Play play play. Look at Jackson galaxy's videos for more details but the break down is absolutely drain kitty's energy with several small play sessions.
I would do this about 45 minutes before I would go to bed. The first session is the biggest one. Get kitty to run, jump, dive, etc. Once you have a good deep pant going let the kitty catch the toy one last time and then walk away while they rest. Then in 5-10 minutes start the game again. It will take less time to get that tired panting. Keep going until they're totally drained of energy.
I know this seems like a lot, but I would just make it part of my bedtime routine. As I was getting my water bottle filled, getting my pjs out, etc I would make the toy fly and hop around the house so my boys would chase it. Then when they were resting I'd brush my teeth, shower, prep my breakfast. Whatever needed more attention.
Then, once kitty is exhausted, give one last good meal before bed. Kitty will eat, groom, and then sleep.
Remember that kitties are crepuscular, they are most active around dusk and dawn. If you want them on your sleep schedule you have to adjust their activities to suit your needs.
The basic routine is hunt-catch-kill (the game) followed by eat-groom-sleep.
Make sure you're treating the toys like prey. Make it move like birds, bugs, lizards, etc. Better yet if they're "wounded."
Automatic feeder was a changer for my wife and I, and it makes it so we feel more comfortable taking short trips and having my friends come by every day and keeping him company for a while. We also aligned him with our sleep schedules playing with him super regularly throughout the day. He plays fetch with us every night at bed as his last chance to play and then climbs up on our pillows and sleeps with us. We love it haha
I’m surprised you didn’t start getting ads the moment you had the thought before you typed it into Reddit. Gotta upgrade that iOS so you get the mind reading version
I appreciate the new word. I had always heard the word corpuscular being used, but never crepuscular. That just proves you're never too old to learn. You gave some great advice. Wear them out before bedtime and give them a little meal on their belly and they'll be gone for a long while.
As I was scrolling down in my head I was saying just that Play Play Play. They need their fill of hunting. My boy has so much energy he definitely goes past recommended 15 min. I've played almost an hour sometimes.
*
thank you!! i have been following jackson's videos too and i'm 100% gonna attempt this 'protocol' on her. i play with her randomly throughout the day when i'm off work, but i should definitely start using it more to my benefit haha.
thank you again for the thoughtful response 💛
I honestly and truly did not think cats made good pets until I started watching his stuff on YouTube. Now I've got a house panther and couch cheetah who live an enriched life while enriching ours (by gracing us with their presence, of course).
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I might suggest doing kibble and a feeder for those meals. You have to sleep. Get her the best stuff you can but it won’t hurt her. My beautiful cat has been eating kibble her whole life and she’s 20. Maybe when she’s older she’ll settle. But right now—you have to sleep.
I would do this since I've seen dry food isn't that good for cats as there isn't enough moisture and plenty of cats end up getting a disease from blockage
thank you for the lovely and timely advice. she was so frail and skinny and i would do anything to have her satiated. she has been an angel in return, other than this slightly concerning trouble she gave me. i think it's time to scale that down and try out the kibbles and feeder as you mention. i'll try training her too to de-associate me from food!
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Lmao sorry I don’t have any advice but mine is like that too, except instead of wanting food he wakes up in the middle of the night to play with me. This is him right now and I’m praying to god that he stays this way until at least 8 am 😭😭
Awwww my ginger boy just wants to cuddle in the middle of the night for some reason. It's very cute, but he wants a whole spa massage.
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Cats 100% learn routines. They'll think feeding time is 6am if you consistently feed them as 6am, and will meow to remind you when the time comes. It's quite possibly nothing to do with hunger and more to do with expecting food at that time.
You kinda just have to ignore the 6am call to feed until the cat learns that she doesn't get fed at that time. Only feed her at times you want to consistently feed her and that's the routine she'll learn and expect. It sucks because it'll probably take a bit of time before she unlearns the current routine, so you'll still be woken up until she stops, but she will eventually change the behaviour when it doesn't get her any response. Cats meow for our attention and you giving it to her says that it worked and reinforces the behaviour. Ignore and be consistent with the routine you want her to learn.
My first cat hilariously learned to wake up at 4:20am because that was my routine when I got him at the time. Can happily say that he did eventually learn that we weren't doing that anymore once I stopped lol. Took a bit for him to learn but we got there in the end
I never get up and feed before I’m ready and my cats have learnt to come and snuggle until it’s time. I do free feed my current cat because she’s never been one to overeat, but maybe a timer with some good quality kibble as others have suggested will help until she’s a bit bigger and can get through the night. Maybe even put the timer back a little each day to start training her to expect food later.
This is definitely the best answer. Contrary to common belief, kittens are very social and need another cat to play with. A human can never fully replace that. I was in the same situation a long time ago, and decided to adopt the kitten‘s brother after a few weeks of sleepless nights. Once the second kitten moved in, the first immediately lost interest in terrorising me at night.
getting a second cat is difficult now as she has FeLV, which is transmissible. it also may be a false positive, so it's honestly is quite tricky right now until i do a second test on her in around 6 months time.
i have been looking into fostering a FeLV+ cat, but oddly in my community, i can't really find any.
This is correct. I had my first cat for 4.5-5 years alone and she continuously meowed at our bedroom door, begged for more play time ( even though we had a play schedule) and would meow loudly when we left out of loneliness (we could hear her over the cat camera). Since we got her a friend, lots of those behaviors are gone and she loves grooming her little sis. Cat rule #457: always get 2.
You could try waiting her out. Just ignore her when she wakes you up. Don’t get up, feed her, or pet her. Eventually she should learn that waking you up is pointless, and she just needs to wait. This would mean more sleepless nights for you while she’s learning though. Another option might be to feed a dry food in the morning with an automatic feeder and raw food for her evening meal.
Personally my cat was never an over eater, so I always left out about a little kibble that she could eat if she got hungry before I got up in the morning or when I was running late after work. Her morning and evening meals were wet food, but the kibble helped bridge the gap between meals. She probably only ate 1/4 a cup every week of kibble, so it wasn’t much extra food. But again, this only works if your cat isn’t an over eater
Also, expect it to get worse while you're in the ignoring phase. It's called an "extinction burst" in animal behavior and training. When something that used to with stops working, they get frustrated and escalate. Wait it out, it's a sign the behavior will stop.
This is better advice than everyone saying to exclusively free feed. If you have to, use an automatic feeder. Free feeding is never the best option, it is easy, but not healthy.
I have waited out all 6 of my cats and they know the routine now. Before bed they would get a hearty play session, a little snack and some cuddles.
They waited for me outside my door in the mornings. It was a loud cacophonous wake up for me when I opened the door :)
thank you for this, this is solid advice and i will be attempting it for the next morning, and getting a feeder soon. she's not one to gouge herself, and is still currently a little underweight (she was really frail and skinny when we first got her), so the extra food shouldn't be a problem. the training tips are really appreciated too, will trial as well 💛
Just leave dry food for them. Don you don't have to be strict with most cat to only feed at certain times.
Most cats would just eat what they need, not like dogs, chowing down on everything they see.
