Calling All Cat Owners...need Your Help

[Kitchen Diva]

:grumpy: :cry:

I need your help. I know this isn't PC related but since I know there are quite a few cat owners/lovers on this board I thought I'd turn here before I shell out big bucks to the vet.

I have a 10 month old spayed female kitten. Camilla Bean is a gray, orange and cream diluted Tortie. She is fiesty, thinks she is the mother of my two dogs, and very chatty. She also likes to bite, which I think stems from the fact that she was born in a shelter, adopted out at 7 weeks, spayed at 8 weeks, given back to the shelter at 10 weeks and adopted by us at 12 weeks.

Here is my problem. Camilla Bean won't sleep at night. All my other cats (Gus and Weasel to name two) slept through most the night, and if they woke up, they'd play with their toy mice, or run through the house, or whatever, but they left me alone until feeding time at 6:00 am.

I deal with insomnia as a result of having a severe hormone deficiency. Since losing my Full Time job, it's even hard to stay on a schedule, so the past 2 weeks have been sprinkled with very little sleep each night. Camilla is exaserbating that by waking me up with her chatting and loud cries and meows every 30-120 minutes. She won't stop either once she comes to be pet. She will "sit" still for 3 seconds as I pet her and soothe her, but then she moves or changes positions every 3-5 seconds to be pet somewhere else, and eventually gets fed up and leaves the bed. Then she walks around the house meowing and crying- or she'll jump on the head board and perch herself above my head and just howl.

In the past the vets have just told me she is chatty, and that is her breed. I guess the tri-colored females are the most talkative and the sassiest of the tortie cats. She truly has a Queen Bee attitude, and she's my first female cat... (lesson learned)

I can't shut her out of our room because I'm a light sleeper, and she'll just sit outside the door and cry, which wakes me up, and so I let her in. I get up to feed her, and she doesn't want food.

My guess is she just wants to play with the laser pointer we bought. I'm thinking of tossing it because we will play with her for about 10 minutes and when we stop, she goes bonkers looking for the red laser light. She will catterwole (sp?) and whine, and cry and sass as she follows us through the house.. I half think that's what is going on, but I'm not getting up every 30-120 minutes to play with the darn laser toy because she's board. Especially at 2 in the morning.

She sleeps a lot more during the day than any previous cat I've ever had, and I'm to the point where I'm ready to smother her with a pillow because she won't shut up! I know that is terrible but I'm exhausted! She starts her "crying" at about 8:00 at night and it goes in intervals until she finally clonks out at 8 or 9 am...

Any suggestions? And don't tell me to get rid of her. I don't think that is the answer (KG)

TIA, I really appreciate it! I'm wondering if rubbing a little of my progesterone cream on her belly wouldn't calm her right down? It works on my female puppy when she gets too hyper at night and can't calm down...

 

[smspamperedchef]

I may or may not be any help but I couldn't read your story w/o saying something.
Can she go outside at night at all? Maybe she just wants to go out and then you can let her in during the day to sleep. Or maybe could you put her in another room with all of her things..ie. food,water, toys, etc. far away from you so you can get some shuteye?
I hope you can figure things out with her. Keep us posted!

 

[JaimeQ]

I have two torti shells... they are nothing like that... one is chatty when she wants food.... are you sure she got fixed?

 

[traci4tpc]

I had that with my new kitten, he's just about 9 months now and he seemed to be nocturnal. What I did was everytime I saw him sleeping during the day I woke him up and played with him, this way he would start to realize it was time to sleep at night not during the day. It worked for the most part, he still has his rambunctious evenings now and then but not like it use to be. He would chase my other cat around and want to play and the other one didn't, so there would be a lot of hissing and screaming going on. Its better now. Try it, what have you got to lose.

 

[Kitchen Diva]

Yes, she's fixed, you could see where she was shaved after I got her, and because she was a shelter kitty, they are huge on fixing them before they adopt them out, or within a week of adopting them out. (It's a MN thing I guess).

No, she is an indoor cat, and any time we open the door, she runs. In the summer I put her in one of the dogs kennels, and sat her on the deck with us, she liked that. But with the cold and the snow, she runs when ever a door is opened and she is close by.

The vet said because she is a tri colored muted torte that I will have a fiesty cat on my hands, but this is insane!

Don't get me wrong, Camilla can be a very sweet cat. When she wants to be held, she'll put her head on your shoulder and purr and put her paw on your face...very cute. But night time is a bear with her.

