Top 3 tips to get your cat to stop bugging you in the morning
Cats are notorious for their ability to know how to annoy us in the morning. Be it their hunger, boredom, or loneliness; sometimes we are out of ideas on how to get them to relax until we wake up. If you haven’t tried these ideas yet, they are a great place to start!
1) Structured Feeding Schedule: If your cat is waking you up because they are hungry, it might be time to move them from a free-feeding setup to a more structured feeding schedule. Some cats are gluttons; who can blame them? But, their hunger can cause us great annoyance, so schedules are a recommended way to help fix this habit. If you already feed your cat on a schedule and they are annoying you for food at 5 AM, chances are you are feeding them too close to when you wake up. All they understand is that when you wake up, they get food almost immediately. To combat this, simply wake up and spend an hour doing something else; have coffee, go for a run, read a book, etc. Once you’ve had time to wake up, feed your cat. Over time, your cat will figure out they have to wait anyway to be fed. Hopefully they’ll give up their hunger-driven antics, and let you rest past 5 AM.
2) Exercise: Are you playing with your cat enough? Cats, especially young ones, have an abundance of energy to spend. Lots of unwanted cat behaviors come from sheer boredom, especially if your cat doesn’t have another playmate to burn this energy with. Playing with your cat twice a day, at least once before bedtime, will help your cat sleep through the night and leave you alone. We carry multiple teaser toys for your cat, such as Mad Cat Sushi Swiper Teaser Wand Cat Toy and Kong - Loopz Catnip Teaser Cat Toy to get you started. You could also rotate and leave out catnip toys for your cat to play with overnight on their own, satisfying their hunting instincts as well as exercising them. We recommend trying out the popular Multipet Pizza Catnip Cat Toy, or even Kong Refillable Catnip Toys to spice up your cat’s toy arsenal.
3) Perseverance: When your cat is being particularly irritating, its hard to not scold your cat or close them out of your bedroom. But did you know that giving your cat any kind of attention when he's being annoying might actually encourage him to continue to bug you? It might be time to invest in some ear plugs and a night mask to get through this stubborn phase your cat is going through. Over time, they'll figure out they get no reaction from you whatsoever; be it negative or positive.
Good luck with your cat’s morning antics! Hopefully these tips help you both have more restful sleeps.
- Team Account