As soon as you have acquired the long-awaited kitten, some problems immediately arise, one of which is the pet not sleeping at night. The owners are tired from the day and are sleeping, but he is awake, playing or meowing out of habit. First the cat meows to be let into the bedroom, then to be let out. During the day, people need to go to work or school, but the mustache goes to bed and rests until the evening. And there again...
Of course, young animals are naturally playful, but the kitten must be aware of the limits of its territory, as well as the limits of the master's bedroom. To do this, you need to know what the causes of cat insomnia are and how to deal with it.
Reasons why a cat doesn't sleep at night
To understand why a cat does not sleep at night, you need to realize that the biological clocks of the pet and the owner are significantly different:
- The first reason to understand why a kitten does not sleep at night is nature. According to their natural characteristics, cats are predators, and they tend to hunt at night. Pets living in rural areas walk excellently at night and sleep during the day, and this factor does not bother anyone. In the city, the situation is completely different. If the owner allows, the cat will calmly walk around the house at night, sometimes attracting attention to itself.
- It is a known fact that cats spend 18 hours a day sleeping, and naturally, during the day they sleep well, and at night they are full of energy, demanding attention and food.
- If a kitten has just arrived in the house and does not let you sleep at night, then you need to be patient a little, because it needs time to adapt to the new environment.
- If a cat is alone at home during the day, he experiences a lack of communication. He's just lonely. Naturally, he believes that night is the time when the owner could give him at least a little attention. The pet begins to invite him to play, demands affection and communication.
- The kitten might be hungry.
- Sometimes a cat is pushed to such night wakefulness by an unrealized sexual instinct.
- Excessively timid animals, which have been sitting in a secluded place during the day because of the arrival of guests or the activity of another animal located next to it, begin to meow at night and attract attention to themselves.
- Maybe something is bothering the cat, she may have health problems. After all, as you know, illnesses make themselves felt more strongly at night.
Providing entertainment
In order for a cat to sleep less during the day, it should not be bored. Various balls, mice, and interactive toys will help entertain your pet. If you hang a bird feeder outside the window, the four-legged will always have something to do. The main thing is to place it far enough from the glass so that the birds do not crash into it.
If the balcony is not glazed, you should not hang a feeder. An interested cat may jump for prey.
A few hours before bedtime, you can play with your pet. For example, make you run after a candy wrapper. Most likely, the cat will get tired and fall asleep with the owner.
How to distinguish between a healthy night wakefulness and a sick pet
When a pet screams all night, doesn’t sleep and doesn’t let anyone do it, the caring owner wonders if something is bothering him. How to understand where he is healthy and asks for attention, and where he complains about his deplorable condition.
A sick animal, as a rule, meows with altered intonation. She begins to yelp or howl. He is always looking for a place, wants to climb somewhere, walks around the house and meows, cannot sit or lie down quietly.
The cat is in heat
Cats are much more eager than dogs, leading them to despair if they cannot mate. During this period, both females and males are more active at night, producing loud moans and meows that disturb the sleep of their guardians. Their suffering is such that their instinct may be to try to run away from home to find a partner. So, if your cat won't stop meowing at night, won't let you sleep, is restless, and has been alive for more than 6 months, she's probably in heat. For this reason and to avoid unwanted pregnancy, the most recommended solution is timely sterilization of the animal.
Solving the problem of a cat being awake at night
The solution to the problem lies not in making the cat sleep at night, but in how to wean him from sleeping during the daytime. It is impossible to force a cat to do anything due to its unique love of freedom. The only way out is to satisfy her needs and try to accustom her to the daily routine necessary for both parties:
- If your pet doesn't let you sleep at night, you can try feeding it late in the evening. It is advisable that the food be as high in calories as possible, because digesting it will require more strength and energy. And walking at night requires additional energy from the animal, and in order to save it for digesting food, it will rest and not interfere with its owners doing the same.
- When a cat cannot be put to sleep due to lack of attention, there is nothing left to do but give it this attention in the evening. If the pet is lonely, no one communicates with him during the day, then naturally, after the owner comes home from work, he will demand the attention he has not received. This is especially true for anxious animals; you just need to calm the cat down, pet it, talk to it. She will feel the care of her owner and will stop worrying at night.
- You need to follow natural instincts and let your pet walk around the territory. Sometimes he feels anxious and needs to make sure everything is okay. When the cat has walked around all the rooms before going to bed, he calmly goes to rest, making sure that nothing threatens him or his owner. If the appearance of an animal in any room is not desirable, then when walking around the space it is better not to go there at all. This way the cat will get used to it and will not become interested in this room.
- Another important component in revising your pet’s daily routine is physical activity. If the animal does not allow you to sleep at night, then in order to accustom it to the necessary routine, you need to play with it for as long as possible at night. It is better that he runs for at least an hour and a half. Moreover, it is important to play not only with toys, but also with the owner; after playing enough with candy wrappers and catch-up teasers, the pet will get tired and will be left “without its hind legs.” This way he will sleep until the morning.
