Cat wants to go out at 3:00 am.

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James - 07 Mar 2004 13:16 GMT

We have two indoor/outdoor cats spayed/neutered about 1 1/2 years old.. It
use to be that we would let them out in the morning when we got up and that
seemed to be working fine, but as of late one of them has been coming into
the bedroom aound 3:00 am asking to go out and doing all manner of annoying
behaviors to get us up, scratching on the boxspring, digging in the
wastebasket, scratching at the bureau mirror, etc.. We do not let him out at
night, or basically when it is dark out,we never have, so we are not sure
why this new behavior has started. If we just put him out of the bedroom and
close the door, he will scratch incessantly. Our solution has been when when
this early morning behavior occurs is to put him in the laundry room
downstairs until we are ready to get up. This helps us out, but I think
upsets the cat. So we have a few questions. What might be the cause of this
new interest in going out in the middle of the night. What could we do to
help with the early morning bad behaviors (we have already tried the water
squirt, no luck). How can we train him not to scratch at the bedroom door
when it is closed (the bedroom is not off limits at other times off the
day). Any advice would be appreciated.

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Karen Chuplis - 07 Mar 2004 15:48 GMT

> We have two indoor/outdoor cats spayed/neutered about 1 1/2 years old.. It
> use to be that we would let them out in the morning when we got up and that
[quoted text clipped - 13 lines]
> when it is closed (the bedroom is not off limits at other times off the
> day). Any advice would be appreciated.

Well, I think putting him in the laundry room is a fair solution. I do
wonder though, is there some fun stuff for him in there. Say a cat tree? I
know my cats seem to go through bouts of "off cycle" sleeping patterns. It's
spring, and maybe there are some strange cats around egging him on. If he
gets to go out during the day (safest anyway) he is not being deprived. I'd
just make sure he has all his accessories in the laundry room (litter box,
snack, bed) so it doesn't seem like "punishment". My guess is he will get
back to routine eventually so it is unnecessary.

Karen

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Judy - 09 Mar 2004 03:14 GMT

> > We have two indoor/outdoor cats spayed/neutered about 1 1/2 years old.. It
> > use to be that we would let them out in the morning when we got up and that
[quoted text clipped - 24 lines]
>
> Karen

I agree Karen. My brother and his wife have always kept their cat in the
laundry room over night. In there is everything she needs. A night light, a
cat tree, toys, food, water and the litterbox. Sadie goes in at bed time
and comes out when my brother gets up.

In the beginning she'd scratch at the door but she got over it.

Judy

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Wendy - 09 Mar 2004 12:12 GMT

> > > We have two indoor/outdoor cats spayed/neutered about 1 1/2 years old..
> It
[quoted text clipped - 47 lines]
>
> Judy

Just a word about locking kitty in the laundry room. Make sure that any
chemicals are put away where the cat can't get to them. Make sure there is
no spilled laundry soap and that any containers are clean and that there is
no residue of the contents on the outside.

W

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Gail - 07 Mar 2004 16:40 GMT

It may be because spring is coming. We have a cat that does this also. I
call 3:00 "the witching hour."
Gail

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IBen Getiner - 09 Mar 2004 10:19 GMT

Put him in another room with that door closed. That should give him
something to really cry about. Turn on a big box fan in your room and
you won't hear a thing. After a few weeks of this, he shouldn't be
worried about going out anymore. He'll just be happy to get back out
to where he was before he started the trouble.
Let me ask you... do you have any children? Obviously not, Because it
sounds like you don't have any idea how to handle these 'childish'
type situations. If you have a kid, the first thing you do is put him
or her on YOUR schedule. You bend him or her to YOUR will, not the
other way around. And right now, your 'child' has it the other way
around, as any fool can see.
And another thing ... get him declawed. Then he can't 'scratch.' He
can only paw. Ours has been civilized for indoor living since day one,
so we don't have these kind of far-out problems that you're having.
The only thing our cat tries is, once in a while he'll come around to
the threshold of our bedroom door early in the morning and softly cry
in order to get my wife's attention ... to wake her up so he can have
some company. Well, let me tell you, he knows it when he rouses me. I
give him a great big booming shout and he high-tails it to parts
unknown. Then he's good for another two or three months. They're just
like children. You just have to establish who's the boss and who's the
bossie. And that's all there is to it.
Hope this helps, Jim.

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Jeannie - 09 Mar 2004 12:06 GMT

My cat was *exactly* the same. I posted the same message on this group and
someone replied that I should just put her outside when she wanted to go.
She has free access to go outside all day while I'm at work so I thought
"Why not"

After about a week of being put outside everytime she started carrying on
she soon got sick of the cold winter nights and now she stays in all night
with no problems.

Jeannie

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