Cat People, please convene again! Puzzling nighttime behavior...

[Lynn B]

OK, Boo has a very puzzling nighttime behavior that I need your input and advice on.

First off, he''s a rather vocal little boy. Meows *a lot*... I thought Raggies were supposed to be a "quieter" breed?!

He''s not a vocal as a Siamese, but darn close! And the "meows" are usually so PITIFUL-sounding! Sometimes he ends them with a big, heavy ::sigh:: or, when he''s feeling especially forlorn, with a dramatic little ::cough::

When I take him to bed with me at night (and close the door), he jumps off the bed and sits or lays on the floor and cries. Well, by "cries", I mean those pitiful little meows. So I talk to him gently, encourage him to jump up on the bed (he''s perfectly capable)... but nothing; just more pitiful meows. So I pick him up, put him back on the bed, he jumps down, and cries some more. This will go on for 10-20 rather stressful minutes. Finally (and thankfully), he''ll either jump up on the bed on his own, OR he''ll finally STAY when I put him back up. And once that happens, he''s a happy, purring, cuddly little camper till morning.

He doesn''t necessarily want OUT of the bedroom, because he''s not by the door meowing. I make sure he''s just been to the litter, so he doesn''t have to go potty. He apparently ENJOYS sleeping with us, but it''s just getting him settled down into it that is the problem.

If I leave the bedroom door open, he will leave and sleep somewhere downstairs, all night, alone.

I hate the thoughts of that (even if HE prefers it! haha!) It''s important to me that he sleep with me, especially since I do feel like he enjoys it once he settles down.

The only thing I can think of that may have caused this behavior was during those 10 days when I had both him and Buster; Buster seemed OK with sharing his home and his toys with Boo, but he DID NOT want Boo up on our bed. He made that very clear and he pretty much body-slammed him off of it

once; after that little Boo seemed pretty nervous about being put on the bed. Buster has lived at DD''s house for several weeks now, so I can''t think Boo is still fretting about THAT... but maybe? Is that possible??! Or am I "humanizing" this too much?!

All advice/experiences/opinions welcome. THANK YOU!

 

[chrono]

It could be that Boo can still smell Buster''s scent on your blankets and so remembers the "warnings".

 

[rainbowtrout]

Well, MC sleeps downstairs in his pen (world's only crate-trained cat, I didn't want him potentially getting into stuff when he was too tiny, and now he's used to it).

Chen--well, I think if we tried to do to him what you're describing he wouldn't like it much either. Cats can be pretty nocturnal and he may just not want to sleep on the same timetable as you--maybe downstairs he can get up, play, go to the litter, go back to sleep--rinse and repeat every few hours.


What if you put a litter box in your bedroom and some fun (quiet) toys so he can follow his schedule at night. He'll jump up on the bed and sleep with you when he feels like it.


RE: Buster. Maybe there is a smell left by him on the sheets and Boo remembers the association of a dominant cat enforcing the "rules"? Try washing the sheets in something that would get rid of any residual smell, perhaps--their noses are very sensitive so it may take a few tries.

ETA: kittens also run on a shorter timetable than older cats. so while buster may have been comfortable with an 8 hour sleep/snuggle fest, Boo right now may only be able to handle, say, 4. It may also be hard for him to hold his bladder that long.

 

[Lynn B]

Date: 7/13/2007 3:16:33 PM
Author: Chrono
It could be that Boo can still smell Buster''s scent on your blankets and so remembers the ''warnings''.

Thanks, Chrono. I did think of that... so we washed our sheets, blankets and comforter... although I''m sure there''s still *Buster smell* all around that room. We had him for a year!

I''ve really wondered about the "warnings" theory... could that really be the problem, or am I humanizing it too much???!

 

[Matata]

Lynn...it''s best for the psychological health of the cat that you let him decide where to sleep. He may eventually prefer sleeping with you and voluntarily do it or he may not. Or he may spend part of the night with you and the rest elsewhere in the house. Have you ever heard people say "it''s like herding cats"? It''s usually used when there''s abject failure getting people to do something they don''t want to do regardless of whether it''s in their best interest. I use it frequently at work when dealing with faculty

Anywhoo, the point is that cats are typically extraordinarily independent creatures and the joy and challenge of sharing life with one is to respect their catness. Last week our newspaper carried an article stating scientists have proved that cats are not domesticated. That unlike dogs who were brought into human settlements and adapted to life with us, cats were attracted to rodents around human settlements and "courted" by us to help with the rodent population and have not, to this day, been domesticated.