 

[Kitchen Diva]

I had that with my new kitten, he's just about 9 months now and he seemed to be nocturnal. What I did was everytime I saw him sleeping during the day I woke him up and played with him, this way he would start to realize it was time to sleep at night not during the day. It worked for the most part, he still has his rambunctious evenings now and then but not like it use to be. He would chase my other cat around and want to play and the other one didn't, so there would be a lot of hissing and screaming going on. Its better now. Try it, what have you got to lose.

I'll have to give that a try. She is such a little princess however. She doesn't play, if she doesn't want to, don't dare pet her if she isn't in the mood, don't hold her or even look at her unless she initiates it. Told ya she was a Queen Bee! (Makes me miss my Gus and my Weasel) I love her- I'm just short on patience with her right now.

 

[pampchefrhondab]

My last cat always would wake me up during the middle of the night. He wasn't playful, he just wanted attention. I tried to always put him out in the garage. That's where I always kept his liter box, food and water. He actually loved "his space." It also helped keep the mice away! Now that I have a new cat, I have moved her into the utility room. My husband got tired of trying to get the cat into the house when he wanted to back a car out. Plus I decided it wasn't safe since there was a possibility of one of the cars leaking anit freeze. This can kill a cat very quickly. I'm very lucky that never happend w/my old cat, but I'm also very happy I didn't put my new cat in the garage because we just had our car leak anti-freeze!

My cat has her food, water, liter box and a cat bed in the utility room. Most of the time she is okay w/being locked up. Sometimes she will try to get out of the door, but not for a long time.

I started this routine from day one with both of my cats so it wasn't new to them to be locked up at night. When I first got my last cat I was in a 2 bedroom apartment so he was locked in his own room at first, but was still used to having his own space at night.

I don't know if any of this will help you, but I can't stand it when a cat wakes me up at night so I have always locked them up.

Good Luck!

 

[scottcooks]

For 10 hours, get her onto your sleep schedule. You'll have to follow her around, but you'll solve the problem: Simply don't allow her to sleep. You'll want to get a long dowel from a hardware or home supply store, a small hard container of rocks or coins or screws, nuts & bolts and a squirt bottle or squirt gun.

Step one: Not allowing her to sleep during the day - whenever she goes somewhere to lay down, shake the rattle can nearby or nudge her with the dowel...don't poke her, certainly don't strike her, but nudge her: give her a dose of her own medicine. Then at night time, let her settle down.

Step two: Not allowing her to disturb your naps/shuteye... if she bugs you when you don't want, zap her with a squirt of water. Cats do NOT like that - doesn't hurt her in the least, and will get the point across quickly.

I had a female tortise-shell that had some Siamese in her - she was L-O-U-D, but using some training - she would come when I would whistle for her, and was a darn amazing cat.

Hang in there; God Bless!

-praying for Paige and her family-

 

[Kitchen Diva]

<SNIP>
My cat has her food, water, liter box and a cat bed in the utility room. Most of the time she is okay w/being locked up. Sometimes she will try to get out of the door, but not for a long time.

I started this routine from day one with both of my cats so it wasn't new to them to be locked up at night. When I first got my last cat I was in a 2 bedroom apartment so he was locked in his own room at first, but was still used to having his own space at night.

I don't know if any of this will help you, but I can't stand it when a cat wakes me up at night so I have always locked them up.

Good Luck!

Camilla spent the first 3 weeks in a (big for her) medium sized puppy crate- mostly because the dogs taunted Gus and Weasel, and those two were afraid of the dogs. I wasn't sure what they'd do to Camilla when we brought her home as it had been several months since Gus and Weasel went to kitty heaven and the house had been cat free. She would wake me up one time to go potty in her litter box. After a few weeks, she wouldn't go in, and it was clear that she loved the dogs and they liked her, so we let her have the run of the house. I could put her in my office, where her food and littlerbox, and kittybed, and window perch and toys are, but it's next to my bedroom, so I would wake up from her meows. Again, I'm a VERY light sleeper.

DH snores so bad that he sleeps in one of the spare bedrooms in the lower level, so I can't put her down there, or she'll keep the dogs up, which will in turn keep DH awake, and since he's the one that works outside the home more than I do, he needs his sleep- if nothing else for the 75 minute one way commute to work...

I feel helpless with this situation.:cry:

 

[Kitchen Diva]

For 10 hours, get her onto your sleep schedule. You'll have to follow her around, but you'll solve the problem: Simply don't allow her to sleep. You'll want to get a long dowel from a hardware or home supply store, a small hard container of rocks or coins or screws, nuts & bolts and a squirt bottle or squirt gun.

Step one: Not allowing her to sleep during the day - whenever she goes somewhere to lay down, shake the rattle can nearby or nudge her with the dowel...don't poke her, certainly don't strike her, but nudge her: give her a dose of her own medicine. Then at night time, let her settle down.

