I have two beautiful kitties named Joey and Oliver. I love them very much and I am so glad they get along and love to play together. That being said, I am at a point where I am ready to pull my hair out over their night time shenanigans.
Every night they lounge around sleeping while I cook, clean, scoop litter boxes, etc. When the evening activities come to a close I put some food in the bowl for them, crawl into bed and turn out the light. Then they start up with the insanity, running through the apartment like they accidentally caught themselves on fire, biting at each other and yowling as they entertain themselves. It sounds like some sort of elephant/velociraptor hybrid creatures are loose in the apartment instead of kitties!
I have tried playing with them and tiring them out before bed but they will have none of that. They are not interested in ribbons or stuffed mice or dingle balls, they sit and look at me like I have lost my mind if I run up to them as though I intend to chase them about. They stretch out and relax under tables or on windowsills until all activity in the house shuts down and then they go into overdrive. I know cats are noctournal by nature but this hour and a half of crazy while I am trying to sleep is simply not acceptable. How do I make them change their schedule so the crazy happens during hours that the noise isn’t such a big deal? I’m sure my downstairs neighbor would appreciate my finding a solution to this problem as well!
We had this issue with our Siamese Attack Kittens and we were told to switch their feeding time from right before bed to earlier in the day. Basically, if you feed them right before you go to bed, they are going to have a burst of energy one would think…
So we feed ours when we have dinner and they eat heartily and then they start their shenanigans at about 5 in the morning.
BTW - This doesn’t always work. Our Male S.A.K. has taken over guarding the bed, so when the female tries to come in and get in on the action [read sleep on the heating blanket] he chases her out and the night is ruined because they tend to battle for the rest of the night.
While Lenny is good, I’m about to murder Squiggy for the same reason as the OP.
Generally, I deal with it thusly: Feed them dinner right when I get home. Play with them in the early evening and condition them to think late night is “cuddle time”. So now, usually the two furballs just climb into bed and purr. That’s the routine. Crazy time is when I get home, cuddle time is bed time.
But every once and awhile Squiggy just can’t resist middle-of-the-night shenanigans. Fucker.
Show me pics! If they’re cute enough, I will take them off your hands and, in exchange, you can have my fat, lazy, grouchy, sedate, but sometimes quite sweet girl kitty. The only thing she does at night is sleep like a big lump at the end of my bed.
Deal?
Oh wait, she just came over and started kissing my face. Now I remember why I love her. Even if she does try to eat everything that isn’t nailed down. Never mind.
Here is the problem. You feed them and then expect them to be inactive. My cats go into crazy mode after being fed, for several hours. Feed them before you want them to be active, not after.
But…but…if you don’t feed them right before bed how do you prevent face bitings and other such things to get your attention during the night because they are hungry? They certianly let me know at 4 am if they feel it has been too long since they ate last (well, Oliver would eat a full day’s worth of food every 15 minutes until he exploded and have no problem with that but he isn’t overly insistant whereas Joey will knock all the things off my nightstand to get my attention if there isn’t food in the bowl overnight!)
So…no dry crunchies in a bowl 24/7 for your little tigers? That is what we did and in the end it keeps them happy. Not plump mind you…but content. Wet food is a treat in our house…Unless of course they find a mouse in the basement.
I set out dry food at 6am and 6pm. That’s all the food the get, except for the occasional treat. There’s always something for them to eat, but there’s no over-indulgence problems either.
As for inappropriate behavior while I’m asleep, I push them off the bed if they bother. If I really wake up, I grab them by their scruff and lock them in the bathroom until I’m ready to get up. They soon learn who’s boss. (I’m actually a dog person, I don’t accept any dominance behavior from my pets.)
I used to free feed when it was just Joey and myself but then the vet said he was too heavy and she was afraid he would become diabetic so now I have to measure out their food. Oliver will steal food from Joey (or anyone else in the household for that matter) and somehow manages to stay pretty svelte so I don’t worry too much about him. This whole food stealing thing makes it more difficult to measure out but I don’t think Joey will let himself starve so I am not too worried.
I have tried locking them in the bathroom when they start in with the misbehavior but then I just listen to cat screams for however long they are in there. I think I will try feeding them a little earlier every night and see if they adjust or if there is destruction of property in the night as feeding time gets earlier and earlier.
A buddy of mine got an automated feeder. The machine releases food on a timer. When the cats get hungry, they go wait by the machine, occasionally prodding it with a paw.