Cat routine urgent

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Paige_ryding
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Cat routine urgent

Post by Paige_ryding »

Our cat is waking us up at night scratching at the front door. We have tried scratching spray on the door.

We leave our cat for about 9hrs a day as we both work, we get up around 7.30 he has his biscuits and we leave the house around 8am. We put out lots of toys for him including a tunnel, catnip toy and balls but notice he just sleeps on our bed for that long period. We get home at 5pm and he has his wet food with some more biscuits around 7pm we play with him for about half an hour but notice he doesn’t run too much he just lays in his tunnel and catching the toys going past him. He bites us when we are sitting down so we get up to play with him again but he just lays in his tunnel. We go to bed around 9pm and he comes too around 1.30am-4am he gets up meowing and scratching the only way to stop him is if my husband gets up and taps him on the nose. He has a cat run outside so has access to outside 24/7, we are getting no sleep and really starting to struggle. 
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Mollycat
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Re: Cat routine urgent

Post by Mollycat »

Welcome to CC and sorry to hear you're experiencing problems.

How long have you had the cat and how long has the night time door scratching been a problem? What sort of age is he?

Cats are most active at dusk and dawn, though city lights can make them simply more active at night because it never gets really dark, but in any case cats do sleep for between 16 and 20 hours a day. So sleeping the whole time you are out at work is very normal.

I'm not sure that a regulation half hour play at a certain time suits a cat though. If he isn't responding much when you try to play, perhaps he's just not feeling playful. How old is he, and has he ever been playful at the time you want him to be?

I'm also rather concerned about your husband tapping the cat on the nose. Firstly getting up is giving the cat what he wants, which is attention, so he will do it again the next night, and secondly please, please don't try disciplining a cat in this way. As kittens they respect a paddy-paw slap from Mum but after that their social structure does not programme them to respect authority and they are liable to develop bad anxiety and problem behaviours. It doesn't have to hurt the cat, the simple action is confrontational and that will never work.

If he has access to outside then that's clearly not what he's asking for. He wants more attention from you than he is getting. Maybe try responding to him a lot from when you get home till you go to bed and make some time for him in the morning as well, then do not respond in any way no matter what he does in the night, pretend to be asleep until he gives up. But if you ignore-ignore-ignore and then give in, then he is learning to never give up because in the end he will get your attention.
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fjm
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Re: Cat routine urgent

Post by fjm »

Absolutely agree with Mollycat on history and avoiding confrontation. I also wonder why the front door? Could there be another cat visiting the front, that he feels he needs to discourage? Something to check, perhaps.

Unless he is a very elderly or frail cat it sounds to me as if he needs more fun in his life. He obviously likes the pouncing from the ambush of the tunnel game - have you tried offering him more ways to play it? Cardboard boxes with a hole cut out, fishing pole toys that fly past, pouncing from behind furniture, etc? It may be that he sits in the tunnel because he has learned that is the way to get your attention - broadening playtime with lots of short sessions spread through the hours you are with him and paying lots of attention to him in between might make all your lives happier.
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lilynmitz
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Re: Cat routine urgent

Post by lilynmitz »

I agree, he just sounds bored. Half an hour play at a set time isn't enough stimulation for any cat that is left on his own all day. If he isn't engaging, but still asks you to continue, it may be that he just doesn't like the toys you're using. My many cats over the years have all had their own preferences, and it takes time to work out what pushes their individual buttons, so to speak. Toys on string are often popular, eg Da BIrd, or Feather and Leather (see link below - other suppliers are available) which has my lad leaping 3 feet in the air after it. They actually come to me to ask me to get it out! It really gets their hunting instinct going.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Feath-Leather- ... 4880&psc=1

They also get bored with old toys really quickly. I refresh mine regularly, even replacing like with like sometimes, and it's amazing what a difference that can make. Some catnip toys are better than others (eg Yeoww products) but all loose their smell eventually. My current two aren't much fussed about catnip but I've had others that went bonkers over it.

I suspect he wants to go out the front as there's more going on there - maybe he can see mice, other cats etc and wants part of the action. I'm sure you have good reasons for not letting him out there (I note you have a cat run) - my back garden is also fenced to keep them safe. Perhaps you could make his "run" more interesting? I felt mildly guilty about my cats not having unrestricted outdoor access so built some look out posts for them to climb, scratch and generally snoop from, I made sure there was plenty of shrubbery for them to lurk in, plants that attract moths for them to play with at night, and just generally try to create a stimulating place they would want to be in.

I hope this helps, night time calling can be a problem, but if you look at his world from his viewpoint you may see things differently.

And as others have said, stop bopping him on the nose!
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