Step two: Not allowing her to disturb your naps/shuteye... if she bugs you when you don't want, zap her with a squirt of water. Cats do NOT like that - doesn't hurt her in the least, and will get the point across quickly.

I had a female tortise-shell that had some Siamese in her - she was L-O-U-D, but using some training - she would come when I would whistle for her, and was a darn amazing cat.

Hang in there; God Bless!

-praying for Paige and her family-

Hi Scott, I like your idea, I used a coke can full of coins to do that to the puppies when we were crate training them. Camilla however LOVES water. She doesn't like being put in the tub, but loves the squirt gun, and whenever I turn a faucet on in the house, she comes running to see it! little stinker!
Starting tomorrow I will start waking her up and playing with her to see how that works.

Has anyone ever used those plug in pheramones to calm their animals?

 

[kspry]

I'm with Scott - don't let her sleep during the day. Throw her outside in the snow, if she's an outside cat. Let her in & out, but keep throwing her out.

That is not inhumane - a vet will tell you, cats can grow winter coats.

 

[Kitchen Diva]

QUOTE from Scottcooks: "I had a female tortise-shell that had some Siamese in her - she was L-O-U-D, but using some training - she would come when I would whistle for her, and was a darn amazing cat.: END QUOTE

I taught Camilla Bean how to fetch! Ya think I'd be able to teach her how to shush-up!

 

[Kitchen Diva]

I'm with Scott - don't let her sleep during the day. Throw her outside in the snow, if she's an outside cat. Let her in & out, but keep throwing her out.

That is not inhumane - a vet will tell you, cats can grow winter coats.

I've been tempted, but she's an indoor cat. Plus we have two outdoor cats that roam the neighborhood that are not nice. One destroys our garden every year...
I don't want Camilla to get hurt. She's just a tiny 7.4 pounds...

 

[wadesgirl]

Before we were married, DH bought a new tv. His cat was always allowed to sit on the old entertainment center but the new tv was so big, he didn't need an entertainment center any more. The cat still wanted to go up there. DH put a few objects on top of the tv and a few weeks with the squirt bottle, the cat hasn't tried to get up there since (years ago). My point is, cats are supposed to have short memories but constant punishment for something wrong will stick in their heads. Even if the cat likes water (ours drinks out of the faucet but doesn't like baths), a squirt to the face does help alot. Keep at it, it may take a while. Or even a swat on the but with a paper or magazine. If they don't like it, they will learn not to do what causes it!

 

[Kitchen Diva]

Thanks Wadesgirl. The squirt bottle did nothing to deter her from the Christmas tree- but little flicks on the nose worked... I'll keep at it with the squirt bottle, and do my best to keep her awake tomorrow to see if that helps.

BTW, if I should not be responding to the posts that people write to me, just let me know and I'll PM people. I'm new so I'm prone to break the rules and not even know it.
Talk to you all tomorrow, I'm going to bed, and will bump this thread in the morning so some of my other cat owners that I'm waiting to hear from will see this...
Sleep well everyone!

 

[dianevill]

You're doing just fine responding the way you are. That way we can ALL see what you have tried...

Good night! I hope you SLEEP!

 

[The_Kitchen_Guy]

Any suggestions? And don't tell me to get rid of her. I don't think that is the answer (KG)

What makes you think I'd say anything like that?

Here's my helper, Puck, chasing the cursor around the screen:

 

[letscook04]

I have a male cat that is 1 1/2 & female that is 2 years old. My son has a lazer toy gun and my cats LOVE IT!!! They try to chase the red dot. We keep them busy most of the day so that they kind of sleep at night :indif: . It seems to help from them running around at night. Just like Scott said, try to keep her up during the day. Good Luck!!

 

[dannyzmom]

My younger cat, Suki, sounds just like your Camilla. Scott's suggestions are GREAT...also I encouraged Suki to go outside during the day & get fresh air - it would wear her out so she'd sleep better at night. It's been a year since we got her and she now lets me gte a fell nights' sleep 6 nights a week.

 

[vwpamperedchef]

I wouldnt worry about her defending herself outside. Might do her some good. Our cat, Christmas, used to be an outdoor cat. Long story short, she's an indoor. She is 12 years old, and weighs only 8 lbs, with only back claws. When she was younger and an outdoor cat, there were raccoons that lived next door. She occasionally would bring home birds and mice with no heads. She could still "kill" the other animals with just back claws.

Now that she's an indoor cat, she is still fast and the poor thing longs to go outside. We used to get upset if she "got out" but we realize she loves it out there. And as I mentioned she is fast so we have to be careful going in and out of the house.