- If the cat does not sleep at night and demands food, then you need to leave him some food at night, you can use an automatic feeder. But, if the animal begins to feed additionally at night, then the daily food intake should be reduced. This is necessary to prevent the cat from developing obesity.
- An extreme method is to try feeding your cat raw meat once a week. In this way, his hunting instincts will be satisfied, and digesting raw food will take more energy. Your pet will have no time for partying at night. Just don't do this too often.
- You can try to get another animal. During the day they will play much more actively, and it will be easier to train them to sleep at night without disturbing their owner.
- When all of the above methods have not given any result, then in order to calm the active mustache, you can give it the drug “Cat Bayun”. This medication is well suited both for unsatisfied sexual activity in a cat and for small kittens. The product is used twice a day, morning and evening. The drug "Cat Bayun" cannot be used frequently, it is only for emergency cases.
You can try not to react in any way to the cat’s cries at night; she will see that her actions are not producing any results and will stop bothering her owner at night.
How to solve a problem
The main way to get a cat to sleep at night is to let it get tired during the day. Play with your cat during the day if you are at home. If you work, build or buy a playground for your cat. Regularly - every 3-4 days - offer your pet new toys: this way the entertainment will not get boring.
Cats need communication, so you should pay attention to your pet. Even if you come home late at night, chat with your pet: pet, talk, treat him with a treat.
Also arm yourself with knowledge of cat instincts: a cat will not look for food at night if it ate from its belly at night. And after a good dinner, the hunter needs to conserve resources. Move your main meal to the evening.
If your cat still makes noise at night, don’t fall for such tricks. The pet is trying to attract attention and your reaction only reinforces this behavior. Control yourself and don't yell at the cat, even if it drops something.
What not to do when your kitten won't sleep at night
Sometimes owners driven to despair resort to not entirely humane methods in order to get at least a little peace:
- When a pet does not allow you to sleep at night, it happens that the owner, trying to calm the animal, locks it either in the bathroom or in another room. In this way, it will not be possible to accustom a cat to rest at night, because it will begin to run around and scream even more, not understanding why it was treated so unfairly.
- When the owner, dreaming of a night's sleep, sprays the pet with water, he, of course, gets the long-awaited rest, but not for long until he licks himself. He won’t do this for a long time, then the noise will start again. The cat does not feel guilty; such methods seem offensive to him.
- Sometimes the owner follows the cat’s lead and begins to play with it, caress it, and feed it. In no case should you act this way; she will get used to it, and then life will become even more fun.
You can try covering the windows in the house with heavy curtains at night, this way the morning will take longer for the cat, and the owner will have a little extra time to soak in bed.
When a healthy cat does not allow its owner to rest peacefully at night, this means that it cannot adapt to the human regime in any way, but lives under the influence of natural instincts. If the pet is not sleeping, then the owner must behave calmly and competently.
When a person behaves aggressively towards an animal, it will be even worse, firstly, the cat will be offended by such behavior and will become even more indignant about this. Secondly, everything that happens will only amuse him, because he has achieved what he wanted: the owner’s attention. Over time, cats will calm down and become less playful; you need to endure a little and retrain your pet to your rhythm of life.
What to do
In order for your pet to bother you less at night, you need to move the cat’s activity to the daytime or another time convenient for the owner. There are a few simple rules for this.
Give the animal enough attention
After coming home, be sure to talk to the cat and ask how she is doing. Pet the animal, let it sit on your lap or on your shoulder if your cat shows interest in these actions. Brush the cat's fur: tactile contacts are pleasant for him, they help establish emotional contact between the pet and the owner. Before going to bed, engage in outdoor games with your cat, for example, you can use a laser pointer or play with a ball - some cats bring fetch. Any physical activity will take away the cat's energy, and the cat is more likely to sleep at night.
Offer your cat toys
The cat should have its own toys that it can play with on its own. These are small balls, artificial mice, ordinary candy wrappers. It is very good if your pet has a play complex: a cat tree with a house and a scratching post. You can place toys on strings on the tree that the cat will try to get. You can also buy smart toys for cats at the pet store: mazes with a ball or a toy with a hole for a treat (the owner hides a tasty piece inside, but the cat will have to work hard to get it out). Check to see if your cat is an “advanced” user of electronic gadgets: you can play a video game for your cat. A fly or spider is crawling on your tablet screen, and your cat is trying to catch it. If you accurately hit the target with your paw, the game moves to the next level and the number of bugs increases. Many cats enjoy playing these games.
Get your pet a friend
Another tip: get your cat a friend. Two cats get along well in one apartment, none of them will be bored, they will be busy with their cat life and playing together. Just keep in mind that if they prefer a nocturnal lifestyle and the two of them start a chase in the middle of the night, then there will be more noise than from one pet. Provided you have a large apartment or house, two cats are better than one.
