Kitty crying and scratching to get in bedroom early mornings. Advice please

[Satinshandmaiden]

We have a 4 month old kitten. I think she is quite nocturnal as she is not yet spayed and so not allowed out during the day as yet to burn off her energy. She's allowed to sleep in our bedroom (she likes to sleep under the bed), but sometimes we have to put her out and close the door at night because she wont stop pouncing on our feet in the covers when we are trying to get to sleep.

Come the morning, around 5am, she cries and scratches to get in, when she is in, the whole pouncing business starts up again. It doesnt seem to make a difference how long we leave her to cry and ignore her (an hour this morning!), she just wont let up.

Is it possible to change this behaviour, or are we destined never to get a full nights sleep again?

Can't help. Ours sleeps on our bed. It's a bit like having a new baby.

Yes you need a spray for plants or a water pistol. Only should take a couple of spurts at 5am

Let these poor thing come and sleep in your bed

You'll get used to then foot pouncing our two (fat adult cats) used to do this in the middle of the night - you learn to sleep through it.

Thanks for the suggestions. I will try the waterspray option I think in the first instance. I cant get used to the pouncing, she has very sharp claws and I am a rubbish sleeper at the best of times, so that really isnt an option. If she didnt pounce, she'd be more than welcome to sleep where the hell she liked. She's not that fussed about sleeping on the bed, she likes to sleep under it.

I rather hoped that by putting her out the room everytime she started the pouncing, she would twig that pouncing = removal, but she just doesnt get it.

My two adult cats (aged 4) start meowing and scratching at the carpet at 5am most mornings and they are allowed in our bedroom and on the bed if they want to. I'm too soft and get up and feed them and they will then often settle down for a snooze or go out to peruse their territory to ensure all is in order. I know your kitten can't go out yet so that's not possible. Sadly I have never had a cat yet where I am able to manage their behaviour - it's more like they manage mine! 😀 You are now officially a slave!

Are you playing with her?

I agree with cozie, you need to help her burn off the energy in the day by copious amounts of playing .

Yep, defo playing with her - she does have a few days a week mostly on her own till 5ish when I'm working, but we take turns and each give her a bit of playtime on/off through the evening. She seems to sleep quite a bit in the day.

I locked ours in the kitchen at that age. I need my sleep & he gets up early to poke me in the mouth.

Is she on wet or dry food? If dry, does she get it via treat toys? Hunting toys?

(You're supposed to be able to make food hunting games with wet food but I'm afraid that my spirit quails at that thought.)

A water spray??!! To frighten a little kitten? is that absolutely the best idea. OP, if you persevere, you will sleep miles better yourself - snuggling cat in bed is one of life's great pleasures and proven to lower blood pressure, stress levels, etc. Science, innit.

Thing is, it ain't straightforward. Your tiny Moggie-don needs to get used to you in bed, so toe attacking and oh-so-playful biting is something of a rite of passage. For you both.

Yes, the pain is frightful - my tabby Mr C has needlestick claws - but you can move and roll over which gives them the message. Wear bedsocks and get on with it, if you ask me.

Mr C now sleeps face to face with me on the pillow and pats my face to wake me up, which is considerably nicer than an alarm clock. His purring at night sends me into a coma and back to sleep pretty quickly if i wake up. Also, the very thought of disturbing him means I don't fidget and stress, so all in all you can see why every night is heavenly slumber.

If you don't let her in you had better make a big fuss of her when you are up so she sleeps through.

I agree completely with Lana and I think a water spray is a very bad idea.

Well we did a light mist of water only twice and that was that. Didn't need to repeat. No harm came to the cat. He's still well bonded to us. And after 4 months of incredibly disturbed sleep, we managed to start getting full nights sleep.

They calm down eventually dont worry ,just dont play with them when they pounce at night.Locking them out is avoiding a valuable lesson.

Eventually they learn they wont be played with at night and will learn the bed were the family sleeps.Were thick socks for now and get a water spray bottle if they bite.

Mine now understand bedtime,the moment we go to bed they follow us up the stairs.Wait till we are settled and find a appropriate place to sleep

Cat food in a timer tray that opens at 5.00 a.m. would be my suggestion

let me make this clear only use a spray bottle for biting actual biting not pouncing or playing.Make a clear loud sound eventually the bottle wont be needed as they associate the bottle with the sound

Pouncing and playing should be encouraged during the day that way they eventually learn to settle at night when they realise they wont be played with

I shut my two (6 months) in the kitchen at night, too. When they're spayed, they'll be able to go out at night, and hopefully that will calm them down. I have 2 small children, and refuse to undergo sleep deprivation for the sake of domestic pets. Absolutely no fucking way.

Thanks to everyone for your suggestions. Plenty of food for thought.

Earplugs. It's the only way I ever sleep beyond 5am.

I do two things. If it's a work
Night she gets locked in the kitchen at midnight when I go to bed with the food timer set for 5am I get up at 6am and once I'm ready for work I play with her for 30mins. If I'm not working I still shit her in the kitchen but before I go to bed I open the kitchen door and leave my bedroom door open at about 5 am she comes in plays with her toys in my room then lies ontop of me till 9am when we both get up. I sleep through anything she may try to do to me. It works but maybe I just got lucky. I actually do think she sleeps through in the kitchen as there's no sign of vandalism when I go in!

We're very lucky in that from the time Ernie was allowed to sleep in our room bed he used to go to bed about 9-10 and sleep until OH came home at 6.15...at one point I had to go to bed earlier than usual. He now goes anywhere up to 1am (can sometimes be a nuisance running around) but sleeps in.

We did make sure he was played with before we went to be to tire him out. There is some stuff on YouTube about sleep training a cat...no feeding after 9pm and play...though myself I think it is pot luck if your cat settles or not

Just leave the door open. We went through the same thing with our boy he used to charge at the door in the mornings. So I opened the doors at night. It took a few nights for him to calm down and stop charging about but after that he was ok.

Moggie-don,

Poor cat. She's only a baby. Treat her like that. She needs your time and affection. She'll grow out of the middle of the night stuff (and become a 23-hr-a-day sleeper) soon enough.