how to get kitties to sleep at night

[algernon]

well, i finally have my two kitties that i adopted from a shelter. i got one two weekends ago (harley, 6 mo.) and one this weekend (simon, 3 mo.). now the problems start. harley was so quiet at night by himself. i didn't even know he was around. but now with simon they run around and play and it wakes me up!! simon has a tendency to hiss/growl/meow when they play and it is so loud. i live in an apartment and i am afraid that my neighbors will wake up. is there any technique for getting them to sleep at night. we have tried playing with them right before bedtime and that didn't work. it is like an alarm clock... every morning at 1:00am. any suggestions? will this go away?

[Robbie]

Hi,

The only thing that comes to mind is to put them in seperate rooms at night. Cats are night owls so it's natural for them to be awake at night especially if they have fun company.

Robbie

[Ant]

This is the way of kittens! Try and give them a good play beofre you go to bed, last thing at night. If they persisit, give them some food when they wake up as this tends to calm them down. Otherwise put some butter on their paws and they will lick it off and be calmer after this.

When all else fails, take them into your bed and put up with them playing with your feet under the covers! http://petshub.com/ubb/biggrin.gif

[Dame]

butter on their paws never herd that b4, buy a big enough pen and put them in there so they can still play but not run around bugging u

[cbrine]

Hi, I am new to the forum, also looking for advice on getting kittens to sleep. Mine are now 4 1/2 months old (2 girls), had them since they were 6 weeks old. Every morning at 4 a.m. they wake me up. If I close the bedroom door, the one will cry and scratch until I get up and open the door. They don't necessarily sleep when I let them in. I have to get up at 7 to get ready for work and am getting tired. I love them to have the run of the house, but wish they'd let me sleep! I give them each 1/2 a small can of cat food, and head back to bed. They'll usually let me off the hook for an hour after that, then they're back at the door. I love them dearly, but am getting pretty tired. Any more advice, thanks - I'm afraid I've reinforced the behaviour and they'll never stop.

[Dame]

they will stop crying after a while (my cat did the samething)

[sherryah9]

most cats are just naturally noctural in my experience. many times it's not a behavior you can change, and if you can succeed in changing the behavior you deserve a medal, cause it's not an easy thing to do. my cat seems to have the need to play with her noisiest toys around 3-5 am. she finds the loudest bell toys or will bat my kids hot wheels around the floor slamming the toys into all the walls and furniture. what i've had to do is pick up the noise making toys at night and so she hopefully will then play with the quiet or felt toys that don't make as much noise. the crying and stratching just might be a way of saying she's not happy being left alone and wants you nearby, so she's trying to find you. none of these ideas are 100% foolproof, but i can never shut my bedroom door at night cause that just ticks my cat off and she'll act up worse and louder till you finally let her in the room you're in at the time. hths.

[TiaMaria]

Feed them just before you go to bed, i have 8 cats including kittens in that 8..i know from experience if u feed them at night b4 bed, they are sleepy and lazy..and most important...quiet

[brandy pup]

Tallys Cat 101
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Pointe/9352/owners.html