Many cat owners and breeders often face this problem when a furry pet confuses day with night and becomes more active at night. Agree, it’s not very pleasant if, after a hard day at work, someone disturbs your sleep and peace, even if it’s your favorite cat. The inability to get a good night's sleep leads to irritation, decreased performance, and nervousness. Therefore, let's look at how to stop a cat from running around at night in a house or apartment? What to do if your pet makes noise, meows and keeps you from sleeping at night?
Why are cats active at night?
Cats by nature are incredibly inquisitive, quite energetic and cheerful creatures. Throughout the day, periods of wakefulness alternate with rest and sleep. But what if your pet is active at night when everyone is sleeping? To stop a kitten from running at night, you need to find out the root cause of this behavior.
As a rule, small kittens or energetic young cats show playfulness at night. While the owners sleep, inquisitive animals explore the world and explore their home. In most cases, such behavior is noted during the period of socialization and adaptation of the animal to new conditions. During the day, when no one is in the house, cats sleep in anticipation of “night games”, so their “day” begins with the onset of darkness or in the evening.
Important! Adult, elderly cats adapt to biorhythms, the schedule of their owners and sleep at night. Even if the pet wakes up at night, it does not necessarily mean that it will make noise; most likely, the cat is hungry or wants to get around its property.
Manifestations of night activity in cats manifest themselves in different ways. Some pets run around the apartment, climb all the heights, use various objects as toys, happily rolling them along the floor, and climb curtains. Others, after running around the house, climb into their owners’ beds, begin to bite their hands, and meow loudly. At the same time, maximum night activity is observed in the period from three to five hours.
Adult male cats can scream heart-rendingly at night during the rutting season. Typically, this behavior occurs several times a year, and especially in early spring.
Reasons for night wakefulness and activity in representatives of the cat family:
- the pet is hungry or there is no water in the bowl;
- the cat is worried or in pain;
- lack of physical activity during the day;
- the cat experienced severe stress, nervous shock;
- the pet attracts the attention of the owners.
If a cat is shy and there are other pets (cats, dogs) in the house, it tries to sleep during the day, hiding in secluded places to avoid unnecessary contact, and stays awake at night.
Also, do not forget that cats are excellent and very cautious hunters, so they prefer to go hunting at night. The hunting instinct makes cats very sensitive to sleep and dozing. Animals hear and distinguish sounds that are elusive to the human ear. If the cat has shown activity, it is possible that someone has disturbed her sensitive sleep (a bird, a night moth).
What can interfere with sleep
There are other reasons why an animal behaves this way.
- A cat most often does not allow its owners to sleep due to boredom. The reason may be the pet’s insufficient activity during the day, then it is in the evening that he begins to be awake, wants to play, and thereby prevents him from sleeping peacefully. A cat can jump on its owner while sleeping, and the owner, while asleep, will experience shock. The pet does all this not out of malice, he’s just bored, and has more than enough unspent energy. He needs somewhere to put his energy, especially before the age of 3. You need to play with him a lot, you can buy different balls, balls, lures on sticks and make him play even when he wants to sleep during the day. At least 1.5-2 hours of such frantic activity for young ones and up to an hour for adults, and at night both the cat and the owner will sleep soundly. It is clear that he may not sleep the whole night, then it is important to let the pet know where it is possible to make noise. For example, hiss at him when he starts to get active in the bedroom.
- When a pet is alone in the house all day, he needs attention and communication, he becomes bored, since entertaining himself is not always fun. Therefore, when the owner of the house, at night, the animal believes that this is just the time to pay attention to it and play. It begins to interfere with sleep, sometimes it can even scratch and bite its owner.
- Often the cause of insomnia in cats can be fear or fear of something. For example, a cat sleeps and wakes up from any rustle, this means that it is tense and afraid of something, so it is always on the alert. In such a situation, she will not fall asleep until everyone is asleep. Cats can even be afraid of their owners if they hit her or swing at her. They are very touchy and can be under constant stress because of this. You need to treat the animal kindly.
- Another cause of fear is electrical appliances, for example, a pet saw a vacuum cleaner, hair dryer or mixer at night. He immediately becomes furious and can start meowing and jumping. In this case, you should try not to leave these devices in a place visible to the cat, so as not to provoke him.
