Urgent Advice Needed please!!!

[cathyc]

We have 2 kittens, now 8 months old (Molly & Marmite) brother and sister, who have been with us since September 2014. Ever since we first got them, we have had a routine of putting them into their "bedroom" (our office!) downstairs, where they have everything they need, and they have happily settled down every night in their beds and slept until 7 or 8am with no fuss. Over the last few nights, however, they have started waking up in the early hours (1.30am this morning!) and have worked out how to ping open the double office doors which lead into the kitchen. This is fine, as the kitchen door is always shut, but Molly spent all of last night scratching at the door trying to get out! We ignored her and didn't go down (very hard to do!) in the hope it would stop her, but she was very persistent! We don't really want them to be upstairs at night, as we are all light sleepers and they like to jump on my daughter's bed, which she hates when she is fast asleep! That is the first problem - any advice gratefully received, as we are pretty tired of sleepless nights (thought those days were over!!).

The second dilemma is whether to let them go outdoors, or to keep them as indoor cats. My daughter (13yrs) suffers with awful anxiety attacks, and I know she would totally freak out if ever one of them did not come home one night, and she is already worried that they will be run over. They seem desperate to get out and explore, and I feel like we are depriving them of fulfilling their natural instinct. We have taken them outside for some fresh air on leads, which they absolutely loved (just round our back garden), and we are trying to get our daughter to accept that most cats do go outside during the day with no problems. We would obviously chip them beforehand and get them identity collars and a cat flap. The other reason for letting them outside, is because we are paranoid now whenever anyone rings the front doorbell that when we open the door, one of them will escape - Molly darted out the other day and I had to run after her (while trying to keep Marmite inside too!). We are constantly making sure that they are behind closed doors before opening the front door, which is a pain!!

Has anyone else experienced any of these things? We are all getting a bit stressed out about the whole situation, and desperately want to resolve it!

Thanks in advance for your much-valued advice!

Cathy

[meriad]

Hey there; could you put a bolt onto the outside of the office door so they can't open it? Given their age and the time of year the early morning starts are fairly normal; it's the time most cats start becoming really active getting ready for hunting so what they are doing is totally normal. Cats do not have the same sleep routine as humans - they are nocturnal and dusk / dawn is when they tend to be at their most active.

Could you invest in some automatic feeders that open up at a certain time so they could eat - hopefully that would settle them again for a few hours

http://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/cats/cat_ ... oCv4jw_wcB" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I'm a fairly light sleeper and it's quite amazing what noises / movements one gets used to. I now often wake up with 3 cats on the bed and no idea when they got there.

As for the going outside; what is your garden set up - could you cat proof it by installing something similar to this: http://www.protectapuss.co.uk/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; I did my garden myself and provided you have some basic DIY skills and decent tools it's actually not that hard or expensive.

That would then give you the best of all worlds - cats and come and go as they please but can't get out; they could also be allowed out at night so they wouldn't be as desperate to get to the rest of the house

[Sage]

I agree with meriad. They're also pretty young and active. Do you play with them regularly? Daily playtime and toys that run a program for 10-15 minutes are worth looking into if you're not already activating them. If they're not fixed, doing so will calm them down a bit, as well as the drive to get outside. And it's always a good idea to have them neutered before letting them out.

[cathyc]

Forgot to say, they are neutered!

We do play with them before they go to bed to wear them out a bit! We bought a toy called Cat Meow which has a motorised string which goes round and round - they were interested for about 5 minutes then got bored!

Can anyone recommend any other motorised toys which may keep them occupied/entertained?

Thanks again,

Cathy

[meriad]

from experience I'd say that most cats will get bored of their toys after a few minutes - the more expensive the shorter the time spent on it

When do you feed them and how much? Just wondering if their wanting out is also food related?

[cathyc]

Hi Meriad,

We feed them breakfast, lunch, dinner & a snack of dry food only before bed. they are having half a wet pouch of Sheba plus a few dry kibbles at each meal.

Should they be having more than that or less?!

C.

[meriad]

Hm, don't think they'd need much more than that so I doubt it's a hunger issue. My cats get 1/2 pouch wet food both mornings and evenings and then have dry food out all day so they can eat as and when needed so yours do sound as though they are getting enough.

I do think that they are just growing up and more active and are wanting more space to explore in the morning. As mentioned, if you can get your garden cat proofed then it really is worth the effort and cost; I promise

[Animal lover]

My two cats have been indoor cats since they were rescued at around one week old. I have always given them a wide range of toys and played with them lots! They also loved playing with each other too, and loved playing chase all over the house, and jumping on and off the beds as they chased each other. Having indoor cats means giving them lots of play and stimulation, and areas to explore. Can you allow them to have more than just the office? Cats sleeping and active hours are different to ours. Mine too, especially my boy, would wake me about 2am for a feed. We then got a timed feeder. They are clever and know how to get your attention. My boy would meow and scratch my bedroom door when I closed it at night. Other nights it was open. My girl would tap me once on my arm, if I did not respond she would tap me twice on my cheek, then three times on the top of my head, then she would just pull off my eye mask lol. Do not bother with the fancy toys. The simple ones are best. Take some tin foil, roll it in to a ball, and throw in their direction. Mine would play with that for hours. Otherwise just soft 'mice', scratching toys, and ones you can put cat nip in or spray cat nip on the soft toys. If you can put things down with different smells, textures, too. Also crinkle matts. Do you have different levels where they can go? Or a cat jungle with seating and scratching posts? You can also get toys which you put biscuits in and they have to 'work' to get the food out. I prefer cats as indoor cats. I have never had any problems with them being indoors and they never showed any signs of being interested in outdoors. If you do allow them to go out, I
would strongly advise to either cat proof your garden or build an outside enclosure. Not just for their safety, but for your Daughter too. I would also look at their food. My boy was not keen on dry food, he was a 'meat' cat - meat cat food and chicken, ham, etc. My girl was the opposite - biscuits and fish. They prefered a different type of food every now and then, it gives them a variety. Also, to keep them stimulated, have you tried training them? I taught mine to sit, come, stay, etc. How involved is your Daughter with them? Maybe getting her playing with them, etc., might help with her anxiety as well as keep your cats more stimulated.