AIBU to want to keep cat downstairs at night?

[Rosencats]

I would never normally want to do this but I have a 6 month old baby who's just started to sleep through - well, if you count 5.30/6am as morning. But, my lovely cat still wakes me and DH up. Today it was 4am....she just came in to miaow and then curl up on bed. She never comes in and just curls up quietly. She either miaows as well, claws (loudly) at the bed or claws (loudly) at the curtains...doubly satisfying I imagine as she gets to disturb us with both noise and light.

DD is in nursery so not woken by cat I don't think.

DH and I are both v soft when it comes to cat. But I'm so tired after months of sleep deprivation.

One option is to shut cat downstairs where she'd have access to her food, water, the cat flap and several of her many sleeping places.

What do you fellow cat lovers think?

Napping when the cat naps is sadly not an option!

Do it. She will protest for a while but if you ignore she will get the message. Ours is shut in the kitchen diner overnight. He has biscuits, water, litter tray and lots of comfy places to sleep. He also has his feliway plug in which he curls up beside

My cats are in the kitchen at night. CandleCat1 snores loudly, so sleeping with him was no pleasure. CandleCat2 purrs like a motorbike engine, and I am generally a light sleeper, so no rest there either! They are quite happy, as they can come and go as they please through the cat flap and both have big, cosy baskets (although they both prefer the same one!)

Thanks Nancy. We tried to shut the bedroom door before and miaow it out but caved in easily! Hopefully I'll not hear the protest as much if she's downstairs.

Ours would be in a kitchen / diner too with lots of space. What is that plug in?

Our cat ignores any beds we get her - she prefers the kitchen table, sofa, baby car seat etc

Thanks candle. Ok. This is making me feel like I am not a bad cat mum. Just need to convince the cat dad...

I shut mine out and she tried to eat her way through the door but eventually got the message. She'll still sit hopefully at the bedroom door looking at it when I'm going to bed though.

If you ignore they take the hint. Just ride it out.

Feliway is a scent that calms cats. It comes as a plug in, or just a spray that you can spray on their bed etc. Cheapest place to get it is Amazon.

We had exactly the same problem and what helped us was a feliway plug in on the landing between the bedrooms. We also took one of her favourite sleeping cushions and put it on top of our chest of drawers, and started 'putting the cat to bed' there. She calmed down within days. I know we sound like mad cat people but I do think that ensuring she has her special time with us has helped her acclimatise to DD.

of course it is not unreasonable. But you might get a dead mouse head left on your pillow...

Lol Count! I get them a lot anyway - and live ones. That was fun when 8 months pregnant! Although to be fair I've never had one on the pillow!

She seems fairly unphased by the baby. She did the early wake ups before we had DD. It's just I was less tired and more tolerant.

She's not an anxious cat but wants attention when she wants it!

Thanks Nancy. I'll try the feliway anyway just in case she's mightily pissed off at the change.

My main problem is going to be convincing by husband!

Ours are treated like royalty but they still have to stay downstairs at night or they wander about at 3am trying to wake us all up.

I put out cushions for them, they have food and can get in and out. Sometimes we come down in the morning to a dead offering.

In the summer, if it's hot and our bedroom window is open, one of them has learned a great game of miaowing loundly under the window. Annoying

I don't let my two upstairs at night time. I'd be miserable with lack of sleep. They are in a room with plenty of lovely sleeping areas, activity centre, fresh water and dry food, and 2 clean litters.

We have a lovely greeting and love-in in the morning with fresh water, food and clean litter and I open the door to the garden and they can have a nice run around in enclosed area in garden. They are not traumatised or feeling abandoned.

You need to look after yourself and get as much sleep as possible. She will get used to the routine. And may even look forward to her bedtime.