- Pets are also very afraid of water, so when their fur gets wet, it loses its warming functions, then the pet walks around the house for a long time, trying to warm up. So it’s better to bathe your cat during the day so that this doesn’t happen at night.
- Waking at night often occurs due to unfulfilled sexual instinct. This means that the cat needs to be sterilized or taken to a cat.
- If the pet is very timid and often hides in a corner when guests come, then at night it tries to regain the attention of its owners and tries in every possible way to attract it.
Correcting cat behavior
If the pet is absolutely healthy and is awake at night, the heart-rending meowing is not associated with any diseases or pathologies, using our recommendations and advice you can wean the cat from making noise at night.
If your cat runs around your apartment or house at night, organize a variety of active leisure activities for your cat. Buy toys that imitate the movements of animals and birds. They will help realize the hunting instinct, and the pet will be interested. Games with balls and wind-up mice will provide great entertainment for cats who love to chase prey. You need to play with your pet until you are sure that the animal is tired. Organize a play complex, climbing shelves, vertical supports with a platform, buy interactive toys.
Play with your pet an hour or two before bedtime, then feed him. It is best to give your cat chicken, beef, or any other meat food before a night's rest. After physical activity and a satisfying meal, cats usually go to bed.
Important! A well-fed, tired cat actually falls asleep quickly, but this does not mean that after a while the animal will not wake up and be active. So think about what you can do to interest your pet during the day. The more cats are awake during daylight hours, the less desire they will make to make noise and play at night.
If a cat is nervous, behaves restlessly, reacts inadequately to external stimuli, walks around the house at night, meows pitifully not only at night, but also during the day, it is possible that the cat is experiencing discomfort and pain due to an illness or worsened chronic pathology. Carefully observe the condition and behavior of your pet. If you notice symptoms of malaise or a deterioration in general condition, take the cat to the clinic for examination and diagnostic testing.
If your cat meows due to lack of affection or attention, pay him some attention before going to bed. Hygiene procedures can be useful for business. Comb the fur, clean the ears, and inspect the eyes. After a portion of affection and attention, making sure of the strength of the emotional connection, the cat will sleep sweetly until the morning.
How to calm a crying animal
Streams from the eyes, accompanied by a plaintive meow, are often used to attract attention. The accompanying symptoms will help you understand the cause of anxiety and tears.
Little kitten
A baby's squeak is usually associated with moving to a new family. At first, he misses his mother a lot and is frightened by unusual smells.
To begin, pick up the kitten, pet it and talk to it. Try playing with it and see the reaction. If it's a lack of attention, these steps can help.
It is also recommended to check the cleanliness of the tray and the amount of food and water left in the bowls. Arranging a personal corner plays a significant role. Try to make it as warm and cozy as possible by adding a soft blanket and toys.
teenager
Excessive lacrimation in adolescents occurs due to a temporary discrepancy between the width and length of the tear ducts. At this stage of maturation, the length does not slightly keep up with the width, which increases sharply with the growing head. You just need to wait out this moment.
If your teenager is really experiencing emotional distress, distract him with games. For maturing kittens, this is the best way.
Adult pet
The crying of an adult pet can be associated with psychological discomfort, hunger, thirst or lack of attention. Try to minimize existing stress by filling bowls and increasing the amount of time you play together.
How to help if something hurts with a mustache
The feeling of pain is easy to identify by general malaise. A sick pet will hide, refuse to eat, have a fever, or relieve itself in the wrong place. Depending on the diagnosis, the painful condition may be accompanied by vomiting, stool upset, bloating and other alarming symptoms. To determine the exact cause of the malaise, you need to contact a veterinarian.
What not to do
If your cat meows, yells for no reason, and doesn’t let you sleep at night, never get up to see your pet. Even if the animal is hungry. Cats are great manipulators and, having achieved their goal, will constantly take advantage of the kindness of their owners. Therefore, the only right decision in such a situation is not to pay attention to the cat.
You should not lock your cat in a separate room. The animal will not understand why it was isolated from the rest of the family. The pet will become sad and lonely, and in order to attract attention, it will begin to make even more noise.
If the cat is awake at night, do not yell at him, much less hit him. This won't work and will only make the situation worse. The cat will do things out of spite.