Camilla will be ok if you let her go out and explore. Cats are smart. I've come to realize that with Christmas. She'll get some exercise too, and tucker out by nighttime. Mine got out yesterday and she ate and went to sleep!

Good luck!

 

[priscilla]

Please do not put your cat outdoors. They damage local bird populations, are exposed to poisons and diseases, and are vulnerable to cars and mean people.

It is probably also illegal in your area.

Robin

 

[Cindycooks]

We have 4 cats. One was our daughters and in her new apt, she cannot have pets so we took her - she used to be an indoor cat and since living here we have been letting her outside. She LOVES it and does not go far. I think being inside for her first 2 years has taught her to be a homebody. She defends herself well and sits on the deck rail most of the day in the sun. We were in the same situation as you - she was keeping us up all night. If we shut the bedroom door, she whined and pawed at the door to be let in. Shuting her in the laundry room did no good - she meowed louder. And we work - so keeping her up during the day was impossible.

I need my sleep - and as much as we are cat lovers, our sleep and being able to function during the day and take care of these cats was more important. She is a very happy contented cat.

 

[janetupnorth]

Please do not put your cat outdoors. They damage local bird populations, are exposed to poisons and diseases, and are vulnerable to cars and mean people.

It is probably also illegal in your area.

Robin

Totally depends on your area. Our cat is an indoor/outdoor cat. Outdoor during day and summer. Once fall hits she sets one foot on the porch, realizes it is cold and won't go out the rest of the winter. She stays within the cut grass and won't go in the woods. She also will book for the porch if she hears any cars. She never bothers birds - I have a picture of her with a chicken on her back hanging out together.

I do give her more shots (include some for outdoor cats) just to be safe.

It really depends on the cat though. Asher is 13 and can be fully trusted. I'd think twice with a kitten.

It is not illegal around here.

 

[janetupnorth]

Just an additional note...Scott had some GREAT suggestions, but just remember cats sleep about 2/3 of their life away and sleep MORE than us so if you are keeping her up all day and she is still up at night, take her to the vet and if they won't listen find another vet...

If your cat isn't sleeping as much it could be a hyperthyroid or a high metabolism.

ETA this information too:

"If in addition to staying awake at night, the cat vocalizes as well, you may need to use something aversive to stop the vocalizing. 'Remote correction,' such as throwing a pop can containing a few coins or pebbles toward the cat (not at the cat!), may startle her and stop her from vocalizing. She should not associate you with the correction or she may increase her vocalization just to get your attention. In some instances, medications may be used in an attempt to change the sleep-awake cycle."
(Written by a vet I work with).

 

[Kitchen Diva]

Please do not put your cat outdoors. They damage local bird populations, are exposed to poisons and diseases, and are vulnerable to cars and mean people.

It is probably also illegal in your area.

Robin

No, it isn't illegal, but don't worry, I'm not letting her outside. There is no way for her to get back in, and we have over 18 inches of snow on the ground...she'd fall in a snow bank, and get stuck- and then she'd get cranky! Did I mention she's capable of getting really cranky?

As long as a cat has on a collar with a # to call incase it is lost, and is up to date on vaccine's, it can be out roaming about. However we live at the crux of a very busy suburban neighborhood street- that butts up to a culdesac- more cars come screaming out of that culdesac at all hours of the day for my comfort level. I'm sure Camilla would make a great outdoor cat, but unless I'm in the yard with her, or she's in a crate just enjoying the air- I'm not willing to let her out.

The funny thing is up until a few weeks ago she was sleeping next to my head in her little fluffy cat bed. She has one in my office, and one on our bed. But for some reasson- she just decided to become difficult at night. Last night I was up every hour with her. She's trying to sleep and I keep waking her up- I have a feeling she's going to either bite me soon or claw me to high heaven if I don't leave her be!

 

[janetupnorth]

Kacey - if this is suddenly new behavior for her, I'd consider taking her to the vet. She may have a UTI or something happening that is irritating her.

 

[Kitchen Diva]

Thanks for the good ideas guys. I'm just going to try playing with her more throughout the day, and try cutting her sleep in half to see if that helps. If not, I'll cut her day time naps by 75%, and if that still doesn't do it, it's off to see the Vet...

I appreciate all the helpful advice!

 

[Kitchen Diva]

Kacey - if this is suddenly new behavior for her, I'd consider taking her to the vet. She may have a UTI or something happening that is irritating her.

But then wouldn't she be annoying during the day, too? She doesn't cry when she's going potty...

