Cats want feeding at 5am!

[Janus]

We have 2 indoor cats. The most recent is nearly a year old and a bit of a diva!! About 2 months ago she started scratching at our bedroom door at 5am wanting to be fed. They both have access to dry food at all times but in the morning they get a pouch of wet food. So now they want it early! Our carpet is ruined as they dig and scratch. I’ve bought some plastic liner to put in front of the doorway but I can still hear them. The youngest one starts at 5am the older cat has started to now copy and joins in about 7am! Is there anything I can do? Getting fed up with being woken so damn early to be honest but can’t think how to stop it! I’ve tried locking them in a room such as the lounge but the youngest one has worked out how to open doors so I have to wedge a door underneath the handle and it all seems such hard work!
Any ideas please?!

I would open the door and make a loud nose to scare them off. It's a bit mean but effective. Sleep is precious!

Would you consider a timed feeder. One that opens at the time your set.

Put down a large bowl of dry biscuits before bed. I do this and they
munch through the night and come and get me 🕖 7am

Water in a spray bottle. Any time they scratch just open the door and spray them. They obviously don’t like it but it doesn’t hurt them and they soon get the message.

I’d also switch to giving them their wet pouch at dinner time rather than in the morning.

Agree with switch to giving wet pouch at night. Ours will still nag for it early but it’s more palatable at 5pm than 5am!

I get up and feed mine, I just keep a bowl and food upstairs and put it in the hallway so no traipsing downstairs. It's a natural time for them to be out and hunting, if cats are kept indoors then their natural instincts should be catered for, once the sunrise gets later they stop doing it.

Please don’t use a water bottle to spray them. They aren’t stupid and they will be deeply upset.

I lock my cats downstairs (it's all open plan but four to hallway/stairs). They have a cat flap and always have some kibble.
It's the only way I can get any peace! If I leave the bathroom window open by mistake the make will get on the extension roof and climb through it and he has a very loud meow - I can't hear it if he's downstairs.

Are they waking with the light. Can you make sure the room they sleep in is dark?

Well I'm awake now as 2 of my 3 cats have woken me up demanding their breakfast. Bloody annoying but I just get up and feed them, go back to bed and read Mumsnet for a bit and hope I drop off again - good job I love them! Annoying brats 🤣

Ah same! There's dry food down though and I want her to eat that because she's bolting the wet food and sicking it back up atm! 😑😑😑

I have this issue with an old lady with an (under control) thyroid problem.

Once she starts prancing around for food, big teenage boy cat chases her so I'm woken to hissing and growling. Nothing has worked to stop it. Her internal food clock is strong and she seems to metabolise food much quicker than the boy. Giving her a bigger dinner wouldn't work.

She gets fed more than him, has food as we go to sleep so say 1/2am. They have dried food at all times. We can't lock them in due to house layout. Shouting doesn't work. Telling either off doesn't work. Closing the door would just lead to persistent scratching and howling/yowling. Ignoring doesn't work as it goes on and on. It doesn't stop. We can't keep them separate - layout.

We would not use spray bottles, I feel that's cruel.

Don't know an auto feeder would feed 2 cats wet food, one with meds added, and one who likes his food to be in separate dishes and can be very flighty. Plus the boy leaves food as he's a grazer, so it's kept covered/fresh and we try him again a few times and he usually will eat more. At lunch time, old lady gets his leftovers.

If the food was left down, the old lady would shoulder him out of the way and devour his. She used to do this but now finishes her food and sits and patiently waits for his leftovers (which she doesnt get as we lift it). Wee shites but they're absolutely adored. My husband is able to sleep through the noise.

I wish you luck, I'm sure you can find a solution which works for you 🤞. Will be reading with interest. Sorry totally didn't mean to go on a rant. Hoped my thoughts might throw something up idea wise!

Cats are crepuscular (most active at dawn and dusk) so 5am in the summer is peak "hunting time".

You could look at timed feeders but we just ignore ours. They soon learn that scratching and whining won't get them anywhere and shut up, lol, but you do have to be persistent.

Indoor cats do often need extra stimulation though so you could also look at hunting toys and playing with them before their evening meals so the meal is the "reward" to try and help curb that natural instinct (and tire them out).

Yes, it's a terrible suggestion. You'll end up with stressed, neurotic cats.

Thank you all!
Timed feeder - I’ve thought of this but the younger one would probably eat both portions for the 2 cats as she’s a pig!! But she’s the one that scratches the most so maybe I could do one portion for her and just feed the other one at 7am when she starts scratching as that’s far more civilised! I will see if they make one for wet food so it’s not rancid by the morning!
I can’t shut them downstairs, it’s an old house but quite open plan with only a couple of doors and the 2 dogs are behind one!! There’s only one real other door on the lounge which at the weekend I do put her in that as I just want a full nights sleep but I do feel a bit mean!
We are away on holiday soon and our cat feeder does come in at random times of day, sometimes first thing, sometimes at lunchtime so after that will be the perfect time to change wet feeds to the evening so I will definitely be doing that!
We do have a big house with lovely big windows and many cat towers etc but I need to investigate ‘hunting toys’ as I don’t know what that is but sounds great! We also have a catio which the younger one loves and is already out there! The older one isn’t interested!
I’ve tried opening the door and making a noise, they run away and are back a minute or two later and repea, it just goes on and on, it never ends!
They have a constant source of dry kibble, so they have access to dry food 24/7 so they aren’t starving, they just love their wet food! Our old cats I never gave them wet food and now I wonder why I started with these 2 to be honest! I almost want to just stop it altogether but now that feels mean!
I will update once the timed feeder arrives and hop that makes some difference, off to Google!
Thanks everyone, at least I feel I’m not alone!!!

Another update! I found one on Amazon that you actually plug in and has a tiny refrigeration system (rather than ice packs) so you can put multiple days in if you want! It was £80 so expensive but if we went away for the night (rarely do but anyway!) they could be fed so useful to have. I’m quite excited now!

Get two timed microchip activated feeders so they can't eat each others food.

Our cat is shut in the kitchen overnight. He has a bed, water, dry food, litter tray and his toy basket in there, so nothing coming over him - the paw in face at 5am is too much!

We do have a timed feeder which has a refrigerated pack thing in it but he’s a bit frightened of it when we did a trial of it during the day. I dare say we could have persevered though.

The younger one would wait for the older cat to activate the opener and push her aside!! She’s an absolute piglet!! 🤣

@Janus it would just close again once the younger one moved away.

Oh that is clever! Looks like I’ll be buying a second machine! Thanks for the tip.

It's normal.
Dusk is when they are most alert and want to hunt .
I get up... feed mine.. then he's fine.

Do you get back to sleep after?? I am
now a terrible sleeper so I don’t get back to sleep and then have to function all day on not enough sleep.

How many meals a day do they have? It might be worth spreading their portions out between three meals and doing what we do, which is 7.30am, 4pm-ish and 9.30-10pm.