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The litter tray

Join our community of cat lovers on the Mumsnet Cat forum for kitten advice and help with cat behaviour.

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Original poster

What to do new cats keeping me awake at night

48 replies

als30 · 09/10/2016 04:10

Ive posted this else where and was told to post here for more advice
Ive got 2 cats from a rehomeing center under a year old finally came out of hiding at 10pm but since midnight when myself and my daughter went to be bed its been a nightmare lol between meowing every now and again and the younger one hissing at the other one
Ive no idea what to do
Ive seen every hour on the clock and im really shattered and emotional as i feel bad as if ive made a wrong choice

OP posts:

DameDiazepamTheDramaQueen · 10/10/2016 08:43

Yes, lots of high shelves and cat tree type things- cats prefer high so they can survey their kingdom. You've got two litter boxes?

DameDiazepamTheDramaQueen · 10/10/2016 08:47

The night time noise is because cats naturally come awake and alive for hunting at night so you'll need to really tire them out with Da Bird type toys so they run and pounce.

We had the noisiest cat ever,hes settled right down now,never though I'd see the day!

Get some ear plugs,they really help while you get used to their noises and movements.

Original poster

als30 · 10/10/2016 08:58

We would play got toys scattered all round the flat and cat a huge scratching post where they can sit or hide but they dont come out during the day or even take intrest if you try and get them to play
Thought they would be used to the place by now
We got a stroke of one cat all day yesterday if you went to her but not today and my daughter made small progress with the other last night but but let her near her this morning

OP posts:

SleepFreeZone · 10/10/2016 09:13

This will honestly pass. It's s nightmare at the beginning and when I got my cat I wondered what the hell I was thinking of as she meowed all night.

We have an internal garage so I ended up locking her in there overnight 😳, I'm not proud of that but she did have her food and bed in there so I don't think it was that awful for her. Anyhow eventually she settled down and a couple of years down the line she is cool as a cucumber (but still meows a lot generally 😁)

Yawnyawnallday · 10/10/2016 09:37

Op - they are being territorial with each other. It's normal for cats, particularly two girls. Give them the option of going up onto shelves to keep out of each other's way. It makes a huge difference if they can each have territory that doesn't encroach on the other. And have at least three litter trays - one per cat and a spare.

Original poster

als30 · 10/10/2016 14:55

They do keep out of each others way but when the older one wants to move or go and see what the other is doing especially at night she gets hissed at
Both are still hideing and ive been sitting in both rooms to see if they will come but nothing dont seem to want to touched after all the small progress yesterday
The foster is coming on Thursday to see whats going on she even mentioned if they need to take them back they will arrange something on Thursday but ive to keep trying till then
Really thought this was going to be easy as all the past cats we had at my mums were ok after a day
They must have some life before

OP posts:

DameDiazepamTheDramaQueen · 10/10/2016 14:58

Is it usual to home two unrelated cats? I thought as a PP said cats are solitary creatures and unless they've been together forever it can be hard if you're not experienced ( I wouldn't as I don't know enough about cats.)

Original poster

als30 · 10/10/2016 15:06

They told me they should be together but im not sure due to the hissing and growling
Was told they were brung in together
Ive never owned a cat by myself but have grew up with them so to me this is not normal or what i really wanted but i will keep trying till Thursday

OP posts:

YouAreMyRain · 10/10/2016 15:10

Have you tried leaving a radio on at night, fairly low volume, preferably a talk station rather than a music one

dalmatianmad · 10/10/2016 15:17

Please don't give up on them! They just need time and patience...

Yawnyawnallday · 10/10/2016 16:07

Please don't give up on them Time and patience as pp has said. Jackson Galaxy is a Hells Angel looking US cat behaviourist with loads of his own free clips and advice stuff on YouTube and his own show on Animal Planet called my cat from hell. The animal planet follow up Show "How do you like Meow " is free on YouTube as well.
Please take a look. There's one with two warring indoor cats in a tiny New York apartment!
He talks about creating a cat superhighway where they can go around the room without ever touching the floor. This gives one cat the freedom to live around each other. There may be useful stuff that you can adapt for your situation.