 

[FireGoddess]

Chloe the scaredy cat loves loves loves to sleep with me all night, but as a nocturnal creature, even she gets up several times and does her rounds. Goes in the other room and eats her dry food. Goes to the litterbox. Goes and walks around the house. And then comes back. And then repeats. She gets up several times during the night. Always back cuddling next to me in the morning, but they do want the freedom to run around and do their 'cat stuff.' I'd take Chrono's suggestion as well and launder anything that might have Buster's scent on it, and let Boo walk around with the door open. I'm sure he'll still seek you out for snuggling on his own.

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 7/13/2007 3:24:48 PM
Author: FireGoddess
Chloe the scaredy cat loves loves loves to sleep with me all night, but as a nocturnal creature, even she gets up several times and does her rounds. Goes in the other room and eats her dry food. Goes to the litterbox. Goes and walks around the house. And then comes back. And then repeats. She gets up several times during the night. Always back cuddling next to me in the morning, but they do want the freedom to run around and do their ''cat stuff.'' I''d take Chrono''s suggestion as well and launder anything that might have Buster''s scent on it, and let Boo walk around with the door open. I''m sure he''ll still seek you out for snuggling on his own.

Lynn, I would let him do his own thing for a bit, cats can stake out various areas and stake their claims, other areas are more '' public property'' so to speak! Buster might have made it clear that the bed was HIS domain, so I would let Boo go elsewhere for now if that is what he wants, I agree with FG that he will still seek you out for cuddles!

 

[Lynn B]

Thanks, all, for the replies and advice.

FWIW, he seems to have a cast iron bladder

-- even in the morning, he'll have breakfast, stretch, play, maybe even take another shortie nap before he finally heads down into the litter box!

He also doesn't seem to have ANY trouble sleeping all night through; Buster never did either. DH laughs about that saying, "I thought cats were supposed to be NOCTURNAL? Those lazy scamps don't have any trouble sleeping all night!"

Well, I do see what you guys are saying about letting him decide where he sleeps... although I would sure be heartbroken if he chose... *ELSEWHERE*!!!

 

[FireGoddess]

Date: 7/13/2007 3:45:03 PM
Author: Lynn B
Well, I do see what you guys are saying about letting him decide where he sleeps... although I would sure be heartbroken if he chose... *ELSEWHERE*!!!

You could always soak your pj''s in tuna juice to be sure he would never WANT to sleep elsewhere. Of course, your husband might.

 

[Lynn B]

Date: 7/13/2007 3:49:26 PM
Author: FireGoddess

You could always soak your pj''s in tuna juice to be sure he would never WANT to sleep elsewhere. Of course, your husband might.

LOL! Or how about this...

DH: *sniff, sniff* What''s that fishy smell???!
Me: It''s my new perfume, "Eau De Tuna"!

Hey, whatever it takes, right???!!

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 7/13/2007 3:49:26 PM
Author: FireGoddess

Date: 7/13/2007 3:45:03 PM
Author: Lynn B
Well, I do see what you guys are saying about letting him decide where he sleeps... although I would sure be heartbroken if he chose... *ELSEWHERE*!!!

You could always soak your pj''s in tuna juice to be sure he would never WANT to sleep elsewhere. Of course, your husband might.

hysterical! Or you could roll around in some catnip in the garden in your jammies Lynn, he wouldn''t leave you alone then!

 

[FireGoddess]

Date: 7/13/2007 3:53:18 PM
Author: Lorelei

Date: 7/13/2007 3:49:26 PM
Author: FireGoddess

Date: 7/13/2007 3:45:03 PM
Author: Lynn B
Well, I do see what you guys are saying about letting him decide where he sleeps... although I would sure be heartbroken if he chose... *ELSEWHERE*!!!

You could always soak your pj''s in tuna juice to be sure he would never WANT to sleep elsewhere. Of course, your husband might.

hysterical! Or you could roll around in some catnip in the garden in your jammies Lynn, he wouldn''t leave you alone then!

See, Lorelei''s smarter than I am. Then you''d only smell...minty...not offensive to your spouse.

 

[stretch4]

Date: 7/13/2007 3:45:03 PM
Author: Lynn B
Thanks, all, for the replies and advice.

FWIW, he seems to have a cast iron bladder

-- even in the morning, he'll have breakfast, stretch, play, maybe even take another shortie nap before he finally heads down into the litter box!

He also doesn't seem to have ANY trouble sleeping all night through; Buster never did either. DH laughs about that saying, 'I thought cats were supposed to be NOCTURNAL? Those lazy scamps don't have any trouble sleeping all night!'

Well, I do see what you guys are saying about letting him decide where he sleeps... although I would sure be heartbroken if he chose... *ELSEWHERE*!!!

Actually cats are crepuscular, which means that they are most active at dawn and dusk. Just your trivia for the day

As others have said, cats do like to be in charge, and that includes being in charge of their surroundings. Cats often like to walk the perimeter of their environment to make sure that everything is still in place and there are no threats. I know Rascal walks around our house several times during the night, but he always returns to his bed in our bedroom.