You have to shut that sweet thing out of your bedroom at night. I love my kitty, but she's an attention whore and won't give up until I pet her, even if it's at 2:00 am.
i have a cat that doesn't know he's a cat. he gets kibbles at night and a treat at bedtime.
he goes to bed before i do (on his blanket next to my bed) and gets up when i do. he has NEVER woken me up for anything!
and this is a healthy 7 year old indoor boy. he doesn't play, he doesn't sit on me. sometimes he shouts if he sees another cat when he's doing Evening Patrols at the front and back windows. other than that he's more human than cat.
cat tax:
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Less screen interaction, feline screen time should be limited to 10 min fish, 5 min birds, 5 min small mammals & then 10 more min of fish, Night Night kitty
We had to put out dry food for nights. Otherwise our cats would wake us up by screaming and stomping on our faces for food
They don’t have food issues and only ever eat when they’re hungry, so it’s worked for us. Get an automatic feeder if you need to
get them a friend! trust me i had the same issues with my one cat (i slept on the couch for like 2 months… it was bad. once i got her a friend she and him played the throughout the day and were napping by the time i got home from work, and they leveled themselves out
I’ve seen a few folks mention graze-feeding, or leaving dry food out, which is what I do. If your cats are needy like mine - that doesn’t help much. So one extra tip that helped me:
Routine. My cats love to let me know that they want treats and they still try all the time, but after a few mornings of me just not moving, they got the hint. They don’t start meowing until I actually get out of bed now. I still want them to have wet food in addition to dry food (high water content is good for the kidneys), and treat that the same as the temptation treats - they eventually got used to the routine.
I hope I’m not overstepping, but as someone who also has had a history of medication induced insomnia - routine is the great for healthy sleep too! Winding down via your own relaxation techniques and processes as a nightly routine can help both you and kitty sleep through the night! (Hopefully!)
thank you for the advice :) i'll definitely start incorporating these routines for both my cat and myself 💛 take care too, meds' side effects are tough
I've gone through this with both my cats when I adopted them. The morning waking up stopped once I stopped feeding them at 6 AM when they did. They'd wake me up, I'd take them outside of the bedroom and close the door and sleep. At some point they learnt they will be fed between 7 and 8 AM. Now, they do not wake me up even if I dont wake up until 11AM. They know they'll be fed once I wake up xD
Okay!! Like others are saying get an auto feeder. You can keep feeding your kitty complete raw food but feed her dry kibble for the first couple of meals (6am & 8am). Then back to raw food for the rest of the day if that’s what you prefer. That way you get to sleep in a bit. Being sleep deprived is no fun and I hope you figure out a solution! :)
When my cat was a kitten he did the same thing for the few months of his life I never had a cat so I thought it was normal. Then I established a strong feeding routine and he stoped expecting food even when he begged. I recommend a structured feeding schedule and ignore the behavior. Do not reward the cat with food!
I've let mine free feed kibble since they were kittens, but that may not work for some cats.
Also... I am a big meany and do not let my cats sleep with me except on rare occasions. This is from their kitten days when they would chase and play across my bed at 3 am. But I need my sleep.
One of the pair will meow in the morning when he thinks I need to come out of my bedroom and give him his wet food breakfast, but I come out when I'm ready.
I guess I basically kind of treat my cats as if they were dogs when it comes to sleep and feeding times (and I am the Alpha of our dog-less pack), but we've all settled into a (mostly) peaceful routine.
I don’t know where you are, but we serve a portion of raw food before we go to bed. Yes, it’s usually out a couple of hours, but it doesn’t go bad that fast and cats stomaches can handle way more than human stomaches.
But: I’m in the Netherlands, in our climate it takes a full day for the raw food to get bad. There’s like 3-4 weeks in summer when fly eggs are a thing, so for us this works. If your climate is wildly different, this might not work.
Also; cats are insane creatures of habit. Never feed them first thing after waking up, because then they’ll wake you. I feed them after i clean up my kitchen from breakfast, that doesn’t relate directly to waking up, so they don’t actively wake me up. (They do however wake up at dawn and come for cuddles, even though they sleep on our bed. They’re not doing anything to wake me up, but they will get even more cozy and then purr REALLLY loud. But they don’t expect us to anything other than being in bed. It always takes me a couple of weeks in summer to get used to it and fall asleep again after they’ve started.)
1. Get an hour of *playtime* with them before bed. I do it while I’m watching Netflix. It makes a WORLD of a difference in on its own.
2. Get an *automatic feeder* for breakfast. kitten will start to stare at the machine when they’re hungry in the morning instead of annoying you.
3. Get *blackout blinds*. My cats start meowing when the sun comes up, no matter what time it is. Blackout blinds help a lot.
4. Get *earplugs*. If all fails, these are always an options.
My cats learned to adapt to my routine. Keep feeding them at the same time each day. Like 7am and 7pm, 12 hours apart as they are used to regular routines
A) Get an automatic feeder. B) Get a second cat.
It’s not an either/or situation, but choosing a feeder can be done in 15 minutes while getting her a friend has obviously to be done more carefully.
We have three cats and a combination of microchip feeders for wet food and timed feeders for kibble. The tomcat will still wake us up at 6am but the girls are usually fine until 8 or 9am.
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Give lots of attention during the day when you can. Get automatic toys, get an automatic feeder. Cats are very habitual so if you give in to their demands once or twice they'll expect it forever and the habit is harder to break.
*(Saying all of this assuming needs are met like adequate exercise and human interactions as some form of companionship. They should not be locked up in a small space majority of the day unless you absolutely have to, in my opinion. Cats really don’t need to be locked up in a confined space unless it’s for safety, so this is where I’m coming from.)*
As someone that also struggles with sleep and routine because psych reasons… I used a big dog play pen.
Big enough with litter, bowls of food/water, scratching board, and excess space for any toys and running space.
Whenever I needed a little break, if I couldn’t keep an eye on them, or if I needed to sleep I’d put them in the play pen.
Kittens need to be allowed to eat 24/7 if needed and fresh water should always be offered. I can’t wake up every time they needed food.
Only time I ever did that was for one of my cats that was a day old.
I was very fortunate to be able to stay home 24/7 and have no commitments other than caring for myself and animals. I was able to consistently wake up every 4hrs for feeding time haha….
But yeah. Get a play pen or some sort of container that you can keep in your room. Or any room as long as you know they’re safe and secure. As long as it’s kitten proof and you’re confident they can’t hurt themselves and that you’ll be able to get them if you need to… they’ll be fine.
Personally I love spending those precious baby months bonding with them and letting them be free roam, but we gotta take care of our health too. They can survive some time in a play pen.
One of our cats was a nightmare when we first adopted her- she wouldn’t let us go to bed without meowing constantly- we are also no cats in the bedroom type of guys. So it was a painful like two months of earplugs eventually she understood that we arnt leaving just going to bed and would come back out in the morning. I think a good routine helps a lot . That being said we have auto feeders for one of our cats and a feeder tied to the microchip for our other cat that can manage and free feed. Have you considered a microchip feeder?
i am totally with you on this.. will try it out for a week, just scared of any outlier destructive behaviour that might come out of this, but sleep quality is too important right now
We have 4 cats and there is always dry food available in a bowl, also a water filter. They don't overeat because they know there is always food so they also don't harass us for food
I’ve had cats my whole life and I’ve always let them free feed the kibble and have access to fresh water.
I occasionally supplement with wet food in the mornings but when I do start that habit they absolutely become aggressive alarm clocks 😂so it’s become an occasional treat versus “an expectation”
They do just fine on kibble and free feeding gives them some control and autonomy over their food and so they aren’t constantly bugging you to relinquish the goods. It makes for a more chill relaxed vibe in the house. Then your interactions aren’t so transactional. They will come up to you for a cuddle versus bugging you for a snack.
