meep
20-08-2008, 10:36 AM
Darcy and Minsky are both very active cats. They're 2 years old and still act like big kittens. They quite frequently will demand to be played with and cuddled in the following ways:
- Sitting in front of us and meowing
- Sitting in the other room and yowling until we run through to see what's wrong
- Jumping onto our knees or beside us on the couch and sitting in front of our face
- Jumping up behind us, wherever we're sitting, and eating our hair
- Scratching and yowling at the front door.
Now this is all very cute, but I've made sure not to give in every time they demand; and haven't pandered to their attention seeking. They don't do it for food, but for play and attention - well mainly.
This is easy to ignore during the day, but much much harder at night in bed.
It's mainly Darcy who attempts to wake us up at night, although Minsky maybe does it one time out of 10. It's turned into a habit that's happening every night, and I'm starting to be deprived too much sleep!
Basically, every morning around 5 or 6am Darcy will try to wake us up; unlike during the day, which is for attention, this is for their breakfast.
Originally he started just jumping on the bed and meowing and purring beside us. Easy to ignore. But then he discovered that the front door rattles in its lock and bangs quite loudly when moved; so he began scratching at the front door furiously, banging it, for a good 10 minutes until we woke up and couldn't take it any longer.
This became a nightly habit and we put up with it for a week, until we decided to do something. So we barricaded the front door! We put a beanbag in front of it, then wedged a fold up chair underneath it which stops the rattling. So he can still scratch at it but it doesn't rattle.
He's realised now that the front door scratching isn't as effective as it used to be. So he's resorting to increasingly desperate measures. This morning I woke up to hear him digging at the chair and beanbag to try and move them; and then I heard him launch himself at the door! I think he must have just taken a running jump at it or something!
I really don't think it's because he wants out the front door or is upset. He just has learnt from experience that making a fuss at the front door is the easiest way to get our attention.
Minsky also has a habit of digging at my legs in bed. Again, around 5am Ill wake up to him just digging and digging and digging my legs. He's on top of the covers and I'm under but it's constant digging and he won't stop - even if I kick him off!
On a week day it isn't too bad as we get up at 7.30am anyway, but getting woken up 2 hours earlier isn't ideal! But at a weekend it's NOT fun. I usually get up at 730 anyway to feed them, then go back to bed and go back to sleep, as I know i'd be kept awake all morning otherwise!
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Basically, it is becoming a problem as it's disturbing our sleep and making us grumpy! I appreciate that in the morning they are hungry, but they can surely wait an extra hour! I'm thinking it might be that the sun rise is when they wake up as it is the same time every morning, and come winter when it gets darker they may do it later and later *fingers crossed* but I really am started to lose my patience with them!
They are lovely boys, I love them to bits, and they have no real behavioural problems apart from this! They snuggle up at the bottom of the bed at night and fall asleep, but just wake up earlier than us.
Has anyone experienced anything similar, and any suggestions? We've tried shutting the bedroom door in the evening to get some "alone time" but all that happens is Darcy scratches and meows at it non-stop until we open it again, then is extra affectionate till he's calmed down a little. So I'm not sure if doing that all night would help us get any sleep?
Sorry for the really really long post! Any suggestions anyone has would be really appreciated! It's a catch-22. We try to ignore them doing it, but we can't get back to sleep and because we want to sleep we get up to feed them!:roll:
- Sitting in front of us and meowing
- Sitting in the other room and yowling until we run through to see what's wrong
- Jumping onto our knees or beside us on the couch and sitting in front of our face
- Jumping up behind us, wherever we're sitting, and eating our hair
- Scratching and yowling at the front door.
Now this is all very cute, but I've made sure not to give in every time they demand; and haven't pandered to their attention seeking. They don't do it for food, but for play and attention - well mainly.
This is easy to ignore during the day, but much much harder at night in bed.
It's mainly Darcy who attempts to wake us up at night, although Minsky maybe does it one time out of 10. It's turned into a habit that's happening every night, and I'm starting to be deprived too much sleep!
Basically, every morning around 5 or 6am Darcy will try to wake us up; unlike during the day, which is for attention, this is for their breakfast.
Originally he started just jumping on the bed and meowing and purring beside us. Easy to ignore. But then he discovered that the front door rattles in its lock and bangs quite loudly when moved; so he began scratching at the front door furiously, banging it, for a good 10 minutes until we woke up and couldn't take it any longer.
This became a nightly habit and we put up with it for a week, until we decided to do something. So we barricaded the front door! We put a beanbag in front of it, then wedged a fold up chair underneath it which stops the rattling. So he can still scratch at it but it doesn't rattle.
He's realised now that the front door scratching isn't as effective as it used to be. So he's resorting to increasingly desperate measures. This morning I woke up to hear him digging at the chair and beanbag to try and move them; and then I heard him launch himself at the door! I think he must have just taken a running jump at it or something!
I really don't think it's because he wants out the front door or is upset. He just has learnt from experience that making a fuss at the front door is the easiest way to get our attention.
Minsky also has a habit of digging at my legs in bed. Again, around 5am Ill wake up to him just digging and digging and digging my legs. He's on top of the covers and I'm under but it's constant digging and he won't stop - even if I kick him off!
On a week day it isn't too bad as we get up at 7.30am anyway, but getting woken up 2 hours earlier isn't ideal! But at a weekend it's NOT fun. I usually get up at 730 anyway to feed them, then go back to bed and go back to sleep, as I know i'd be kept awake all morning otherwise!
----------
Basically, it is becoming a problem as it's disturbing our sleep and making us grumpy! I appreciate that in the morning they are hungry, but they can surely wait an extra hour! I'm thinking it might be that the sun rise is when they wake up as it is the same time every morning, and come winter when it gets darker they may do it later and later *fingers crossed* but I really am started to lose my patience with them!
They are lovely boys, I love them to bits, and they have no real behavioural problems apart from this! They snuggle up at the bottom of the bed at night and fall asleep, but just wake up earlier than us.
Has anyone experienced anything similar, and any suggestions? We've tried shutting the bedroom door in the evening to get some "alone time" but all that happens is Darcy scratches and meows at it non-stop until we open it again, then is extra affectionate till he's calmed down a little. So I'm not sure if doing that all night would help us get any sleep?
Sorry for the really really long post! Any suggestions anyone has would be really appreciated! It's a catch-22. We try to ignore them doing it, but we can't get back to sleep and because we want to sleep we get up to feed them!:roll: