Meow, meow, MEOW!

[RoadRunner123]

This is a kind of 'what would you do?', but I want to ask advice from people who like cats!

Our cat is a very chatty chap. He makes us and visitors laugh because he has so much to say for himself and when he hasn't seen you for a while (been out or in another room) his meow sounds very like "hell-oh". All very cute......except at 2, 3, and 4am! From 2-4 he is very wakeful and walks from room to room jumping on our beds (especially mine and ds1's) saying hello, wanting to be stroked, clattering on and off windowsills etc.

He's gorgeous and I love him but this is getting quite annoying! So....what would you do? a) put up with it and say hello and stroke him as required b) leave the cat flap unlocked all night so he can use that energy outside (I lock him in from about 9pm at the moment) c) start shutting him in the kitchen at night (access to food, a sofa, litter tray but not much cosy warmth or beds to sleep on with us!) d) a genius idea I haven't thought of.

Thank you!

Marking place.

I have the same with mine, and it is likewise adorable unless in the middle of the night.

You have probably already tried this as it is rather obvious - but mine responds well to tone of voice. If I 'chat' back to her she carries on happily, but in the night a sharp 'be quiet x-cat!' does actually shut her up immediately. (I get a hurt silence instead.)

Good luck though.

I'd shut him in a room at night as far away as possible from where he can disturb you

My logical head says c) as I don't like the idea of cats being out all night but in real life it would probably be a)!

We shut our old cat in the kitchen overnight. He had access to the lounge via a serving hatch (!) and used to sleep in the same chair every night - with an old jumper to snuggle up in/protect the chair from cat fluff
At some point we got a cat flap and got rid of the litter tray. He had access to food and water in the kitchen. Had we not had the hatch I think we'd have put a cat bed in the kitchen.

I'm sure he'd be perfectly fine in the kitchen, especially with a cozy sofa. It would be a case of adjusting to the new routine. Up to you whether you keep him in or not, are you near a main road? How old is he/ how long have you had him?

Our cat was part-Burmese and very 'chatty' I'm sure I remember some vocal objection when the kitchen door was closed at night. He got used to it though!

So c) !

a) is the only proper option, according to GoodCat.

Fortunately for me he is quiet at night.

My parents leave their cats to be free range but shut their bedroom door, while my friends lock the cat flap and keep their cats shut in their open plan living room/kitchen. I'm a soft touch so lock the cat flap but otherwise let them roam around the house including my bedroom - but I also get similar nighttime visits! It's mainly one of the boys, Rolo, who meows and comes to see me at 5am. I generally say hello and stroke him a couple of times then roll over and go back to bed. He seems to accept he's not going to get much more than that out of me so then wanders off - so not sure what he's hoping to achieve, or if he just likes checking I'm there and speculatively asking if it's breakfast time/unlocking the cat flap time!

We have always done (c), because anything else would result in cats variously waking us up at 4am to inform us it was breakfast time, or bringing us presents in the middle of the night, or playing chase up and down the noisy wooden stairs at 2am. They have access to the cat flap, their beds and bowls, and the kitchen, and are far enough out of earshot that any protests can be ignored.

When we got new young cats we discovered that they would happily stroll up the sloping roof and in through the gable window to DD's attic bedroom, so we had to keep that shut or just ajar. My wonderful BoyCat who we have just lost [sob] did manage to wake DD up one day by sticking his paw through the gap and trying to open the catch so that he could come in and snuggle though .

How long have you had him? Just wondering because we adopted our cat about 6 months ago and he started off with several night time yowlings but now he's calmed down and doesn't really do it anymore. I guess it's to do with feeling more confident and at home etc.

About once a week we get a night time vist but he quickly gets bored and buggers off again.

Oh thanks for all these replies! We've had him for ummmm, three or four years. He's nine. He has got worse lately though. He became a lot more chatty two years ago when we lost our other cat (I suspect the cat we lost didn't let him say much!).

I think if it was just me I'd be happy to carry on with option A....but I get a bit stressed when I hear him waking the children up and dh isn't really a cat lover and he gets more fed up with the disturbance. I think ds1 gives him some attention which probably encourages him, so maybe he needs to stop that.

If that doesn't work....maybe we'll go for C. I feel a bit mean though :(

I don't really know why I'd feel mean though! He'd have a sofa!!

Either shut the cat downstairs when you go to bed or get up and chick it out when it wakes you up in the middle of the night.

Can you do a combination of b and c - leave the cat flap open but also don't let him come upstairs? I really wouldn't feel bad about shutting him in the kitchen. Our previous cat wasn't allowed in the bedroom at night, she would go out and about and just pop in a couple of times per night. Current cat is much the same, these days he comes home about 4 or 5am and mostly just goes to sleep quietly in the playroom til we all get up.

Actually re-reading your post it is a combination of b and c that we do - outside is fine, football up and down the stairs is not.

C.

I bought mine a medium sized dog bed, it's got better padding than cat beds and he loves it.

DS2 wants a dog bed too as it's got better padding than a bean bag! Dog beds all round could be the way forward!

Is he doing enough in the day to wear himself out? Would a big play session before bedtime help wind him down, maybe?