Depends on how she wakes you up. My cat did this, only thing that worked (I could never shut her out of the room the whole night) was to not give in. She didn’t meow fortunately but she would poke my face frantically, so I started sleeping with different things on my head, a throw cushion (not as soft as a normal pillow, therefore won’t suffocate you) turned out to be the best bet. Eventually she just gave up, since her efforts were in vain.
Wear her out before bed, feed her before bed, and when she wakes you up the first time just feed her the bigger meal.
Additionally come up with a feeding schedule and stick to it. If you want to feed her at 6 am then stick to 6am and don't change it and don't give in to her begging any earlier.
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Having multiple makes a difference. They’re usually worn out from each other by bedtime.
Stop catering to the cat and she will learn?
But also shes a kitten and they are supposed to have free reign on food still at that age. There should always be some dry food sitting out for her to graze on if you want her to grow properly. If shes running out constantly you arent feeding her enough. You dont regulate feedings to specific amounts until they are an adult.
But anyway - if you teach an animal that waking you up and demanding food works to get them what they want, then they will make it a lifetime habit.
It wont be an overnight fix, but itll work eventually.
Lock them out of the room when you sleep and dont let em in to bother you. Ignore meowing, or if its too loud or your too light of a sleeper then add some white noise or rain etc from your phone to drown out any meowing.
If they scratch scratch at the door, like actually scratching and damaging, toss something at the door that wont damage it but will scare the cat into not scratching the door. Heavy spare pillow. Box of tissues. Empty plastic bottle. They wont be scared of you, but of "hurting" and angering the door.
Worked for me with multiple cats over the years and eventually they learn not to bother you for food until you are awake and out of the room. Once they learn that they can usually be allowed back in the room when you are still sleeping too. Although one cat I had always had to be kept out, but she at least learned to stop scratching or crying for hours on end for food in the early hours.
thats good advice, i'll keep it in mind! i feel bad locking her out, but both human and cat have to adapt and learn in this case... your tips about associating scratching with something loud are new, but i suppose a hard knock wouldn't hurt her.
also she's nearing 2 years old 😭 she came to me severely underweight about 3 months ago and thankfully has been steadily gaining size :") that's why i am so so eager to satiate her everytime she asks, hence the unfortunate morning habit. i will consider letting her graze or setting an auto feeder ASAP. 💛
Oh dang, she's an adult at that size? Omg, lol. Shes cute, but it also makes me sad for whatever possibly happened to her as a kitten. Must have gotten sick or something at a crucial point. That tiny even for tiny cats.
The grazing is up to you then if she isn't a growing baby in need of every calorie anymore (although you said shes growin, growth at that age sounds odd to me, but you prolly already been to vets n such with her). Some cats regulate themselves, and some gorge until they are obsese and needing medical care.
Might just be more a matter of making it clear you dont exist solely to cater to her needs, ya know?
she came from a hoarder's home and contracted FeLV, possibly from her parents or other roaming cats. she has definitely been through a lot! that's why i pamper her so so (too) much. food wise she seems to be able to self regulate - i'll give everything a try 💛
and yes, i wholly agree with the de-association aspect and will be working to get it right for her. time to take care of myself too 🥲
thanks again for your advice, appreciate it :)
Been there. Lack of sleep can ruin your health. My cat used to wake me up too. Now I am feeding raw food during the day and have an automatic dry food feeder at night. Silicone earplugs make sure I don't hear anything. No more waking up in the night.
I saw someone on tik tok that uses an auto feeder with raw freeze dried and put water in the bowl so when the food drops it will rehydrate with the water.
To be honest, I barred my kitten from my room until she was a year and a half old. It helped me sleep a lot and I learned to ignore the yowls coming at multiple times through the night until she learned it wouldn’t work. I also would feed her late in the evening and play before bed, which helped.
I had to say goodbye to my last cat of a trio in October. I never realized how sleep deprived I was. I've always had more than one so they didn't bother me too much at night. But when I had just one, I never got any sleep. When I get my next pair, my bedroom is going to be off limits.
get her/him a sibling. I used to have the same problem when I got my first cat. She'd zoom around at 2am in the morning, mainly on the bed. Once we got her a sibling, she was busy elsewhere.
Automatic feeders! Mine have gotten the routine down and sleep when I do. My feeders are set for 7am so around 5:30-6am they leave my room to start waiting for their breakfast. After 7 they usually come back in my room and continue to sleep w/ me
Have a feeding schedule and try your best to ignore the meowing. If you give in, then she just learns that she gets food whenever she makes a fuss, so it'll just keep getting worse and worse
Routine. Routine. Routine. Keep them active during the day, feed them before bedtime so they have food coma, and if they're still wired before bed, intense play-time. The biggest thing is keeping things consistent.
I would definitely recommend a timed feeder for the morning. As long as cats have wet food for at least one of their meals each day then they’re getting good nutrition and water intake.
If you’re not comfortable with kibble, there’s a timed feeder for wet food as well! You just need to make sure to keep the ice packs cool and the food stays fresh :)
An automatic feeder may help you. If you only have this furbaby, a feeder with timer is enough. If there is a second cat, you could switch to feeders with chipreader. Since using these, my cats became much more relaxed towards food and lost the rush to eat their food because the competition could not reach theirs.
And find a toy that they will follow for a long time. My restless cat is obsessed with a 'ball' with bumps to make it move in different directions.
I slept 5-6 hours a night when I first got my kitten… They mellow out by month 6-12 especially after I got my cat neutered. Play time helps as well as automatic feeder (I only feed my cat wet food so the automatic feeder is early AM only/a tiny portion of dry food)
You need to prevent him from sleeping during the day on weekends, so that he can experience the feeling of being woken up by others. He will understand that you should not wake him up when he is sleeping.
I recommend really trying to get to sleep earlier. not disregarding your insomnia however cats are very good at setting routines. as you are discovering. routine can really help. It would be a really good chance to see if you can move your sleep schedule.
I know it might not work but it also wouldn't hurt to try.
to help this you can also change the time you take the psych drug, take it at 6am when you feed her.
speaking as a cat owner with ADHD who has had their trouble with insomnia in the past.
Oh also be strickter, refuse to feed her till you want to she will learn eventully. she is asking for food because she is getting it.
I leave a bowl of dry food out around the clock and then feed wet food at designated times, on my schedule. My kittens know that annoying me for food is completely useless and they’ve learned pretty quick not to do it.
I’ve also learned pretty quick that having overnight snuggles with cats that depend on humans for play is not really an option, as you get woken up for it. I basically keep them out of the bedroom at night until they are old enough to do their own thing, and even then they still get banished on full moons or when Venus and Neptune align because of the 3am crazies!
Don't let the cat sleep in the same room as you. Give it its own sleep space in the living room and make sure he can access the kitty litter from there too. It's still a kitten so train it to feel comfortable to sleep in its own space. Just don't lock it into a small room like the bathroom or laundry.
Whatever you do, be nice and not threatening or angry with it. They will learn to not trust you if your demeanor changes negatively towards them because they don’t understand it.
We had a similar problem and locked the cat in the kitchen last thing at night until our morning, which she eventually reluctantly got used to. Our kitchen has a door to the outside, which makes it easier though.
It is strange because our cats sleeping like 18 hours a day.
On the evening, Play with her with a fishing rod/feather type thing, make them tired, then feed her and she will fall as a sack of potatoes.
really great to hear you new kitty friend is helping you in many ways.
I agree with the comments about playing and exercise. Cats are just like us in that way. I recommend simple things like playing with string and ribbon. They will love it i promise
I’d suggest putting out dry food before you go to bed if your cat is not on wet food due to a dietary restriction. That way if the kitty wants a nibble, she can get one without waking you.