PosiePootlePerkins · 10/10/2016 18:04

OP I can't help but feel sorry for those poor cats, you have had loads of good advice on here and you just don't seem prepared to give them a chance. How long have they actually been with you? As we've all been saying, cats need time. Lots of it. Like weeks and weeks. My heart breaks at the thought of them having to go back to the rescue centre.
Fair enough you didn't know what you were taking on, but I honestly believe they'll get there if you just keep at it. Please don't give up on them they deserve a proper chance to settle.

Allergictoironing · 10/10/2016 18:49

As I've said before on your other thread, mine took days before they even ventured out from behind the sofa with anyone in the room - only knew they were still alive because food vanished & was replaced by "stuff" in the litter tray.

It took weeks before I could even think of touching even the bolder one. Now they are everywhere I let them go in the house, both are strokeable (though Boycat not very often) and Girlcat sat next to me on the sofa last night for strokings - she is currently staring through the study door at my back hoping I'll forget they've had their "mum is home from work" dreamies.

I never had your noise issue - mine have never purred in my hearing and don't meow, they just make strange sort of whirring noises very quietly (see if you can find a you tube clip of Caracole cats) - but I did have massive doubts about whether they really were OK with me. With the support of my DSis and a lot of patience, they now rule my life and I couldn't be without them.

Toddlerteaplease · 10/10/2016 19:50

My two had never lived in a house. It took along time for them to settle. Nearly a year. They were supposed tobe inseparable.(they are sisters) but actually they don't really like each other much. They hissed and swiped at each other a lot when I first got them. They will be ok. As PP's have said it will take time. Especially if they've not been well treated in the past. Please don't give up on them.

Original poster

als30 · 10/10/2016 21:14

Im going to give it a good go and see what woman says on Thursday ill be off here for the next few days trying to get them to come round ill be back with a update and im hopeful its good thanks for all the advice will defo keep it in mind 👌👌🙂

OP posts:

Original poster

als30 · 17/10/2016 00:54

Just a wee update both are still with me although they still come out at night
We are making progress with the younger cat
The woman who had them makes a point to come round once a week to see how things are going and if i need anything
food seems to be a issue just now one smelly tray and a bum scoot across new carpet something clearly hasn't agreed with them

OP posts:

PosiePootlePerkins · 17/10/2016 06:25

Fantastic! Well done for persevering. Pleased you're getting some support.

Shesgotelectricboobs · 17/10/2016 06:52

als I'm about a month further on from you. My girl is a rescue and semi feral. She was kicked out of her home was living outside and had kittens. She's about a year old. She hides all day and meows and bounces around our flat at night. It took her 4 days to eat something and use her tray.

She comes to me if I've got food. And yesterday while she was eating she rubbed her head against me and let me scratch her ears.

We can see she wants to come out. It is just scared.

Are yours in one quiet room? Do they have somewhere safe to hide? Do you have one or two litter trays?

Also get some feliway. It's done wonders here.

Secretspillernamechange · 17/10/2016 07:07

When I first got my house cat from a rescue he was a terror at night! It only took a couple of weeks though for him to get the hang of 'bedtime', now he sleeps on the bed all night and wakes up with the alarm - it just took him a while to adjust.

Shesgotelectricboobs · 17/10/2016 07:36

secrets. I'm hoping mine gets the hang of night time/daytime soon. She is very inactive during the day and goes bonkers at night. I think probably because when she was living rough and catching rabbits this is when they were most active.

She's started mewing at me for her breakfast though.

Original poster

als30 · 18/10/2016 00:33

They use the same tray thinking of trying 2 as they have 2 bowls for food although they like to share the same at the same time lol
So far they don't come out much during the day except at night wake up to find the toy mice all over the place but the youngest seems to be coming round to us both better at night older one is still shy despite loving the attention last week

OP posts:

Shesgotelectricboobs · 18/10/2016 06:11

Mine does this. Fairly inactive during the day but tears about at night time. When you feed them do they come to you? Mines started doing this when I put her biscuits/wet food down. She comes out of hiding and gets close to eat.

Are they washing themselves? The vet told me this is important. They won't do it unless they feel comfortable.

DameDiazepamTheDramaQueen · 18/10/2016 07:28

They should have at least 2 trays, ideally 2 plus a spare .

Did you manage to sort any cat trees or shelves yet, that'll really help?

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