GirlCat waking me at 3am wanting to go out

[thelongroad]

3 cats, all kept in overnight, cat flap is locked after dinner.
So far no problems, but this year since it's been getting warmer and lighter, GirlCat has been demanding to go out every morning between 3 and 4am. It's driving me mad as once I get up to open the cat flap I can't get back to sleep for ages and then I need to be up at 6am!

BoyCat often pops out for a bit too but doesn't demand to be let out. BoyKitten doesn't seem interested and stays in.

They all have free roam to go in and out all day.

Should I leave the cat flap open all night too? I don't really want them out all night but I am happy for them to go out at dawn (just not needing me to unlock the cat flap!). Or shall I lock it after dinner as usual and then unlock it when I go to bed , in the hope they won't try to go out until morning?

We live rurally, very little traffic, it's probably safer at night but I still have a funny feeling about it.

You have just brought back a lovely memory for me of my dad opening the front door at 10pm ish every night clapping his hands 3 times and the cats all departing for the night. No cat flap and the house looked like we had had WW3 if we left them in. I can see my mum doing the same thing and the cats not even batting an eyelid.
If she wants out leave the cat flap open if you are worried about 'other cats' you can get a cat flap with a sensor on it the will let a cat with the correct collar open it 😉

I have owned a cat for over 40 years (not the same one, obvs!) and have always allowed free access to the cat flap 24/7.
Mine all enjoyed going out mousing at night - there are barley fields behind the house - and none has ever come to grief as a result. My current Madam sleeps on my bed, but nips out when the fancy takes her.
As I live in Perthshire, it gets light very early this time of year (about 3.00am by next month) and as cats are crepuscular, peak hunting times are currently about 10pm and 4am. No way will I have a cat waking me up to open doors at such times - she can nip out quietly by herself.

This is heartening to read - I was expecting "keep them in at night" type comments!

You could get a swanky microchip flap that enables different curfews for different cats...

My catflap is open all the time unless there is a trip to the vet or cattery next day. On top of that the kitchen door is shut so the cat can't bang on the bedroom door. He has access to food, water, a bed and a catflap.

You need to shut the cats downstairs at night. Cats are crepuscular so most alert more at dawn and dusk. The days are getting longer so earlier wake up calls. I shut Dcat downstairs until I get up he could open doors but I switched the handles to knobs and he can't twist them. If I don't shut him downstairs he will wake me between 4-6 am.

My cat is kept in at night because she has been injured a few times in fights during the night. She used to cry at 3-4am and I would get up and let her out. After a nasty fight she had to be kept in for 6 wks and after that I refused to let her out until we get up (about half 5am anyway). she sometimes asks now but I just give her a firm ‘no’ and she gives up and waits lol xx

My cat flap is open 24/7, saves a lot of disturbed sleep!

One of mine has 24/7 privilege.
The other 2 do not. They seem quite happy to stay in and I don't get mithered for food until 7am. I do leave dry food down overnight though.

I think I'll be making this decision soon and am leaning towards 24/7 access. We live rurally and the cats go in and out a ground-floor window (onto their purpose-build wooden steps for the less-than-agile chunk girl....very spoiled). But we're getting a cat flap put in the glass this week. I think I will let them have it open at night. They love to be out in the dark and they don't really go anywhere except the communal gardens and the neighbours' gardens. The only issue is they have an enemy cat that lives across the street. I don't know why but they just hate this one particular cat, and she hates them back.

I can't lock them downstairs as it's open plan to the stairs so no door. Plus GirlCat doesn't really get on that well with the boys so they need to be able to get away from each other. Also, boy cats sleep on my bed, specifically one sleeps on my pillow and I wouldn't want to change that 😁

We do have a microchip cat flap but I've just disabled the inside scanner as the clicking every time a cat went near it was driving me mad! And I want them all to have outside access during the day. It's really only GirlCat who's asking to go out early, the boys are happy to sleep until I get up.

UPDATE in case anyone is interested: I let GirlCat go out late and she didn't come home until this morning! And she insisted on being let in through the back door instead of using the cat flap at the front <eyeroll>.
The other two woke me up at 4am anyway, although neither wanted to go out <hard eyeroll>.
So I don't know if I should stick with that now or try something else?!

The other cats may think it's a normal time to be up as Girlcat has been doing it a while. Give the new routine a few nights and see how you get on. Good luck. I hope they let you have a past 4am start soon x

Oh that's a very good point, @Greenflamesburn , they do like to get into a routine and once it's set they stick to it (changing feeding time when the clocks go back/forward is a nightmare!)