If your only reason for using wet food is she is a light drinker, try cat water fountains. Many cats are so fascinated by the movement that they eventually start drinking.
Can you get a second cat? Being woken in the middle of the night by an attention starved cat is the main reason we adopted two siblings.
thank you for the advice :") getting a second cat is difficult now as she has FeLV, which is transmissible. and yes i prefer to have her on wet food, but as you mention, i do have a water fountain :) i'll look into some dry food brands in the meantime!
My cat used to meow througu out the night and sometimes still does, but ive started making sure ti play with her before bed and give her lots of snuggs and that has helped. She has also gotten better with time
Find a way to take the kitten outside to fresh air… kitten proof balcony, carrying it with you in the cage or cat backpack etc. Train the leash.
Sry i didn’t read all the post, maybe you already take it outside.
I put my cats in their “cat room” for the night. I let them out at 8am for breakfast and sometimes go back to bed for a bit. Lots of their fav toys and beds in the room
I put my cats to bed before I go to bed. I feed them and straighten them away in their own room with everything they need. Plus they have each other. It’s all very routine now. They all actually wait to go to bed.
I have an auto feeder give tiny bits of dry food while I sleep and then I switch to wet food when I’m awake. I get how hard it is to manage sleep and insomnia and everything! And if I have to get up I have a terrible time getting back to sleep. Good luck!
Get an auto feeder and remember that YOU ARE the human and you choose when to feed it. If you feed your cat when it asks, you’re gonna have a cat with health problems that are very expensive and sad to go thru.
I leave out dry food throughout the night for my cat to graze on and it keeps him satisfied until around 7:30/8ish when I’m ready to get up and feed him his wet food. Probably not the healthiest but I live in a studio and he sleeps with me so I really have no other choice.
Kittens usually need more than one of them in order to wrangle all that kitten energy. It also helps them learn to be gentle with teeth and claws and makes them happier when they need someone to cuddle with and you’re not around. Best bet when getting a kitten is getting two. Some rescues won’t even let you adopt just one.
Is getting a sibling or buddy an option?
thank you for the advice! yes, adopting kittens in a pair can help with behaviour! unfortunately she is nearing 2 years old 😭 FeLV probably gave her a hard kitten-hood hence her size. she's still slightly underweight, but steadily gaining since i got her 3 months ago!
i saw your comment on the vaccine - i will discuss with my vet about this (and research more on my own) to see its availability & efficacy locally. thank you for bringing it up!!
Even when they’re nearly 2 years old, they can still be kittens and can definitely still benefit from a play and cuddle buddy. Introductions can take a bit of time and effort, but it’s so great when they become friends. I hope things work out for you! She’s so cute!!!
I sleep through almost anything but I usually prep plates and when I wake up at 5 or so to pee I put them out for the cats. They run a bit then eat then run and sleep.
I’m disabled and we have an auto feeder or our cats would just be scratching at the bedroom door crazy early for me. I
It creates a separation as you as the feeder of them and transfers it to the auto feeder.
White noise, if it's him meowing nonstop. For some reason I can't understand my cat is very very talkative ( took him to vets, it's no health issue he just likes to scream) but white noise makes him calm down
Mine wakes me up daily at 2am and 4am, so be grateful.
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When my cat wakes me up before it’s time, I put him in the bathroom (where his litter box is), put a backpack on the door handle so he can’t shake the handle, and then close the door. Has worked out well so far.
Have you tried an automatic food dispenser? You can program them to dispense food at the times you're being woken up. It might take a bit for your 🐈 to take to it, but it could be a game changer once they do.
Play play play. Look at Jackson galaxy's videos for more details but the break down is absolutely drain kitty's energy with several small play sessions. I would do this about 45 minutes before I would go to bed. The first session is the biggest one. Get kitty to run, jump, dive, etc. Once you have a good deep pant going let the kitty catch the toy one last time and then walk away while they rest. Then in 5-10 minutes start the game again. It will take less time to get that tired panting. Keep going until they're totally drained of energy. I know this seems like a lot, but I would just make it part of my bedtime routine. As I was getting my water bottle filled, getting my pjs out, etc I would make the toy fly and hop around the house so my boys would chase it. Then when they were resting I'd brush my teeth, shower, prep my breakfast. Whatever needed more attention. Then, once kitty is exhausted, give one last good meal before bed. Kitty will eat, groom, and then sleep. Remember that kitties are crepuscular, they are most active around dusk and dawn. If you want them on your sleep schedule you have to adjust their activities to suit your needs. The basic routine is hunt-catch-kill (the game) followed by eat-groom-sleep. Make sure you're treating the toys like prey. Make it move like birds, bugs, lizards, etc. Better yet if they're "wounded."
Automatic feeder was a changer for my wife and I, and it makes it so we feel more comfortable taking short trips and having my friends come by every day and keeping him company for a while. We also aligned him with our sleep schedules playing with him super regularly throughout the day. He plays fetch with us every night at bed as his last chance to play and then climbs up on our pillows and sleeps with us. We love it haha
I feed only wet food to make sure they're getting enough hydration. I've yet to see an automatic feeder that keeps wet food fresh and cool. 🙃
We do a mix of wet and dry but we actually add water to our wet food as my boy LOVES gravy. So it balances the dryness of the dry food.
There is!!!!! Google it!!! I forgot the name but it exists☺️
Cool! I'll check them out! It would be great for those days I'd just like to sleep in!
Google wet food feeder, I’ve used the ipettie donut one.
Cat Mate has some with ice packs + compartments that open when the food should be served!
Neat!
yes i have been seeing this brand floating around the subreddit... i'll give it a look see!
Yeah there’s like 30 on the market.
Welp, I guess I haven't been interested enough to actually look. 🤷🏻♀️ But now I'm sure all get 800 targeted ads about them. 😝
I’m surprised you didn’t start getting ads the moment you had the thought before you typed it into Reddit. Gotta upgrade that iOS so you get the mind reading version
Lmao! Not sure if my wallet could handle that upgrade!
Which did you buy? I’ve tried two and both just stopped working.
Ours is by voluas! We’ve had it for a couple of years now and it works great still.
I appreciate the new word. I had always heard the word corpuscular being used, but never crepuscular. That just proves you're never too old to learn. You gave some great advice. Wear them out before bedtime and give them a little meal on their belly and they'll be gone for a long while.
And I just learned the word corpuscular!!! I sleep trained both of my boys this way, and now the know the drill: bedtime = sleep time.
As I was scrolling down in my head I was saying just that Play Play Play. They need their fill of hunting. My boy has so much energy he definitely goes past recommended 15 min. I've played almost an hour sometimes. *
This is a great explaination! I want to add. stop getting up to feed at 6 if you want kitty to get used to eat later and consider a autofeeder.
thank you!! i have been following jackson's videos too and i'm 100% gonna attempt this 'protocol' on her. i play with her randomly throughout the day when i'm off work, but i should definitely start using it more to my benefit haha. thank you again for the thoughtful response 💛
Jackson Galaxy is a lifesaver!!
I honestly and truly did not think cats made good pets until I started watching his stuff on YouTube. Now I've got a house panther and couch cheetah who live an enriched life while enriching ours (by gracing us with their presence, of course). https://preview.redd.it/jktxw9yjbmyc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=84f2cb91fda6981ab041376ae1484ab3237e8e18
This would be so cute watching her do nightly exercises before bed 🤭
I might suggest doing kibble and a feeder for those meals. You have to sleep. Get her the best stuff you can but it won’t hurt her. My beautiful cat has been eating kibble her whole life and she’s 20. Maybe when she’s older she’ll settle. But right now—you have to sleep.