I'm used to her becoming vocal at around 8:00- because she wants to play, and in the past if I stayed up past 11:00 or so she'd meow and pester me more because I think she wanted to go to sleep, because once I'd hop in bed, she was quiet for the most part.

But like I said, it's been 2-3 weeks (I'm too tired to remember- but the more I think about it, it is closer to 2 weeks) (Whoo-hoo I can think while severely sleep deprived! Call Guiness!)

I'm off to wake up the kitty and slug on my recliner for a spell.

 

[chefjeanine]

Please do not put your cat outdoors. They damage local bird populations, are exposed to poisons and diseases, and are vulnerable to cars and mean people.

It is probably also illegal in your area.

Robin

Thank you Robin! I hate seeing cats loose outside -- just too dangerous! Don't want to see dogs off the leash or outside a fenced area either.

Kacey, I think your best defense is to wear her out. Love Scott's ideas. If she will play fetch (or something), you might want to try to do that with her before bedtime. Good luck!

 

[janetupnorth]

But then wouldn't she be annoying during the day, too? She doesn't cry when she's going potty...

I'm used to her becoming vocal at around 8:00- because she wants to play, and in the past if I stayed up past 11:00 or so she'd meow and pester me more because I think she wanted to go to sleep, because once I'd hop in bed, she was quiet for the most part.

But like I said, it's been 2-3 weeks (I'm too tired to remember- but the more I think about it, it is closer to 2 weeks) (Whoo-hoo I can think while severely sleep deprived! Call Guiness!)

I'm off to wake up the kitty and slug on my recliner for a spell.

Sometimes yes, sometimes no...we had a male cat with a urine stones and it wasn't always when he went potty so hard for us to catch.

Good luck on the sleep training!

You may also want to consider natural calmers if just keeping her up doesn't work after a few days. Combine the training with a calmer before bed. Maybe give her some catnip during the day time.

I don't envy you the next few weeks!!!!

 

[Kitchen Diva]

Update on Camilla BeanSo far she is fine with being kept awake. I played with her and that laser toy for about 20 minutes, and she was so upset when I stopped. (little brat )

Then I went to watch TV, and she went downstairs to clean one of the dog's faces... she likes to preen and dote (sp?) on them.

I came back into my office to check the boards and found her trying to sleep in her bed, so I picked her up and put her in my lap. Much to my amazement she is sitting here...which is rare!

I'm going to do my best to tire her out, and I'm going to look up some calming pheramones online to see what I can find. My guess is her clock is off...just like mine is!

She's starting to fall asleep on my lap, so I'd better get off the computer and go play with her. Ouch- she just bit me. (that's her way of saying LET ME SLEEP human!)

 

[Kitchen Diva]

UpdateSo far, she's done a good job staying awake for the day, so I'm letting her get a little nap in before bed time tonight. I'll let you know how it goes. She's been played with, cat-nipped, brushed, snuggled, chased by the dogs, played with again, sat in the window and chirpled at the birds outside, and hid under a blanket on the couch when I went after her to wake her up for trying to sleep.

Keep your fingers crossed... I need a full nights sleep or I'm going to turn into a pumpkin!

 

[Tara1021]

My older cat was the same way as a kitten. She did grow out of it. As Scott mentioned, the spray bottle is an excellent deterrent. My husband still sleeps with it on the nightstand b/c she likes to nip him on the nose in the middle of the night if there isn't any food in the bowl. Occasionally she just wants to play, hence the water bottle by the bed! Good luck!

 

[Kitchen Diva]

Update on my little BeastOkay, the little beast let me sleep from 11-4:30! Then she was back to her annoying little self for the next 4 hours!

I'm going to limit her late afternoon/early evening sleeping even more today than I did yesterday. I sprayed her so many times with the spray bottle this morning, that my comforter is damp, and the kitten is a little miffed at me...

At least I got a wee bit over 5 hours of sleep... I guess it's a start, right?

All I can say is that she is SOOooooo lucky that she's cute!

 

[wadesgirl]

On the outdoors issue, I grew up with a cat that was an outdoor/indoor cat. Best cat in the world! One day (she was pretty old), she left and never came back, we think to went off to go to kitty heaven.

Our cat now used to love going on DH's porch when he lived in his apartment. The cat would sit out there for hours and only scared us once when he climed on the railing - three stories up. When we moved we thought he would have fun playing in the yard and on the deck again. Until he got flees the first summer. Not fun. Now we only let him out once and while trying to keep him on the deck is not fun though. We will let him out in the snow but he doesn't like it very much. Poor thing will sit at the door and beg to go out or if we are outside, he'll stand up on his hind legs and peer out the door at us.

Glad to hear things are going well so far. She'll be mad but she'll get over it and learn her lesson.