Mr Puss keeps waking me up multiple times a night

[Laserloosefocus]

I am looking after a cat for the next 6 months. He is really lovely, has settled in really well and we love him to bits. The only problem is the multiple night wakings.

I already have an autistic daughter who wakes multiple times a night and needs re-settling (she is 7.5 so this isn’t going to change any time soon). Mr Puss is then waking me up about 3am because he is getting lonely (if you give him a fuss he settles down again, but won’t come and sleep in my room because my dog sleeps on my bed) and then again about 4.30/5am because he is hungry, or vice versa (he wants food first, then a fuss). If I put the meat out before I go to bed it has gone too stale for him to eat it when he gets hungry.

If the wake-ups are too close together my daughter then wakes up properly at the second meowing and is up for the day. We’re three weeks in and I feel like I have a newborn I’m that tired!!

Is there anything I can do? Thank you!!

We've always kept our cats, and visiting cats, shut downstairs. They have dry food left out for midnight, and early morning snacks. Can you close him in the kitchen??

He always has dry food down (and water obviously), but is quite fussy about where he toilets. If I kept him shut in the kitchen overnight he wouldn’t be able to access the litter tray in the bathroom, and if I moved it to the kitchen he wouldn’t use it (and a litter tray in the kitchen makes me feel a bit gross). Our kitchen cupboards also don’t have kick boards (it’s rented and so we can’t replace them) and I don’t want him weeing or pooping where I can’t reach. Otherwise that would be an ideal solution!!

Our rescue boy did this when we first brought him home! We got into a routine of shutting him in the kitchen with biscuits, bed and a litter tray after a few sleepless nights. He didn't like it but it meant we got sleep and he did actually settle down by being confined to one room- I think he felt more secure!

After about 3 weeks he started to be clever enough that we couldn't shut him in, one night we gave up and let him have the run of downstairs and we didn't hear a peep!

4 years later he now wakes us at 7am on the dot every morning and never a moment before. I think it was the 3 weeks in the kitchen that simply taught him a routine and that we sleep at night! So you could try shutting him in for just a couple of weeks and then seeing if he becomes more settled!

Our cats are all shut downstairs overnight - do you have any way of doing that?

I think you might both be on to something. He spends his day in the kitchen out of choice-we have a bench seat up against the radiator and he tucks himself up on there. I’ll bring his litter tray down and shut him in. Please please please don’t poop under the cabinets Mr Puss!! 😂😂😂

Mine gets shit in the kitchen with a litter tray.

I leave out chicken on the table for a midnight snack. It's always gone by morning. The water bowl is beside it. So both far away from the toilet area.

Always make sure your appliances are switched off so the cat can't accidentally stand on the kettle switch or a hot cooker ring or anything dangerous.

Shut 🤣🤣🤣

We locked our cat in the lounge or outside for the night. Absolutely no way in hell I was tolerating being woken up by an animal.

Our cats have always been shut in the utility ovenight otherwise they wake the whole house! They've got access to the outside, a comfy bed and kibbles to munch on if they're peckish, but we've had this routine from day 1 so they know the score!

I have a timed feeder with an ice pack which solved the food wake up!
This 2 bowl one
It isn't accurate to the minute but it goes off reliably

amzn.eu/d/7exQsKK