Cat meowing at night

[MackerelOfFact]

I am fostering a cat at the moment - we originally had her kittens, too, but they've grown up and been rehomed. She's been with us about 3 months.

We live in a ground floor maisonette but she doesn't go outside as she's only a foster. She can open all the internal doors herself, so she has the run of the flat. However she wakes up at least twice most nights, and forces her way into the bedrooms where she meows and jumps all over the beds. Cute, but pretty annoying.

I've tried ignoring her, which worked for a few days, but she's started again. I swapped back to her favourite food (Sheba, which is expensive!) as she wasn't eating the Whiskas I was leaving down for her, and wondered if she was meowing because she was hungry at night. But mostly when she wakes me up, she just wants attention. If I don't give her attention, she starts clawing the bed and then knocks stuff off my bedside table to chase around the floor, making a racket.

If I could shut her in a room where we couldn't hear her meows, I would do that, but there isn't anywhere... plus she can open the doors!

Does anyone have any advice? I have a Feliway plug in but it did nothing.

[cozietoesie]

Mackerel

You said she'd recently had kits. Has she been neutered yet?

[MackerelOfFact]

Yes, she was neutered while they were still with us.

[cozietoesie]

Right. Then it may be that she's wanting outside or at least the stimulation of the garden - which it sounds as if she may have been used to before. (Keeping a cat inside when it's been used to going out and roaming can often be very difficult.)

I appreciate that as a foster you have to keep her in but for the duration, I would try to play more with her in the daytime or evening (hopefully tire her out a bit) and keep on with ignoring her if she wants attention at an inappropriate time. (Shut the bedroom doors tight if necessary.) Maintain her schedule even if she kicks against it every so often and keep your fingers crossed that she'll settle to it.

Best of luck - it's not always easy. Oh - and tell the rescue that it may be that she needs a permanent family who will allow her outside rather than being kept as a housecat. Just keep them in touch with her behaviour because your experiences will be a big clue to them in assigning a new family to her.