty of warm places to snooze if they want to at night. I wouldn't think twice about locking them out.

Yes, common sense. Mine is shut in the kitchen with access to a cat flap.

No, it’s not an issue. I did once have a feral cat sneak in. When he saw me he shot out as if on fire and in his panic fell in the toilet. Never came back after that.

If there are barns and hay the cat will be fine outside. You aren't leaving him in a snowy wasteland 😂