cat keeps scratching the walls at 5am

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saturnlana
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cat keeps scratching the walls at 5am

Post by saturnlana »

my 11 month old cat (luna) has been scratching the wall outside my mothers bedroom every morning at 5am (like clockwork) for about 2 months now. she has her last meal every night at 11pm and I leave out kibble for her overnight in case she gets hungry. I also make it a priority to play with her before bed until all her energy is drained. she sleeps with me in my bed until 5am and then its become her routine to go scratch the walls outside my mothers bedroom door to wake her up. whats odd is that its not because she is hungry as she almost always has leftover kibble & whenever I have tried to feed her breakfast that early she only takes 1-2 bites and then goes back to my mothers door. she has a weird relationship with my mom since its her grandma she acts differently than she does with me, she knows my mom gives in to her misbehaviors whereas i am not afraid to discipline her (in healthy ways of course) for example my mom goes away to the cottage some weekends and i notice luna does not even attempt to wake me up in the mornings she just waits until im awake. the only time the scratching at her bedroom door stops is when my mom gets up and comes to sit in the living room with her, even if I sit in there she will still want my mom and continue to scratch.

hoping to finally find some answers on how to fix this. I feel bad for my mom as she works 10-12 hour shifts everyday and I want her to be getting a good nights rest uninterrupted. she has a very very very soft heart when it comes to animals (wont even kill a fly) but i think that she will listen to advice on how to properly discipline luna with this behavior if it comes from other experienced cat moms/dads. thank you all so much in advance ❤ :)
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fjm
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Re: cat keeps scratching the walls at 5am

Post by fjm »

Every time your mother gets up to sit with her Luna is rewarded for asking for her attention; the best way to stop the scratching is for both of you to completely ignore her until it is time to wake up - ear plugs may help, and covering the door to prevent damage. Don't shout at her, spray her, talk to her- just ignore the scratching. It will get worse before it gets better but eventually she will give up. If that is not possible is there a door between your room and your mother's that you can shut? It may mean having tray etc in your bedroom for a while, but a few weeks should set a new habit.
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Mollycat
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Re: cat keeps scratching the walls at 5am

Post by Mollycat »

I'm afraid your mother has created the situation, as fjm rightly says, by rewarding the undesirable behaviour with the attention Luna wants. Luna has got your mother well trained!

To break the habit she will have to invest some time ignoring Luna completely and be warned it will get worse before it gets better as Luna tries desperately to get her nanna to wake up, but it's especially crucial not to give in once you have decided to sort this out. If you give in "eventually" then Luna will learn that if she keeps on and on and on and on then eventually she will win.

I'm always a little concerned when people talk about discipline and cats in the same sentence. The best results with cats come from understanding, outwitting and negotiating, including offering a yes for every no, a better alternative.
saturnlana
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Re: cat keeps scratching the walls at 5am

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Mollycat wrote: Fri Aug 12, 2022 8:37 am I'm always a little concerned when people talk about discipline and cats in the same sentence. The best results with cats come from understanding, outwitting and negotiating, including offering a yes for every no, a better alternative.
thank you for your helpful advice! and oh yes i agree completely i didn't like using the word as i was afraid people would think i was like aunt adelaide from nanny mcphee but i didnt know what other way to express the difference when it comes to how i respond to lunas misbehavior vs how my mom does. my way of stopping her bad behaviors has always been to not feed into it and just withdrawal my attention until she stops. but its definitely a mix of everything you said! sometimes i feel like im a mother of an actual teenager whos smarter than me :lol:
Last edited by saturnlana on Fri Aug 12, 2022 9:18 am, edited 1 time in total.
saturnlana
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Re: cat keeps scratching the walls at 5am

Post by saturnlana »

fjm wrote: Fri Aug 12, 2022 5:55 am Every time your mother gets up to sit with her Luna is rewarded for asking for her attention; the best way to stop the scratching is for both of you to completely ignore her until it is time to wake up - ear plugs may help, and covering the door to prevent damage. Don't shout at her, spray her, talk to her- just ignore the scratching. It will get worse before it gets better but eventually she will give up. If that is not possible is there a door between your room and your mother's that you can shut? It may mean having tray etc in your bedroom for a while, but a few weeks should set a new habit.
thank you for your helpful advice! i dont have a problem ignoring her but my mom does she says she feels bad for luna i'll for sure have to gift her some ear plugs!
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Mollycat
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Re: cat keeps scratching the walls at 5am

Post by Mollycat »

saturnlana wrote: Fri Aug 12, 2022 9:12 am sometimes i feel like im a mother of an actual teenager whos smarter than me :lol:
That's because animals are. Cats and dogs. They have all these skills, senses and abilities, and nothing to do with them but learn about us and get what they want from us. Their whole existence is dedicated to one job - we have a million and one jobs - we don't stand a chance!
saturnlana
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Re: cat keeps scratching the walls at 5am

Post by saturnlana »

Mollycat wrote: Fri Aug 12, 2022 10:10 am
saturnlana wrote: Fri Aug 12, 2022 9:12 am sometimes i feel like im a mother of an actual teenager whos smarter than me :lol:
That's because animals are. Cats and dogs. They have all these skills, senses and abilities, and nothing to do with them but learn about us and get what they want from us. Their whole existence is dedicated to one job - we have a million and one jobs - we don't stand a chance!
its sometimes amazing how intelligent they are at getting what they want from us, i love every minute of it though. blessed to be a pet mama. :D
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