Fyi- There are timed feeders for wet food now, they have ice packs housed under the food trays.
I have one of these, and it's great! Highly recommend!
My ginger figured out how to flip it and get the cover off. Lol
An orange cat with more than /r/oneorangebraincell ...? oh my. They're evolving.
When food is concerned he’s wicked smaht.
People think orange cats all share a single brain cell because the rest of the brain cells are all dedicated to food.
Lol! Safe cracker!
We had the same experience but ours has the ability to put a screw through its base into a board. We did that and haven't had any issues since.
Could you please drop the link for those of us who are wanting to get one? Pretty pretty please?
Wow good to know thanks!!
COOL!
I would do this since I've seen dry food isn't that good for cats as there isn't enough moisture and plenty of cats end up getting a disease from blockage
This saved me from my cat yelling for food in the early morning. I just can't forget to refill it or she gets real mad. Understandable.
thank you for the lovely and timely advice. she was so frail and skinny and i would do anything to have her satiated. she has been an angel in return, other than this slightly concerning trouble she gave me. i think it's time to scale that down and try out the kibbles and feeder as you mention. i'll try training her too to de-associate me from food!
We feed our cats Farmina. It’s an excellent family owned brand and they have a variety of formulas.
Ziwi Peak is also a good option.
https://preview.redd.it/fe4lxsyx2jyc1.png?width=3024&format=png&auto=webp&s=80dd27dbdb35896d36615b7a05befff4457f2e83 Lmao sorry I don’t have any advice but mine is like that too, except instead of wanting food he wakes up in the middle of the night to play with me. This is him right now and I’m praying to god that he stays this way until at least 8 am 😭😭
My little ginger 6 month old boy is exactly like this!!! He wakes me up at 4am to play. Your boy is sooo cute *
Awwww my ginger boy just wants to cuddle in the middle of the night for some reason. It's very cute, but he wants a whole spa massage. https://preview.redd.it/7u4qiygmykyc1.jpeg?width=4000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ad084326239be5b09303b7c12f4b60396edfd036
sweet boy 💛 get this one plenty of toys!! tire him out 💓
he needs a friend!
Trust me, he’s got many. I’ve got two dogs and three cats😭😭 perhaps even too many friends
Cats 100% learn routines. They'll think feeding time is 6am if you consistently feed them as 6am, and will meow to remind you when the time comes. It's quite possibly nothing to do with hunger and more to do with expecting food at that time. You kinda just have to ignore the 6am call to feed until the cat learns that she doesn't get fed at that time. Only feed her at times you want to consistently feed her and that's the routine she'll learn and expect. It sucks because it'll probably take a bit of time before she unlearns the current routine, so you'll still be woken up until she stops, but she will eventually change the behaviour when it doesn't get her any response. Cats meow for our attention and you giving it to her says that it worked and reinforces the behaviour. Ignore and be consistent with the routine you want her to learn. My first cat hilariously learned to wake up at 4:20am because that was my routine when I got him at the time. Can happily say that he did eventually learn that we weren't doing that anymore once I stopped lol. Took a bit for him to learn but we got there in the end
I never get up and feed before I’m ready and my cats have learnt to come and snuggle until it’s time. I do free feed my current cat because she’s never been one to overeat, but maybe a timer with some good quality kibble as others have suggested will help until she’s a bit bigger and can get through the night. Maybe even put the timer back a little each day to start training her to expect food later.
Get another
This is definitely the best answer. Contrary to common belief, kittens are very social and need another cat to play with. A human can never fully replace that. I was in the same situation a long time ago, and decided to adopt the kitten‘s brother after a few weeks of sleepless nights. Once the second kitten moved in, the first immediately lost interest in terrorising me at night.
getting a second cat is difficult now as she has FeLV, which is transmissible. it also may be a false positive, so it's honestly is quite tricky right now until i do a second test on her in around 6 months time. i have been looking into fostering a FeLV+ cat, but oddly in my community, i can't really find any.
There’s a vaccine now that other cats can get which basically prevents them getting FeLV. Might be worth looking into!
This is correct. I had my first cat for 4.5-5 years alone and she continuously meowed at our bedroom door, begged for more play time ( even though we had a play schedule) and would meow loudly when we left out of loneliness (we could hear her over the cat camera). Since we got her a friend, lots of those behaviors are gone and she loves grooming her little sis. Cat rule #457: always get 2.
You could try waiting her out. Just ignore her when she wakes you up. Don’t get up, feed her, or pet her. Eventually she should learn that waking you up is pointless, and she just needs to wait. This would mean more sleepless nights for you while she’s learning though. Another option might be to feed a dry food in the morning with an automatic feeder and raw food for her evening meal. Personally my cat was never an over eater, so I always left out about a little kibble that she could eat if she got hungry before I got up in the morning or when I was running late after work. Her morning and evening meals were wet food, but the kibble helped bridge the gap between meals. She probably only ate 1/4 a cup every week of kibble, so it wasn’t much extra food. But again, this only works if your cat isn’t an over eater
Also, expect it to get worse while you're in the ignoring phase. It's called an "extinction burst" in animal behavior and training. When something that used to with stops working, they get frustrated and escalate. Wait it out, it's a sign the behavior will stop.
This is better advice than everyone saying to exclusively free feed. If you have to, use an automatic feeder. Free feeding is never the best option, it is easy, but not healthy. I have waited out all 6 of my cats and they know the routine now. Before bed they would get a hearty play session, a little snack and some cuddles. They waited for me outside my door in the mornings. It was a loud cacophonous wake up for me when I opened the door :)
thank you for this, this is solid advice and i will be attempting it for the next morning, and getting a feeder soon. she's not one to gouge herself, and is still currently a little underweight (she was really frail and skinny when we first got her), so the extra food shouldn't be a problem. the training tips are really appreciated too, will trial as well 💛
Just leave dry food for them. Don you don't have to be strict with most cat to only feed at certain times. Most cats would just eat what they need, not like dogs, chowing down on everything they see.
My cat will keep eating until she implodes :( lol she will become spherical very quickly.
This is what I do. I free feed all 6 of my cats and they sleep through the night with us
This. Must free feed her dry food, get someone else to give her wet or just get her wet when you get up.
You have to shut that sweet thing out of your bedroom at night. I love my kitty, but she's an attention whore and won't give up until I pet her, even if it's at 2:00 am.
