cat night time behavior
by Carolyn
(Grand Junction,CO)
We adopted a cat, Mattie, from a shelter about 4 months. She is a tabby about 3 years old. During the day and evening she is very skiddish and will not let anyone touch her. Then comes the night time, when us humans are trying to sleep,she is constantly running up and licking our faces and wanting attention. It is causing us to either lock her up in our office, or Matties room, or have sleepless nights.
Do you have any advise on how to curb this habit?
Answer by Kate
hi, sorry to say this sounds perfectly normal to me. Night time is the natural time for cats to be most alert. this is their hunting time etc. i currently have two 7 month old kittens who if I let them would spend the night play fighting on top of me in bed at night. Instead i shut my door and let them run around as they please. you can't stop a cat from playing or carrying out their instincts I'm afraid.
You could try playing a real runaround game with her about 45 minutes before bedtime. then just before bedtime give her a meal. this will sometimes settle them down a little for the night.
other than that keeping them out of your room and giving them toys to play with else where is sometimes the only answer.
best wishes Kate