As for the behavior, maybe Boo is just not ready for bed when you guys are! Try playing with him prior to settling down to bed to get some of his extra energy out. Also, what happens if you put Boo in your bedroom, shut the door, and just ignore him? I bet you that eventually he would stop meowing and jump up on the bed and go to sleep. And if you continued to ignore the meowing behavior, I guarantee you it would stop. He is surely looking for attention with those pitiful meows. And I'm saying this out of experience, since Rascal's meows at night can make you think he is alone, hungry, and neglected

 

[Lynn B]

Date: 7/13/2007 5:42:02 PM
Author: Rascal49
Actually cats are crepuscular, which means that they are most active at dawn and dusk. Just your trivia for the day

As others have said, cats do like to be in charge, and that includes being in charge of their surroundings. Cats often like to walk the perimeter of their environment to make sure that everything is still in place and there are no threats. I know Rascal walks around our house several times during the night, but he always returns to his bed in our bedroom.

As for the behavior, maybe Boo is just not ready for bed when you guys are! Try playing with him prior to settling down to bed to get some of his extra energy out. Also, what happens if you put Boo in your bedroom, shut the door, and just ignore him? I bet you that eventually he would stop meowing and jump up on the bed and go to sleep. And if you continued to ignore the meowing behavior, I guarantee you it would stop. He is surely looking for attention with those pitiful meows. And I''m saying this out of experience, since Rascal''s meows at night can make you think he is alone, hungry, and neglected

Thanks for the feedback (and the trivia!

) And yes, that''s exactly how Boo sounds, too... alone, hungry and neglected!!!

 

[Gypsy]

I think he''s telling you that you closed the door and he wants out. After a couple of times he realizes he *has* to sleep with you, so he resigns himself to it. Not meaning that harshly... but you did say that he prefers to be out at night. They are nocturnal... so he probably doesn''t sleep the whole night when he''s allowed out... he has fun. But in your room... there isn''t anything to do but sleep....

 

[Lynn B]

Date: 7/13/2007 6:59:06 PM
Author: Gypsy
I think he's telling you that you closed the door and he wants out. After a couple of times he realizes he *has* to sleep with you, so he resigns himself to it. Not meaning that harshly... but you did say that he prefers to be out at night. They are nocturnal... so he probably doesn't sleep the whole night when he's allowed out... he has fun. But in your room... there isn't anything to do but sleep....

I see what you are saying, and agree that it sounds reasonable.

BUT, he's not meowing by the door, which he CLEARLY does if I am in there folding laundry, etc., and the door blows shut. He sits right beside it and meows this VERY loud, "put out"/irritated meow. This nighttime "meow" is different... more "whiny" and he is nowhere near the door.

 

[monarch64]

Sorry to hear your little Boo is displaying "strange" bedtime behavior! i agree with the theory that he knows Buster is/was the boss of the bed and has to figure out it''s alright to get up there by you physically putting him on the bed.

I had a kitty who used to attack my feet in the middle of the night. She would sleep with us for a few hours and then around dawn she would decide it was time for me to get up and pounce on my feet and bite them.

I am NOT a morning person and it would irk me to no end. I''m sure she knew it and that''s why she did it, I''m still convinced she was out to get me sometimes, LOL!

 

[Lynn B]

OHMYGOSH, fellow PS''ers, I *think* I solved the problem!!!

Last night, DS and DDIL were over to visit, and they commented on how much Boo LOVES one of his toys. (Photo below). It''s one of those little carpeted blocks, with a long spring and a toy at the end. And he DOES love it - he frequently sleeps on it, and spends a LOT of time just "around* it. It''s really cute to watch him with it, but something I never really gave much thought to.

Well, in a stroke of brilliance

, I took Boo AND THE TOY to bed last night. DH was cracking up, BTW! (And I also left the bedroom door open, because I wanted him to be able to leave if he really didn''t want to be there.

) So, I put the toy right beside me, and do you know that little kitty was SO HAPPY! He started purring right away, and curled right up and went right to sleep... one half of him on the toy, and one half of him on me! Not a peep out of him all night, and this morning when we all woke up, he batted the toy a few times and then was ALL OVER ME, more affectionate than ANY other morning. He was a little kitty-kisser, purr-meister, and believe me, I LOVED IT!

NOW, I know it''s hard to believe that he was crying for his toy... so who really knows? But something was distressing him, and having his favorite toy close-by seemed to comfort him and make him very happy. I''m no animal psychologist

so I won''t even venture any more guesses, there... but um, guess who''s sleeping with a cat toy in her bed from now on???!

 

[anchor31]

He looks very sweet! I''m glad to hear that the problem may be solved.

