Meow! Meow! Meow! I bury my head under my pillow. Meow! Meow!
Meoooooow! The high-pitched meow persists and penetrates through my pen
padded shield. Meow! Meow! Meow! My eyes open only with the best of effort.
Reluctantly, I crawl out of my warm bed and look at the clock; 3:47 am. I
Reach for the bedside table and turn on the light, pain is the result, light, so
bright, the light is, so, so bright. My wife turns on her side and I can see the
look of annoyance on her wrinkled little face. “Must …. feed …. demon … cat ….” I say
to myself as I trudge to the kitchen to empty a can of cat food into the little
cat dish. The cat has already woken up the whole house and I would not be
surprised if the neighbors were also awake.
Our cat is a noisy cat. Outrageously loud. Noisy 747 jet engine. And there was a time
who woke up every morning before even the sun had the nerve to look over the
horizon. Our adorable little hair ball wanted to be fed. While the rest of the
The house was fast asleep, our sweet kitten wanted to eat something to suck on.
down his throat. This caused us a bit of frustration, especially since this
It was not a one-time thing. No, this was actually becoming her morning ritual. Each
In the morning, our cat would sit in front of our door and meow on top of her little kitten
lungs the most blood-curdling meows I’d ever had the displeasure of hearing.
Our initial reaction, after giving in and feeding her several nights / early mornings in
one row, was to put it in the laundry before my wife and I went to sleep at the
evening. This, however, was not the best solution in the world, our adorable little black
The dough didn’t seem to like her very much and after a while she was no longer the warm and
cute cat we knew before.
There must be another solution to this dilemma. Fortunately, there is. That you
cat is, is what has been termed as an “wake-up kitten”, what it is, is a cat that
wakes up very early (or stays up very late) and begins to meow around
at the same time every day, hoping to be fed. Unfortunately for
Those of us who enjoy sleeping at night, this is a natural behavior in cats and while
The problem may not happen to all cat owners, it happens to many. Then what can
you do? Although cats have been domesticated animals for thousands of years
Now dating back to ancient Egypt, they have still retained most of their wild instincts
and this is the natural instinct of a cat; hunt and feed. Cats are predatory animals,
hunt, and the cat’s natural time to hunt generally falls between dusk and dawn.
because most of the prey they hunt is nocturnal (rats, mice and other rodents).
So if you are unable or unwilling to let your cat out at night to hunt on its own, what
you should do
Training your cat to stop this behavior can be quite easy, but keep in mind that
It will require a bit of patience on your part, but a good night’s sleep may pay off.
What you need is a cat toy, preferably a mouse or something similar, a piece of
rope and a stick. Attach the cat toy to a string and the string to the stick. Weather
you’re watching bedtime TV or doing whatever your bedtime ritual is
Take your cat toy and play a hunting game with it. Cats love to chase things
for his hunting instinct. Play with your cat for about 15 minutes, enough
It is time to tire your cat and give him the satisfaction of having hunted. During your
game create a hunting scenario as realistic as you can, make noises like a mouse (or
whatever animal you’re emulating) chirping or running through brush. Let
your cat grabs the toy every now and then so that your cat feels like he’s
involved in a successful hunt (rather than frustrating). Towards the end gradually
slow down the game and close your little hunt. Your cat will probably be
tired enough right now. At the end of the game, feed your cat
know what you like. You don’t need to feed him a full-size meal, but do help yourself
enough to satisfy your hunger. A handful of cat treats or a little
A leftover piece of pork chop may be enough. Then go to sleep. In all probability
your cat will be satisfied and will not continue with its ritual of waking you up every
Tomorrow.
You may need to continue your hunting game with your cat for a week or two.
before the morning meows go away, and even after they do, it’s a good idea
play this game with your cat from time to time to prevent the behavior
Go back and make your cat feel like an accomplished hunter. But if you
follow this routine, you should be able to satisfy your cat and close your eyes a little
at the same time.