Kittens being a nightmare at night

[sleeplessincatland]

My partner has two 6 month old kittens who are just a delight and are completely adored. They go out in the day now and are entertained and burning off energy.

At night they are complete pests though, treading on our heads, pouncing on us, keeping us awake. If we had a newborn, we'd get more sleep!

We have tried closing them out of the bedroom and they scratch at the door and cry. We've tried letting them in and they do gymnastics up the curtains, hook themselves in the blinds or dive bomb us in bed.

We've tried feeding them just before bed. They have access to food and drink at night anyway. No change ...

The house is open plan so the only door is the bedroom door or the bathroom and they would go wild in there.

We are getting no sleep and it's putting me off even going to spend the night there. Partner is also sleep deprived as a result.

Can anyone please share their wisdom and advise ?

Have you tried giving them a play session just before bed time, to tire them out a bit? At least 20-30 mins.

But bear in mind they are at their most active age, in time they should (hopefully) slow down a bit as adult cats sleep on average around 15 hours per day - you just need to encourage them to do some of this when you are trying to sleep!

Their crepuscular, so evenings are party time.

We used to shut ours in the kitchen, no access to outside, plenty of toys.

You can get some really good interactive toys online now, if you spray them with catnip they go crazy for them. The trick is to rotate regularly so they don’t get bored of them.

We have tried really wearing them out just before bed and they do have plenty of different toys and balls and gadgets to mess about with.

I'm just hoping it's a kitten thing and they will grow out of it very very soon. If not we shall have to reconfigure the house!

I feel your pain as my kitten was just the same, so no advice really. I read kittens sleep a lot, mine never seemed to sleep at all.

Kitten pen - from amazon. Game changer!
Large enough to put kittens, bed and litter tray for overnight use.

What about a feliway plug in? They release calming scents or hormones or something. They were great for my cats when I moved house.

They will stop scratching the door eventually if you don't let them in.
My 4 are about 10 weeks now and we've had them since newborn. They have the living room to themselves and their mum all night, but I shut the door on them. They scratched and cried for about 2 days and now they just play and sleep (and trash the place 😂)

We got kittens last year and they were exactly the same at that age. Our curtains are shredded from their night time escapades!

They're 14 months now and definitely much better. One will usually sleep through the whole night. The other one wakes occasionally and will struggle to self settle but is otherwise much improved.

The little bastards darlings still wake me at 5/6am every day though

They do get better but not for a while. My advice would be get a door put in and lock them in the kitchen at night!

Close the bedroom door and get earplugs?

Put them in the kitchen and shut the door!! Give them a nice bed there. Put them to bed. Say goodnight. Shut the door and don't come back till morning. Ignore any yowling. After a few nights they will get used to it and be fine. When they are bigger you can review where they sleep.

They aren't alone - they will have each other and be TOTALLY fine.

Sorry just saw about no doors!! 😱

We are allowed in B and Q now. Get down there. Buy a door .......

I can empathise. Mine are now nearly a year old but up until recently were a nightmare. Things weren't great at home anyway and their behaviour at night nearly tipped me over the edge. They would loudly chase each other around, pee and poo on the carpets, run over my head, eat my hair, belt up and down the stairs. I've just fitted a cat flap and they are much better, however one still promptly jumps onto my bed and wraps himself around my head, purring loudly and eating my hair at 5am every morning. I've always had cats but remarked to friends that I've never had any so difficult.
No real suggestions other than a cat flap and time really 🙄

It's their age. Eventually, they'll follow a schedule rather like my DTwatCats do;

7.30am. Wake up. Plod around the bed. Have a nap.

8.10am. Wake up. Make fuss of the occupants. Stand on the pillows. Have a nap.

8.40am. Wake up. Hungry now. Leap around the back of the bed, jump onto pillow right by occupants' faces. Jump onto dressing table. Jump back onto bed next to other occupant's face. Jump onto back of bed. Jump onto window sill.

8.45am. Follow occupant to bathroom and commence communal toileting ceremony. Possibly demand that occupant fills the sink with fresh water, as it tastes completely different drunk out of porcelain to from a fountain or festering green in the garden (which is obviously the best, but humans buy multiple kinds of water, why should cats be any different?)

8.50am. Sprint downstairs and wait expectantly at bowls. Eat, then leave house for fresh grass digestif and green pond water course. Occasionally murder a mouse as a palate cleanser..

8.59am. Return for litter digging and expulsion of grass and pond water over living room or kitchen floor.

9.00am. Nap Time. Settee and windowsill, possibly with some debates about who gets what location.

10.20am. Snack Time. Possibly daily exercise for seven minutes.

10.32am. Nap Time. Back of Settee and Cat Bed on coffee table.

12.20pm. Check the perimeter of the property. Possible opportunity for snacks.

12.30pm. Nap Time. Settee cushion, blanket and cat bed.

4.40pm. Up. The day has now started. Harass female occupant, argue who gets to be closest, bit of zooming and general twattery.

6.30pm. Nap Time.

7.30pm. Dinner Time and mooch in the garden for contemplation of Life, the Universe and Everything. Possibly slaughter a mouse if it is foolish enough to have the same idea.

8.30pm. Nap Time.

10.10pm. Up, check perimeter of house. Possible litter digging and a short zooming session - that one carpet in the entire house won't shred itself, you know.

10.30pm. Nap Time. Cat Bed on coffee table, possibly settee, possibly cardboard box behind armchair, possibly linen basket lid or supervising male occupant working in spare room (eyes closed for the process).

12.10am. Check humans are going to bed as expected. If they aren't, look at them with heavy eyes and will them to just go to bed.

12.11am. Cat #1 - appear on bed with delight for a 35 minute fussing session, climbing between occupants to ensure that Cat #2 isn't able to get near. Cat #2 - remain in cat bed on coffee table.

12.46am. Sleep time. Possibly a summoning call for a thousand demons, arachnid destruction derby or singing the song of their people around 4.30am, but generally, no movement at all.

One is eight this year and the other is sixteen.

When their adults and you get into bed their already on you get the “have you finished” look as you get comfy. There’s an air of “stop moving” that they give off.

Love that, MitziK!
We must just have been lucky because all of our cats have been good sleepers, even when kittens.