 

[Lorelei]

Hehehehe...great news Lynn and entirely possible he wanted his toy! You sound so happy in your post - yay!!! Cats is funny creatures...!

I know FG will get a kick out of this!

 

[rainbowtrout]

Aww, cute. I don't see why he couldn't miss his toy--comfort objects are a pretty basic response

Glad it worked for you!


ETA: I LOVE how gruff he looks in that picture! Like, "Don't you go tellin' ME I'm cute, buster!"

 

[sumbride]

How big is that toy? I''m glad he''s happy now, but are you? I could so see myself rolling over on that in the middle of the night. I have a hard enough time when Lucy leaves her little toy mice in the bed. Those things are HARD! And it is entirely possible he just missed his toy... my cats have certain toys they are very attached to... Lucy and her mice and Bill and his penguin.

Cats do kind of prefer to run their own schedule... Lucy sleeps with us, all night long, but she''s in bed before I get there. Bill says goodnight and then walks the house. He''s guarding or something. But if I make any noise, he''s right there beside me checking on me. We recently had a couple of friends stay over and one of them slept on the couch. Bill slept at the top of the stairs and kept waking me up to tell me she was STILL THERE. I guess our plans for an upstairs guest room aren''t going to work out so well....

 

[Lorelei]

Our cats all squabble over this beaten up old toy called we call Devi Monks, because he is a monkey toy with horns on his head * scratches own head!* Yank his tail and he shudders ( the toy). Anyway, they can get very possessive over DM and they like to hide him underneath themselves from the other cats and rub their faces on him, all sorts of stuff

So I am quite open to Boo wanting his springy toy!

 

[FireGoddess]

Date: 7/14/2007 8:48:00 AM
Author: Lorelei
Hehehehe...great news Lynn and entirely possible he wanted his toy! You sound so happy in your post - yay!!! Cats is funny creatures...!

I know FG will get a kick out of this!

O.M.G. that is hiiiiilllllllllllllllllllllllllllllarious!!!!! Totally hilarious. I did get a kick out of it. That picture had me cracking up!!

It''s weird what they fall in love with...Holly has a bunch of toys...mice, tinsel balls, all that...but the toy she loves the most? My big thick hair elastics. She steals them from wherever I''ve stashed them and tears around the house carrying them in her mouth and then flinging them under rugs and intently trying to find them again. She cries if I put her back in her ''sanctuary room'' without at least one.

 

[Lorelei]

Hehehe! Mine also love hair elastics!

I have a ping pong ball nut with Rudy Pants - he is amazingly good at batting them around and losing them under the piano!
We also have Mr Bat who is favourite, squeaky mouse, milk bottle plastic rings, in fact they will help themselves to anything if it looks like a possible toy!

 

[sumbride]

Bill hunts my hair elastics too! Especially the thicker ones because he can throw them in the air better. If I want to keep any for me I have to put them away because he''ll pull them off door knobs, off the sink, my nightstand, etc... he intently looks for them! So I buy a bunch of them for him because they are cheaper than cat toys. And he looks so cute with one hanging out of his mouth!

 

[Lynn B]

Date: 7/14/2007 9:58:43 AM
Author: sumbride
How big is that toy? I'm glad he's happy now, but are you? I could so see myself rolling over on that in the middle of the night.

It's not toooo big (see photo above)... and I am a pretty still sleeper, don't toss and turn much at all. The toy in the bed (up by my pillow) didn't bother me a bit. Hey, if it was what Boo wanted, and it WORKED, I'd drag his CAT CONDO into bed with us!!!

 

[Lynn B]

OK, what kind of hair elastics are you guys talking about???! It sounds like Boo needs some!!!

I have shorter hair, so I don''t really have any, but DD has tons of hair stuff. Do you mean literally the thin "elastics" or are you talking more like fabric "scrunchies"? ''Cause couldn''t they potentially swallow the elastics???

Details, please!!!

 

[AmberGretchen]

Awww...Lynn I''m so glad you worked out Boo''s little nighttime problem...that picture is TOO FUNNY!!

Our kitties go for the hair elastics too, but I keep them locked up because I mostly use the thin ones and I''m paranoid they will swallow them and have health issues (threads and stuff can get wrapped up in their intestines...not good!

). Yeah, I''m an overly-protective kitty mommy...

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 7/14/2007 9:02:18 PM
Author: Lynn B
OK, what kind of hair elastics are you guys talking about???! It sounds like Boo needs some!!!

I have shorter hair, so I don''t really have any, but DD has tons of hair stuff. Do you mean literally the thin ''elastics'' or are you talking more like fabric ''scrunchies''? ''Cause couldn''t they potentially swallow the elastics???

Details, please!!!

I mean hair elastics, not so much scrunchies, but you do have to keep a close eye on them with them and make sure they are accounted for at the end of play periods