What to do if your cat is waking you up
Sometimes a paw to the face or a claw on the foot can wake you up from your slumber.
You may cover your head with your blanket.
A loud noise – a crash bang wallop - you’re alarm clock has been knocked off the side. Your cat is trying another way to wake you – you have you’re very own furry alarm clock! This can be a familiar experience for many who share their life with cats.
When thinking about any behaviour with our cats, we need to think about the motivation and emotion behind it. We may label them annoying or cheeky, but this doesn’t tell us why they may be doing it in the first place.
A cat may be doing this because they are hungry, bored, something outside has spooked them, or perhaps it has been inadvertently reinforced – we/ our partner/family have reinforced it somehow.
You’re likely to have tried different things – more play time in the day, spacing out meals or adding extra enrichment. You may feel overwhelmed or downright appalled at ‘advice’ you’ve seen on the internet.
Going back to basics
Doing an activity budget for your cat can be really helpful to see what they are doing every day. Sections could include: sleep, play (alone), play with you, time outside, time climbing, time foraging for food – this can help you look at their daily life and see what tweaks could be made. Even if a cat is not asking for play -they still need it for their physical and mental health.
When you are playing, think about what and where and how you’re playing. Many cats love it when toys are hidden. Also rotating toys can help keep your cat interested. Many cats will be bored by toys being dangled in their face – or even scared – prey wouldn’t do this. Mikel Delgado has lots of great advice on play.
Food
A timed feeder can open up at a specific time so you don’t need to get up at 4am to feed your cat. A cat in the wild would have hunted numerous times and eaten small meals in a day – this is a different way of eating than the two meals we provide them with. I have even seen some cat cupboards that are microchip activated if you find that other cats in your home are eating the cats food.
Enrichment
Food puzzles are a great way of increasing your cats physical activity and increasing their mental acuity too. There are commercial ones or you can make your own. Food Puzzles for Cats have some great ideas.
Cats can be trained too! This is something that I offer as a service. Tricks can include high fives! Nosework can also be fun too.
If your cat goes out
There are cat flaps available that have timers on them so you can control when they go out.
Remember your cat may be meowing because they are seeing cats outside, or other wildlife. Window film or plants in front of the garden door can increase a sense of concealment.
Your cats age
As cats get older they can experience challenges such as feline dementia. Symptoms can include increased vocalisation, staring blankly, pacing or decreased appetite so speak to your vet if you notice this.
Making small changes can sometimes help.