I now have two cats that want me up at 6am instead of one.
When we had one cat and he started to make noise early I would get up and go out and feed him. Because my wife had never had a pet befor, I worried that the early noise might make her give up on the cat idea. (she sleeps in) Anyway after a while we got a second cat. (a months long melodrama ensued) We also got an auto-feeder so there is food available. No good. He still wakes me up. He won’t leave the room without me. OH and he is specifically trying to wake me up. He comed to my side of the bed and will make a noise. Usually he will knock something off of my bedstand. (starting with my waterbottle) He will then wait and if I don’t arise he knocks another item off. Then another and another and will even go so far to knock over a lamp and to take a swip at large framed pictures on the wall. All of this just so I will get up and go out to the living room and collapse on the couch. He will then sit in the living room window and watch god knows what goes on outside at 6 am. If I lay down on the couch and let him get in the window and then try to sneak back to bed he follows me and starts with the noise.
Oh and my wife and the second cat sleep through all of this.
I got mine when he was 18 months, still kittenish. After a few months I had water pistols strategically positioned in several places. His 6am worked great when I had to be at work by 6:45, he was the backup alarm. When that time changed to 8:30, we had some trying times, he got wet a lot, and I kept earplugs on the bedside table. He gets froggy at 6am? A couple squirts, plug up the ears, and another 90 minutes of blissful sleep. He has for years waited until my alarm went off before pouncing. Now that he is 10, the sucker sleeps WAY past when my alarm doesn’t go off.
But he walks on a leash and listens to voice commands (harsh voice), so he is probably a genius anyway.
Our cat, Spud, does the exact same thing…except food is more on his mind.
I just shove him off the bed. He doesn’t like that too much. So, he has learned that if he starts meowing, and one of us aren’t getting up right away to leave right away or else he get pushed to the floor and ignored.
aside
He has learned as well that I don’t get too mad at him if he is cute. So, his newest ploy is at 6-7 AM on a weekend (when we try to sleep in) he get right into my face by peering over the blankets and wakes me up by purring very loudly. I almost feel guilty throwing a purring cat off of the bed.
Avacado: it’s the nature of the beast. We had 2 cats before the current pair. The male meowed at us almost every day for 15 years. When he got sick and feeble, the female took over that job. The only way we found to prevent this was to put both of them in the basement overnight.
But it depends on the personality of the cat. The current pair of kittens (7 mos. old) will walk across me some times, others they sleep in. They don’t meow much.
I second the squirtgun or plant mister/sprayer option. It doesn’t harm the cat, it’s got decent range, and it gives you a way to retaliate and feel like you’ve punished the varmint without any real bloodshed.
I also recommend getting a 2nd kitten. One will entertain the other, keep them active, and hopefully prevent destructive behavior. Get them both spayed. Ours were done at about 2-3 months with no trouble, so you should be able to do so now.