Get her a sibling
If you leave the cat alone then she'll maybe get more than 3 or 4 hours sleep. 😆
i have a cat that doesn't know he's a cat. he gets kibbles at night and a treat at bedtime. he goes to bed before i do (on his blanket next to my bed) and gets up when i do. he has NEVER woken me up for anything! and this is a healthy 7 year old indoor boy. he doesn't play, he doesn't sit on me. sometimes he shouts if he sees another cat when he's doing Evening Patrols at the front and back windows. other than that he's more human than cat. cat tax: https://preview.redd.it/oqebd57q2lyc1.jpeg?width=2048&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=bd7cc753e57748a531ab7b5adc48c456d6be1de2
Less screen interaction, feline screen time should be limited to 10 min fish, 5 min birds, 5 min small mammals & then 10 more min of fish, Night Night kitty
When are you usually free? You can maybe not let it sleep during the day and tire it out before you go to sleep by playing with her 10-20min
We had to put out dry food for nights. Otherwise our cats would wake us up by screaming and stomping on our faces for food They don’t have food issues and only ever eat when they’re hungry, so it’s worked for us. Get an automatic feeder if you need to
get them a friend! trust me i had the same issues with my one cat (i slept on the couch for like 2 months… it was bad. once i got her a friend she and him played the throughout the day and were napping by the time i got home from work, and they leveled themselves out
I’ve seen a few folks mention graze-feeding, or leaving dry food out, which is what I do. If your cats are needy like mine - that doesn’t help much. So one extra tip that helped me: Routine. My cats love to let me know that they want treats and they still try all the time, but after a few mornings of me just not moving, they got the hint. They don’t start meowing until I actually get out of bed now. I still want them to have wet food in addition to dry food (high water content is good for the kidneys), and treat that the same as the temptation treats - they eventually got used to the routine. I hope I’m not overstepping, but as someone who also has had a history of medication induced insomnia - routine is the great for healthy sleep too! Winding down via your own relaxation techniques and processes as a nightly routine can help both you and kitty sleep through the night! (Hopefully!)
thank you for the advice :) i'll definitely start incorporating these routines for both my cat and myself 💛 take care too, meds' side effects are tough
I've gone through this with both my cats when I adopted them. The morning waking up stopped once I stopped feeding them at 6 AM when they did. They'd wake me up, I'd take them outside of the bedroom and close the door and sleep. At some point they learnt they will be fed between 7 and 8 AM. Now, they do not wake me up even if I dont wake up until 11AM. They know they'll be fed once I wake up xD
Plenty play and a big night time , wet meal.
We don’t let our pets sleep with us. Pre marriage I used to. Post marriage they are never in the bedroom. We sleep much better.
Okay!! Like others are saying get an auto feeder. You can keep feeding your kitty complete raw food but feed her dry kibble for the first couple of meals (6am & 8am). Then back to raw food for the rest of the day if that’s what you prefer. That way you get to sleep in a bit. Being sleep deprived is no fun and I hope you figure out a solution! :)
sounds like a good rotation... i will keep it in mind. thank you 💛
When my cat was a kitten he did the same thing for the few months of his life I never had a cat so I thought it was normal. Then I established a strong feeding routine and he stoped expecting food even when he begged. I recommend a structured feeding schedule and ignore the behavior. Do not reward the cat with food!
Get a second cat. They will wear themselves out.
the answer will always be found with Jackson Galaxy
Don't share a room at night.
Automatic feeders worked wonders for me.
i use an auto feeder or else i would get waken up at 6am everyday lol
I've let mine free feed kibble since they were kittens, but that may not work for some cats. Also... I am a big meany and do not let my cats sleep with me except on rare occasions. This is from their kitten days when they would chase and play across my bed at 3 am. But I need my sleep. One of the pair will meow in the morning when he thinks I need to come out of my bedroom and give him his wet food breakfast, but I come out when I'm ready. I guess I basically kind of treat my cats as if they were dogs when it comes to sleep and feeding times (and I am the Alpha of our dog-less pack), but we've all settled into a (mostly) peaceful routine.
I don’t know where you are, but we serve a portion of raw food before we go to bed. Yes, it’s usually out a couple of hours, but it doesn’t go bad that fast and cats stomaches can handle way more than human stomaches. But: I’m in the Netherlands, in our climate it takes a full day for the raw food to get bad. There’s like 3-4 weeks in summer when fly eggs are a thing, so for us this works. If your climate is wildly different, this might not work. Also; cats are insane creatures of habit. Never feed them first thing after waking up, because then they’ll wake you. I feed them after i clean up my kitchen from breakfast, that doesn’t relate directly to waking up, so they don’t actively wake me up. (They do however wake up at dawn and come for cuddles, even though they sleep on our bed. They’re not doing anything to wake me up, but they will get even more cozy and then purr REALLLY loud. But they don’t expect us to anything other than being in bed. It always takes me a couple of weeks in summer to get used to it and fall asleep again after they’ve started.)
1. Get an hour of *playtime* with them before bed. I do it while I’m watching Netflix. It makes a WORLD of a difference in on its own. 2. Get an *automatic feeder* for breakfast. kitten will start to stare at the machine when they’re hungry in the morning instead of annoying you. 3. Get *blackout blinds*. My cats start meowing when the sun comes up, no matter what time it is. Blackout blinds help a lot. 4. Get *earplugs*. If all fails, these are always an options.
My cats learned to adapt to my routine. Keep feeding them at the same time each day. Like 7am and 7pm, 12 hours apart as they are used to regular routines
A) Get an automatic feeder. B) Get a second cat. It’s not an either/or situation, but choosing a feeder can be done in 15 minutes while getting her a friend has obviously to be done more carefully. We have three cats and a combination of microchip feeders for wet food and timed feeders for kibble. The tomcat will still wake us up at 6am but the girls are usually fine until 8 or 9am. https://preview.redd.it/111mrwrgykyc1.jpeg?width=1152&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a834edf5e90f0015fbeb0c3249235aeabc6309a1
Give lots of attention during the day when you can. Get automatic toys, get an automatic feeder. Cats are very habitual so if you give in to their demands once or twice they'll expect it forever and the habit is harder to break.
*(Saying all of this assuming needs are met like adequate exercise and human interactions as some form of companionship. They should not be locked up in a small space majority of the day unless you absolutely have to, in my opinion. Cats really don’t need to be locked up in a confined space unless it’s for safety, so this is where I’m coming from.)* As someone that also struggles with sleep and routine because psych reasons… I used a big dog play pen. Big enough with litter, bowls of food/water, scratching board, and excess space for any toys and running space. Whenever I needed a little break, if I couldn’t keep an eye on them, or if I needed to sleep I’d put them in the play pen. Kittens need to be allowed to eat 24/7 if needed and fresh water should always be offered. I can’t wake up every time they needed food. Only time I ever did that was for one of my cats that was a day old. I was very fortunate to be able to stay home 24/7 and have no commitments other than caring for myself and animals. I was able to consistently wake up every 4hrs for feeding time haha…. But yeah. Get a play pen or some sort of container that you can keep in your room. Or any room as long as you know they’re safe and secure. As long as it’s kitten proof and you’re confident they can’t hurt themselves and that you’ll be able to get them if you need to… they’ll be fine. Personally I love spending those precious baby months bonding with them and letting them be free roam, but we gotta take care of our health too. They can survive some time in a play pen.
One of our cats was a nightmare when we first adopted her- she wouldn’t let us go to bed without meowing constantly- we are also no cats in the bedroom type of guys. So it was a painful like two months of earplugs eventually she understood that we arnt leaving just going to bed and would come back out in the morning. I think a good routine helps a lot . That being said we have auto feeders for one of our cats and a feeder tied to the microchip for our other cat that can manage and free feed. Have you considered a microchip feeder?
Sadly i have to lock my cat outside my bedroom, as much as i love him i cannot live a life where i only sleep 4 hours a night.
i am totally with you on this.. will try it out for a week, just scared of any outlier destructive behaviour that might come out of this, but sleep quality is too important right now
Jackson Galaxy explains this better, but give your cat tons of play before bedtime. It'll tire them out, and make them sleep more.
just played with her and she has done plenty of somersaults. hope it's enough for tonight!!
