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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

MEOW MEOW MEOW MEOW - how do I get my cat to stop constant crying at night?

11 replies

PollyCazaletWannabe · 01/02/2017 01:28

DH and I live in an apartment in a big city (not in UK) and in September we got two rescue kittens, who live with us as indoor cats, in common with the vast majority of cats who live in this city. They are wonderful cats and we love them to bits. They are very happy and playful, eat well, are clearly healthy and incredibly affectionate. They love cuddles and will sit on us for hours, greet us with cuddles and purrs when we come in and are generally delightful.
Our issue is with one of the cats, who will not stop meowing at night! She didn't do it until recently but now it is becoming a real problem. Our bedroom leads directly out from our living room and the cats sleep in the living room at night (they have a cat bed, a blanket and a cat tower with several sleeping places to choose from). However, from about 4 am one cat begins meowing loudly outside the bedroom door and doesn't really stop until we get up at 6 for work. She isn't hungry or thirsty because when we get up there is always food and water left in their bowls. I think she just wants attention but we can't give it to her at 4am!
The cats can't sleep in the bedroom with us because they are very playful and disturb us too much by attacking our feet
Does anyone have any suggestions as to how we can sort this out? We love the cats dearly but being woken at 4am every day is getting tiresome...
Thank you!

OP posts:

Mermaidinthesea · 01/02/2017 02:10

Basically the cat wants to come in, they hate being locked out of bedrooms. If I lock my cats out of my bedroom they will meow all night without ceasing. I find it easier just to let them in.

witwootoodleoo · 01/02/2017 02:16

Has the cat been neutered? Just wondering if she could be in season?

Original poster

PollyCazaletWannabe · 01/02/2017 02:21

They haven't been spayed yet, no. They are only just 6 months. Could that be the reason? I don't have any experience of unspayed cats as I have never had them from kittenhood before.

OP posts:

Original poster

PollyCazaletWannabe · 01/02/2017 02:23

We just can't have them in the bedroom because they won't settle. Also, we are TTC and definitely don't want them in the bedroom when I'm pregnant or when the baby arrives, so we don't want them to get used to it.

OP posts:

HemanOrSheRa · 01/02/2017 02:32

It might be that she is in season. I 'acquired' my girl cat when she was about 3 (we think) and not spayed. Deary me, the noise she made at night was horrendous. On and on it went. At times she sounded quite distressed. And then of course we had Gentlemen Callers outside yowling to get in. It was a relief to get her 'done' and stopped all that nonense. We still get the occasional boy cat making advances but that is because she is a terrible tart .

ilovesooty · 01/02/2017 02:40

Not helpful I know but mine cries and cries if I shut him out. The only way I get any peace is to have him in with me.

esk1mo · 01/02/2017 02:40

sounds like she wants to have full access to the house Op

i find it is much easier to train dogs to stay in one room at night. i dont know anyone with a cat who has successfuly got them to stay out of the bedroom at night.

they arent actually that much of a
nuisance. when my cat was a kitten she like to jump on our feet but they soon tire and just snuggle with you. now my cat is 2 and every morning i wake to find her asleep at the foot of my bed. if she wants to play she goes off to the living room where her toys are.

why dont you want the cat in the room when you are pregnant? maybe you should have thought twice about having house cats if you arent willing to adjust for them. you could try getting her spayed, or try some Feliway plug in spray from amazon, some people agree that it helps with certain unwanted cat behaviours.

RubbishMantra · 01/02/2017 02:40

She's likely to be coming into her first season. Is she creeping about, tummy close to the floor with her rear end in the air?

I'd get them both spayed/neutered ASAP. They try to escape if they get a sniff of a tom cat. Are they both female? Because if her sibling is male, she'll mate with him. At 6 months old, they're fertile adolescents, and you don't want an unwanted pregnancy.

Original poster

PollyCazaletWannabe · 01/02/2017 02:56

They are both female and I haven't seen any signs of that behaviour as yet, but you may well be right and we need to get them spayed asap. We will try that and then if it doesn't improve, I guess we will have to start letting them into the bedroom! Thanks all

OP posts:

ShowOfHands · 01/02/2017 03:14

Our rescue kitten did this. I just persevered and she'd stopped within a week. I see why you don't want the kitten in the bedrooms at night. Ours wanted to play all night and disturbed the dc. She's happy downstairs at night now.

AyeAyeFishyPie · 04/02/2017 17:11

I feel your pain. Our reasons are exactly the same as yours - our cat just does not settle in bed and when we have a baby it won't work with her in bed, and I don't want our cat to blame the baby. It's been a month now and she still cries, but not all night. I hate it and feel awful but can't see a better way.

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