It is impossible to force cats to sleep at night, but you need to try to do everything to ensure that the pet is active during the day. Following our advice, do not indulge in night awakenings, be patient, the kitten will eventually adapt to your schedule and sleep peacefully at night.
The cat doesn't let you sleep at night: what to do and how to deal with it
If a cat often does not sleep at night and deliberately meows, wakes up the owner, pushes objects, then most often this is due to lack of attention. The pet needs communication, he wants the owner to pay attention to him and make contact. The owner of the animal has a job, acquaintances, friends, recreation, hobbies, but the pet only has an apartment and the person who tamed it. Therefore, of course, the animal wants attention from those closest to it. If you don’t always have enough time to play, then you can talk to the animal after returning from work, or pet it and allow it to be nearby. It is necessary to take care of the cat, comb it, try to really contact him every day and let him know that he is not alone. You need to try to pay enough attention, then the pet will feel an emotional connection with the owner, and he will not be so lonely.
The cat doesn't let you sleep at night: what to do?
It's natural for a cat to be active at night. But it often interferes with sleep and is annoying. The owners want to know why the kitten does not let them sleep at night and what to do in such a situation. There are many options on how to deceive the cat's nature.
Barsik sleeps sweetly, but this doesn’t always happen at night
Therefore, below are several simple options for what you need to do to help your cat sleep at night.
- If an animal does not have enough attention, you can talk to it, stroke it, caress it, then the animal will calm down, feel cared for and will not be worried due to lack of attention.
- You need to help your cat reset the energy accumulated during the day. You can buy toys: mazes, houses, claw sharpeners, a ball, so that when the owner is not at home, she can have fun herself. It is better to choose interactive toys: squeakers, dialers, buzzers, so the cat will not be so lonely. If there is an opportunity to have another pet, that's good. During the day they will have much more fun, and there will be no problems with excess energy.
- Also, before going to bed, the owner can teach the cat to scout out the situation in the area. After he is convinced that everything is fine and there is no sign of danger, he will calmly go to bed.
- If possible, you can mount shelves on which your pet could climb.
- You can hide his toys around the house in the morning, thereby provoking the animal to search throughout the day.
- The animal should be left with food at night. If the pet gets hungry, it will not bother you by meowing, but will go to the bowl, satisfy its hunger and go on to sleep.
- You can arrange a place for your cat by the window so that instead of sleeping during the day, she can watch what is happening on the street.
- In the evening, you can show your cat special videos on your smartphone or TV. The net is full of them, usually there is a mouse running around, a fly flying or fish swimming. The cat will immediately become involved in the process and will want to catch the animals herself. Such an active activity before bedtime will warm up your pet a little, after which he will sleep soundly. Instead of a video, you can tie a ribbon to a stick and tease; cats love to run after something or catch something.
- Most of the food should be left for the evening. Once you are full closer to night, the likelihood of activity will be much lower.
- You cannot lock an animal in the bathroom or kitchen. At night it will try to get out, and there will be even more noise.
- The cat loves to get his way, so you should not give in to provocations. If the owner is sure that the pet is feigning and specifically demanding attention, then it is better to remain steadfast. Manipulations at night should be strictly ignored. But during the day it’s a different matter. You should actively communicate and play with the animal.
- You can also resort to retraining the cat. You should try to slightly shock the cat when he starts rustling: throw a plastic bottle or any other object with a ringing sound. Under no circumstances should you throw an object at him.
There is no need to worry unnecessarily that the animal sleeps a lot or vice versa. Everything is very individual, and if the cat has adapted to such a life, then it is better not to violate his personal boundaries and not disrupt the harmony.
The main thing that the owner must do is to contact the pet, arrange a secluded corner for it and try to tame it so that it at least sometimes obeys.
Sound cat sleep
The reasons why a cat stays awake at night are different: from a simple lack of attention to serious mental or health problems. If the lack of attention can still be corrected, for example, by playing more with the cat or communicating, then it will not be possible to cure the disease on your own. Even the same stress that causes laughter in some pet owners can provoke serious disorders. Fear or fear of something can seriously damage the nervous system. If, after trying all the options to ensure your cat sleeps soundly at night, nothing has changed, you should consult a veterinarian.
