Pleeeeeeeeeeease someone help me!! Charlie is a real nightmare of a night time!! Last night at 12.30am, 3.30am and 5am he decided it was playtime, he gets in the bed, bounces around like a mad man then any bit of skin he can find he'll 'paw' at it, and depending how excited he is it can sometimes hurt quite a bit! He was misbehaving so much last night my boyfriend got up and slept on the sofa! LOL!
Now I know he's just a kitten, and he just wants to play, that I totally understand. But its not so easy to understand at 3am when you know you have work in a few hours! LOL! Is there anything at all I can do to stop him doing this each night?
I've tried just picking him up, no fuss, no talking, and putting him back in his own bed on the floor ... he just jumps right back onto ours. I've tried picking him up (again with no fuss and no talking to him) and putting him in the lounge, but he's back in the bedroom before I even have chance to turn around!
In the end last night I put him out of the bedroom and shut the bedroom door, and he cried like a baby for ages!!
He has free run of the place, every room, during the day so he obviously doesn't like it when the bedroom door is shut at night. I thought about shutting the bedroom door during the day too but he likes to sleep under the bed during the day so I don't really want him crying all day to cos he wants to get in there.
Please tell me one of you Ragdoll Guru's have an answer for me!!
All I can think of is make sure you play with Charlie and get him really tired before bed, then give him a few treats and shut him in one room telling him it's bedtime. It may sound harsh and may take a few nights for him to get used to it but at least you will get some sleep and he will be happy to play in his room. Unfortunately cats are naturally nocturnal so with Charlie being alone all day and getting plenty of sleep then he is only returning to his natural behaviour.
I'm sure JanH will be along with some good advice too!!
Thank you for the advice Jane!
Me and my boyfriend do play with him loads when we get in, and he always has his mad half hour where he runs around the flat like a lunatic! Racing up and down and jumping up and off things! I hoped that playing with him loads would wear him out but it seems it just makes him more hyper! LOL!
The flat is pretty open planned so there is no door on the lounge or kitchen, only the bathroom and bedroom, so do you think I should just shut the bedroom door, so he has the lounge to himself all night (this is where his food, toys and scratch post are) and also leave the bathroom door open so he can get to his litter tray, and just try and ignore him if he cries at the bedroom door? Will be soon give up and realise the bedrooms off limits of a night time? Also, should I start closing the bedroom door during the day? So that he doesn't get confused at night and wonder why hes all of a sudden not allowed in there?!
Sorry for all the questions, I just want to make sure I'm doing the right thing for him (and getting some sleep! LOL!)
If you keep the bedroom door shut day and night he will soon get the message that it is off limits. He has everything he needs in lounge and bathroom by the sounds of it so he really doesn't need to be in the bedroom even if he does like sleeping under the bed. He'll soon find somewhere else to sleep!! Also, if you keep the bedroom closed during the day he will get used to it much quicker and won't cry so much at night.
I know you play with him lots when you get home from work but it does sound like Charlie has more energy than you. Short of taking him to work with you all day I really don't think there's much more you could do.
I've actually already asked my manager if I can bring him to work! LOL! He just looked at me like I'd finally lost the plot!
I think I'll close the bedroom door as soon as I get home this afternoon, so he's out of there the whole evening and then hopefully he wont be to bad when we go to bed.
Full tummy may help also with geting him to sleep longer and like Jane suggested playing helps wear them out too.
They just don't understand mommy needs her sleep
Few months ago mine came up with a new game during night hours,,,, footies under the door,,,, not fun to hear a door banging back and forth though out the night.:)are solution was an easy fix leave the door open.
I'd really love for him to be able to sleep with us thou and be a fluffy little hot water bottle but he just has other ideas! LOL!
He has wet food in the morning and wet food in the evening when I get home from work, and dry food down all day so he can graze thoughout the day if he wants, maybe I'll try and give him his wet food a bit later in the evening from now on to try and fill him up before bed
Have you considered a playmate for him? It may help but mostly I just know from experience that it's not healthy for cats to be left alone most of the day while we work. With a playmate there he may be less inclinded to spend that time sleeping.
Unfortunately a play mate is just not an option at the moment. Ever since being a kid we've always had single cats who spend most of the day alone and they never had any problems.
You may remember my advice of a few days ago - and the couch was found. ; )
Quote:One of the joys of cats is having them sleep with you. They are nocturnal. They want you to play. To avoid the early alarm clock, COMPLETELY ignore them. If you cannot manage, then, with NO interaction, pick them up and put them out of the room. Do not feed or give them attention for some minutes after you get up. If they yell or bang the door, then set up a distant room with food, water, litter and bedding and take them there. Most cats will learn they do not get what they want. If you scold them or interact, they get what they want - your attention. They may sometimes regress, but it will be tolerable. Some cats will improve with feline company, who will be happy to participate in the nocturnal games, leaving you out of them. Of course, sometimes that just means another cat is bothering you. (Tell your husband where the couch is. ; ) )
You need to use the bathroom to keep him away when you must have sleep. You can use weekends to train him to sleep with you, which requires that you wait for him to want to play and THEN move him so that he cannot be a bother if you can not convince him he is being ignored that morning.
Very active play, like with Da Bird, just before bed time followed by a wet food meal can slow the start of the behavior with some cats. However, the key is in ignoring it so that there is no payoff. The good news is that this is often kitten behavior that is a stage.