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Overview:
Cats keeping their owners awake
on a night seems to be a relatively common complaint. So this article hopes to
address how you can go about changing your cat's sleeping habits so that you are
all in sync.
The cats
sleep cycle:
It is important to understand
that cats are naturally nocturnal animals. That means, they sleep during the day
& are active (hunting) at night. Humans are diurnal, meaning we typically are
awake during the daytime & sleep at night. The aim is to re-train your cat to
follow a similar sleep pattern to you. Ie; awake during the daytime, sleep at
night.
So, what can
I do to re-train my cat to sleep during the night?
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Schedule play during the
daytime/early evening hours. Interactive toys are the best for this, so that
your cat can satisfy his hunting skills find something he can stalk, chase &
finally capture.
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After playing with your cat,
feed him a high protein meal. This would simulate what happens in the wild. Ie:
hunting down, killing & eating the prey.
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Discourage catnapping,
especially in the early evening.
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Start as you plan to
continue. If you want to discourage cats from sleeping in your bedroom, it is
easier to start from day one.
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Close your bedroom door.
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Get your cat a playmate. If
your cat is home alone during the day, he may be more inclined to while away
the hours by sleeping. If he has somebody to play with, he may be more active.
What you
should not do:
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One common mistake pet owners
make with cats who wake them on a night is to get up & play/feed them. This
re-enforces that the behaviour will result in a reward, and therefore they
will continue to do so.
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Use physical punishment on
the cat. Not only is this cruel, but it will only serve to instil fear in your
cat. Which is not the kind of relationship you want with your cat. If you are
having problems with your cat scratching at the bedroom door try sticking some
aluminium foil or bubble wrap over it as cats don't like the feel. Confine
your cat to another room such as the laundry (obviously put in food, water & a
comfy bed).
Re-training your cat may take
time. With patience it should be possible for you to get a good nights rest.
Important:
If this wakeful behaviour is
new it is worth having the cat checked over by a veterinarian as there could be
an underlying medical reason for a change in routine.
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