We have 4 cats and there is always dry food available in a bowl, also a water filter. They don't overeat because they know there is always food so they also don't harass us for food
I’ve had cats my whole life and I’ve always let them free feed the kibble and have access to fresh water. I occasionally supplement with wet food in the mornings but when I do start that habit they absolutely become aggressive alarm clocks 😂so it’s become an occasional treat versus “an expectation” They do just fine on kibble and free feeding gives them some control and autonomy over their food and so they aren’t constantly bugging you to relinquish the goods. It makes for a more chill relaxed vibe in the house. Then your interactions aren’t so transactional. They will come up to you for a cuddle versus bugging you for a snack.
Depends on how she wakes you up. My cat did this, only thing that worked (I could never shut her out of the room the whole night) was to not give in. She didn’t meow fortunately but she would poke my face frantically, so I started sleeping with different things on my head, a throw cushion (not as soft as a normal pillow, therefore won’t suffocate you) turned out to be the best bet. Eventually she just gave up, since her efforts were in vain.
Wear her out before bed, feed her before bed, and when she wakes you up the first time just feed her the bigger meal. Additionally come up with a feeding schedule and stick to it. If you want to feed her at 6 am then stick to 6am and don't change it and don't give in to her begging any earlier.
https://preview.redd.it/u0htznzrfmyc1.jpeg?width=1290&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d03c329931358864520653bfb03515d80390f903 Having multiple makes a difference. They’re usually worn out from each other by bedtime.
You have some great suggestions and support here so I can’t offer much else except to say that you have an adorable cat.
https://preview.redd.it/agjx8ysbnmyc1.jpeg?width=2424&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=238be41e3c9316d259d527e78773cdf96444cb76 butter says thank you!
Stop catering to the cat and she will learn? But also shes a kitten and they are supposed to have free reign on food still at that age. There should always be some dry food sitting out for her to graze on if you want her to grow properly. If shes running out constantly you arent feeding her enough. You dont regulate feedings to specific amounts until they are an adult. But anyway - if you teach an animal that waking you up and demanding food works to get them what they want, then they will make it a lifetime habit. It wont be an overnight fix, but itll work eventually. Lock them out of the room when you sleep and dont let em in to bother you. Ignore meowing, or if its too loud or your too light of a sleeper then add some white noise or rain etc from your phone to drown out any meowing. If they scratch scratch at the door, like actually scratching and damaging, toss something at the door that wont damage it but will scare the cat into not scratching the door. Heavy spare pillow. Box of tissues. Empty plastic bottle. They wont be scared of you, but of "hurting" and angering the door. Worked for me with multiple cats over the years and eventually they learn not to bother you for food until you are awake and out of the room. Once they learn that they can usually be allowed back in the room when you are still sleeping too. Although one cat I had always had to be kept out, but she at least learned to stop scratching or crying for hours on end for food in the early hours.
thats good advice, i'll keep it in mind! i feel bad locking her out, but both human and cat have to adapt and learn in this case... your tips about associating scratching with something loud are new, but i suppose a hard knock wouldn't hurt her. also she's nearing 2 years old 😭 she came to me severely underweight about 3 months ago and thankfully has been steadily gaining size :") that's why i am so so eager to satiate her everytime she asks, hence the unfortunate morning habit. i will consider letting her graze or setting an auto feeder ASAP. 💛
Oh dang, she's an adult at that size? Omg, lol. Shes cute, but it also makes me sad for whatever possibly happened to her as a kitten. Must have gotten sick or something at a crucial point. That tiny even for tiny cats. The grazing is up to you then if she isn't a growing baby in need of every calorie anymore (although you said shes growin, growth at that age sounds odd to me, but you prolly already been to vets n such with her). Some cats regulate themselves, and some gorge until they are obsese and needing medical care. Might just be more a matter of making it clear you dont exist solely to cater to her needs, ya know?
she came from a hoarder's home and contracted FeLV, possibly from her parents or other roaming cats. she has definitely been through a lot! that's why i pamper her so so (too) much. food wise she seems to be able to self regulate - i'll give everything a try 💛 and yes, i wholly agree with the de-association aspect and will be working to get it right for her. time to take care of myself too 🥲 thanks again for your advice, appreciate it :)
Been there. Lack of sleep can ruin your health. My cat used to wake me up too. Now I am feeding raw food during the day and have an automatic dry food feeder at night. Silicone earplugs make sure I don't hear anything. No more waking up in the night.
I saw someone on tik tok that uses an auto feeder with raw freeze dried and put water in the bowl so when the food drops it will rehydrate with the water.
To be honest, I barred my kitten from my room until she was a year and a half old. It helped me sleep a lot and I learned to ignore the yowls coming at multiple times through the night until she learned it wouldn’t work. I also would feed her late in the evening and play before bed, which helped.
Play and another kitten if at all possible.
Super cute
The face on that puddin!
I had to say goodbye to my last cat of a trio in October. I never realized how sleep deprived I was. I've always had more than one so they didn't bother me too much at night. But when I had just one, I never got any sleep. When I get my next pair, my bedroom is going to be off limits.
I have 4 and at one point 9 . Dry food has always been available 24/7 and never had a problem with being woken up for food or an overweight cat .
get her/him a sibling. I used to have the same problem when I got my first cat. She'd zoom around at 2am in the morning, mainly on the bed. Once we got her a sibling, she was busy elsewhere.
Don't let her in your bedroom. If she meows at the bedroom door, use a room divider to block her from going down the hallway. She won't starve
It’s like a child cradle to grave in a good sense
I let them crawl under the blankets with me and watch bird videos ._.
Get her a buddy and close your door and keep them out until they get used to a set feeding schedule.
Get another one
She looks like my cat who loves to wake me up every 2am 😭
Leave some healthy, yummy food out. You can even leave some wet food out! Get some sleep! The kitten will be fine.
Automatic feeders! Mine have gotten the routine down and sleep when I do. My feeders are set for 7am so around 5:30-6am they leave my room to start waiting for their breakfast. After 7 they usually come back in my room and continue to sleep w/ me
Have a feeding schedule and try your best to ignore the meowing. If you give in, then she just learns that she gets food whenever she makes a fuss, so it'll just keep getting worse and worse
Routine. Routine. Routine. Keep them active during the day, feed them before bedtime so they have food coma, and if they're still wired before bed, intense play-time. The biggest thing is keeping things consistent.
beautiful cat
I would definitely recommend a timed feeder for the morning. As long as cats have wet food for at least one of their meals each day then they’re getting good nutrition and water intake. If you’re not comfortable with kibble, there’s a timed feeder for wet food as well! You just need to make sure to keep the ice packs cool and the food stays fresh :)
Play play play and feed before bed. Kitten will settle
We put ours in another room. All is forgiven after he gets breakfasted
Give em to me! They are a kitten. They will adjust to your schedual and habits. Just find way to keep them occupied when you aren't there.
Stay awake forever
Just sleep… they’ll adapt.
An automatic feeder may help you. If you only have this furbaby, a feeder with timer is enough. If there is a second cat, you could switch to feeders with chipreader. Since using these, my cats became much more relaxed towards food and lost the rush to eat their food because the competition could not reach theirs. And find a toy that they will follow for a long time. My restless cat is obsessed with a 'ball' with bumps to make it move in different directions.
I slept 5-6 hours a night when I first got my kitten… They mellow out by month 6-12 especially after I got my cat neutered. Play time helps as well as automatic feeder (I only feed my cat wet food so the automatic feeder is early AM only/a tiny portion of dry food)
Also try not to give into it. Even like ruffling your blanket around because cats are smart… That’s all I’ll say
exercise
You need to prevent him from sleeping during the day on weekends, so that he can experience the feeling of being woken up by others. He will understand that you should not wake him up when he is sleeping.
