Sleepless in our castle!

[Beebo]

Hello! I was wondering if anyone has the same problem we are experiencing with our kitten? He is 4.5 months old, and we've had him for a little over one month. In that time, we have only had a total of 3 nights of full sleep! (and that was only because he had his shots! lol)

Blizz just loves to be awake. Absolutely nothing seems to tire him out enough for sleep. This cannot be normal! We do work all day, however, my boyfriend gets to work from home 2 extra days out of the week, so there are only 3 days out of the week where he is left alone all day. We play with him literally to the point of exhaustion, where he is panting like a dog, and yet he does not want to sleep during the night.

We've tried time outs (which do work during the day), squirt bottles of water, squirt bottles of water with a very tiny bit of vinegar, butter on his paws (so he licks them until they're clean and falls asleep after "grooming" himself), and now sticky tape.

When we try something new, it seems to work for the first few hours of the night, until between 1-3 am, then he starts scratching at our door to be let in. the only problem with that is that he doesn't want in to cuddle/sleep. He wants in to play, which leads to attacking our hands/feet, and has even attacked my boyfriend's face! I get up at this time, and he will play for approx 10-20 mins, then he will curl up with me on the couch, and we'll sleep there for about 2.5 hours, then he's ready for play again!

We have gotten a kennel for him yesterday, and it has seemed to work. My only fear is that he will get used to it and find someway to make it non-effective.

We will gladly accept any advice anyone has to help us get some sleep! We keep hearing he will grow out of it, but does anyone happen to know when that is? lol

thank you so much.
Beebo

[lindsayanng]

I'm sorry to say this, but welcome to the world of owning a kitten!!

Google the term MIDNIGHT CRAZIES and you will see what i'm talking about.. Its something that some cats never grow out of, although the crazies calm, the nocturnal behavior does not.

What you can do is just close your door to your bedroom and turn on a fan or the TV..

I dealt with the scratching at the door with my fooey (who doesnt leave my side ALL DAY) but she also does not sleep at night and i was not sleeping AT ALL because of it.

We got one of those little AIR CANISTERS that they sell at staples that you use to clean electronics. The noise of those things scared the dickens out of cats. Its more effective than a water spray bottle (just a note though - NEVER SPRAY YOUR CAT WITH THE AIR, IT IS THE NOISE THAT SCARES THEM, NOT CONTACT WITH THE PUFF OF AIR, THAT AIR IS NOT PURE AIR AND HAS CHEMICALS IN IT!!)

Basically, my bed is close to the door, and my husband has go go gadget arms (hes really tall and long) and when fooey would scratch and cry at the door, he would reach over and spray the air can about 3 times at the door and she would stop.. Sometimes she would come back and he would do it again, but it literally took 3 days and she completely stopped begging at the door and slept happily in the other rooms.

Those air canisters are the ONLY thing that i have found to train cats with. Water does not freak my cats out.. they just take it, then sit and lick themselves clean.. But NEVER EVER EVER spray a cat with the air.. NEVER!! (i just HAVE to express that!)

The other option is to get a second cat. I know it sounds a step back, but i promise.. another cat of the same age, they will keep each other busy for hours..

[lindsayanng]

oh yea.. i forgot.. i dont mean to sound mean.. but TIME OUTS!!! haha.. youre dealing with a cat.. They are way too strong willed for anything like that. The best training is either making undesirable behavior result in something scarey, or making desirable behavior result in something good.. thats about it..

I tried th sticky tape too, and they just pulled it off the door and floor where they were scratching..

[special]

Welcome to pet lovers and congratulations on your new furbaby!

Lindsay's advice is excellent, I will only add, when you get up with Blizz in the night when she scratches at your door, you are teaching her that if she scratches long enough you will open the door.

If you don't want her in your room at night, and want her to stop the scratching, don't open the door or acknowledge her at all. (emiting the canned air on the other side of the door is a good idea. but as lindsay cautioned, don't aim it under the door directly at Blizz, just spray it near the door.)

She's probably lonely at night, though, she's just a baby! My suggestion, too, is to get another young cat. Then the two of them can thunder around the house all night if they want, leaving you to sleep in peace behind your closed door.

My cats generally sleep through the night, in the bed with me.

[Beebo]

thank you both so much for the advice. we will definitely give it a try. and kudos to you, Special, since your babies sleep with you at night lol It's just hard to ignore him when he wants attention...mainly because i want to give him attention, but also the noise factor lol We will keep you updated on his progress! wish me luck :)

[Beebo]

oh yeah, lindsay...the sticky tape situation...Blizz is doing the exact same thing right now lol he is pulling it up where he can lol it works if it can stay where it is supposed to (on the carpets mostly) but because carpets have a give to it, it's easy for him to peel it up and "dispose" of it lol so yet another experiment out the window lol

[special]

oh....HE. oops sorry about that.

Yes, I know my cats are a rare breed that sleep through the night, and sometimes even stay in bed longer than I do in the morning!

The morning part is most likely because the first thing I do when I get out of bed is administer medications to cats, so no one is ever in any hurry for mama to get out of bed!

Do please come back and let us know how things go with Blizz.

[Pookster]

I agree with the idea of getting another cat the same age as he. They'll keep each other company and you will get some sleep.
I have 5 cats, and they don't bug us at night...they bug each other LOL!
Purrs,
Pookster

[lindsayanng]

I have one cat that has been sleeping in the bed with us for years now. Tweek.. she LOVES it and waits in bed if we arent in there on time.. She also will sleep longer than us if i dont make the bed over her!! it took her a long time to get to that point, but eventaulyl yours can too.. You just need to keep them active ALL DAY (not jsut a few playtimes right before bed). AND let her grow up a bit.. NO ONE can sleep with a kitten in their bed!! well, they can lay there, but they wont sleep