Cats are notoriously adept nappers, but when they’re awake, they can be very active. Cats are also nocturnal, so these bouts of activity can occur just when you need your beauty rest. To prevent your cat from disturbing you while you sleep, try the following suggestions:
- Play with Kitty more in the evenings. Try enticing her with her favourite toys and schedule a few interactive play sessions hours before your bedtime. This will likely tire her out so she is less likely to wake up during the night.
Featuring KONG Wubba Cat Teaser - Feed Kitty her main meal right before your bedtime. Cats tend to take long naps after a heavy meal. However, if Kitty continues to wake you up for food during the night, it may be wise to invest in a timed feeder that you can fill and set to dispense food once or twice while you’re asleep.
- Add another kitty to the family. If your cat is a sociable feline, you can consider adding a second kitty. If they are compatible playmates, it’s likely that they will play with each other instead of trying to wake you up during the night.
- Shut Kitty out of your room. Sometimes cat tend to play with their owners when the owners are asleep. If this occurs to you, you can discourage your feline to stop coming into your room by setting up “booby traps” to startle him or her from entering. You can do so creatively – some owners put mats that their cats avoid stepping on in front of their bedroom doors and others set up noisy appliances (such as vacuum cleaners) that can be activated via remote when they hear their cats clawing at their doors.
- Unless you suspect that your cat is waking you because he or she is injured or unwell, try to avoid getting out of bed to attend to him or her. Once you do so, you are inadvertently rewarding his or her behaviour and he may try harder and harder to wake you each subsequent night.