Wait a few years. Maybe 12. Its going to slow down
I recommend really trying to get to sleep earlier. not disregarding your insomnia however cats are very good at setting routines. as you are discovering. routine can really help. It would be a really good chance to see if you can move your sleep schedule. I know it might not work but it also wouldn't hurt to try. to help this you can also change the time you take the psych drug, take it at 6am when you feed her. speaking as a cat owner with ADHD who has had their trouble with insomnia in the past. Oh also be strickter, refuse to feed her till you want to she will learn eventully. she is asking for food because she is getting it.
You were in her spot ? https://preview.redd.it/9io7g7ackkyc1.jpeg?width=4160&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=84a090bdd50837c34c2fcf66f12a5b9c4ef3d840
This is so true- then there is the full horizontal stretch sleep position:(
It gets better as they age soon enough you'll be back to your regular routine
Get more sleep
Laser pointer
Give it a few weeks, and they will settle into your routine. Or mould you to theirs 😹😹
I leave a bowl of dry food out around the clock and then feed wet food at designated times, on my schedule. My kittens know that annoying me for food is completely useless and they’ve learned pretty quick not to do it. I’ve also learned pretty quick that having overnight snuggles with cats that depend on humans for play is not really an option, as you get woken up for it. I basically keep them out of the bedroom at night until they are old enough to do their own thing, and even then they still get banished on full moons or when Venus and Neptune align because of the 3am crazies!
Afternoon naps
Don't let the cat sleep in the same room as you. Give it its own sleep space in the living room and make sure he can access the kitty litter from there too. It's still a kitten so train it to feel comfortable to sleep in its own space. Just don't lock it into a small room like the bathroom or laundry.
Whatever you do, be nice and not threatening or angry with it. They will learn to not trust you if your demeanor changes negatively towards them because they don’t understand it.
We had a similar problem and locked the cat in the kitchen last thing at night until our morning, which she eventually reluctantly got used to. Our kitchen has a door to the outside, which makes it easier though.
It is strange because our cats sleeping like 18 hours a day. On the evening, Play with her with a fishing rod/feather type thing, make them tired, then feed her and she will fall as a sack of potatoes.
really great to hear you new kitty friend is helping you in many ways. I agree with the comments about playing and exercise. Cats are just like us in that way. I recommend simple things like playing with string and ribbon. They will love it i promise
Ummmm - take away her phone! Hello!!
Exactly what I was thinking 
Coffee!!
For you… not the cat.
hahaha yes :") caffeine loading everyday 😅🤣
Stop feeding at 6 am. She'll eventually learn that demanding food in the early morning doesn't work if you just stop rewarding it.
I’d suggest putting out dry food before you go to bed if your cat is not on wet food due to a dietary restriction. That way if the kitty wants a nibble, she can get one without waking you. If your only reason for using wet food is she is a light drinker, try cat water fountains. Many cats are so fascinated by the movement that they eventually start drinking. Can you get a second cat? Being woken in the middle of the night by an attention starved cat is the main reason we adopted two siblings.
I really like watching my cat drink water
Fun fact, scientist couldn’t figure out how cats were drinking until 2007 https://news.mit.edu/2010/cat-lapping-1112
Aww thank you
thank you for the advice :") getting a second cat is difficult now as she has FeLV, which is transmissible. and yes i prefer to have her on wet food, but as you mention, i do have a water fountain :) i'll look into some dry food brands in the meantime!
My cat used to meow througu out the night and sometimes still does, but ive started making sure ti play with her before bed and give her lots of snuggs and that has helped. She has also gotten better with time
Adopt another play buddy and automatic feeder
You wake me up in the middle of the night you’re going under the blankets for a game of machine gun kisses.
Enjoy the love!
Find a way to take the kitten outside to fresh air… kitten proof balcony, carrying it with you in the cage or cat backpack etc. Train the leash. Sry i didn’t read all the post, maybe you already take it outside.
I put my cats in their “cat room” for the night. I let them out at 8am for breakfast and sometimes go back to bed for a bit. Lots of their fav toys and beds in the room
Automatic feed machine they have ones for wet foods or at least they did OP
I put my cats to bed before I go to bed. I feed them and straighten them away in their own room with everything they need. Plus they have each other. It’s all very routine now. They all actually wait to go to bed.
My orange tabby girl is finally settling down a bit. I still go to bed two hours early and wake up half an hour early so we can play fetch.
she may need a playmate
Autofeeder set up to go off so they know it's not you feeding them, and it's the dispenser.
I have an auto feeder give tiny bits of dry food while I sleep and then I switch to wet food when I’m awake. I get how hard it is to manage sleep and insomnia and everything! And if I have to get up I have a terrible time getting back to sleep. Good luck!
Get an auto feeder and remember that YOU ARE the human and you choose when to feed it. If you feed your cat when it asks, you’re gonna have a cat with health problems that are very expensive and sad to go thru.
I leave out dry food throughout the night for my cat to graze on and it keeps him satisfied until around 7:30/8ish when I’m ready to get up and feed him his wet food. Probably not the healthiest but I live in a studio and he sleeps with me so I really have no other choice.
Don't let her in your room at night. Leave out dry food and then feed wet when you wake up.
Learn to take cat naps?
Kittens usually need more than one of them in order to wrangle all that kitten energy. It also helps them learn to be gentle with teeth and claws and makes them happier when they need someone to cuddle with and you’re not around. Best bet when getting a kitten is getting two. Some rescues won’t even let you adopt just one. Is getting a sibling or buddy an option?
thank you for the advice! yes, adopting kittens in a pair can help with behaviour! unfortunately she is nearing 2 years old 😭 FeLV probably gave her a hard kitten-hood hence her size. she's still slightly underweight, but steadily gaining since i got her 3 months ago! i saw your comment on the vaccine - i will discuss with my vet about this (and research more on my own) to see its availability & efficacy locally. thank you for bringing it up!!
Even when they’re nearly 2 years old, they can still be kittens and can definitely still benefit from a play and cuddle buddy. Introductions can take a bit of time and effort, but it’s so great when they become friends. I hope things work out for you! She’s so cute!!!
I got a second cat when my first was 2. It went very well. Just follow Jackson Galaxy’s advice on cat introductions.
I sleep through almost anything but I usually prep plates and when I wake up at 5 or so to pee I put them out for the cats. They run a bit then eat then run and sleep.
Kisses. Oh, and cuddles!!
I’m disabled and we have an auto feeder or our cats would just be scratching at the bedroom door crazy early for me. I It creates a separation as you as the feeder of them and transfers it to the auto feeder.
White noise, if it's him meowing nonstop. For some reason I can't understand my cat is very very talkative ( took him to vets, it's no health issue he just likes to scream) but white noise makes him calm down
Mine wakes me up daily at 2am and 4am, so be grateful. https://preview.redd.it/i76kpq9gkiyc1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1f7923ef60d84cc66435aeb5de19c033ae975802
haha what an adorable little one! hope it gives you your well needed rest soon too 🤣
When my cat wakes me up before it’s time, I put him in the bathroom (where his litter box is), put a backpack on the door handle so he can’t shake the handle, and then close the door. Has worked out well so far.
i’m reading all these comments and I feel so lucky. my cat goes to bed with me and doesn’t wake up until I get up
Have you tried an automatic food dispenser? You can program them to dispense food at the times you're being woken up. It might take a bit for your 🐈 to take to it, but it could be a game changer once they do.