At my wits end w/ night activity

halston345

Our cat has always been nocturnal as they mostly are, in our last place he didn't bother us at all since it was so big.  We have considerably down sized, but the main problem is he sleeps all day long while we are gone and then wants to play at night.  We play with him a lot once we get home, but from 8-12 before we go to bed we cannot keep him up.  He's so tired.  Then between 3:30-4:30am he goes bonkers.

I've tried squirting the water bottle at him, locking him out of the bedroom, giving him treats.....but nothing works until he has worked out his energy and then is quiet again at 6:00.....which we usually get up around 7:00-7:30.  Not great for our sleep schedule.

Any ideas?  We got a laser pointer.  I am considering getting a fish, but I doubt that would keep his interest much.  I am getting a second 'Sunny Seat' for him to climb and see past our fence to watch the dog walkers.   

Thought I'd see if anyone else had any suggestions.

doctorwho

Our solution was to get another cat.  Now it's like having a stampede, but a short one.

Wait...I just reread the last sentence of your third paragraph.  Do you get a lot of dog walkers from 3:30-4:30?  Are you sure you aren't being cased?

halston345

That's what everyone says about getting another one!    He used to get chased all day long by my 1 year old nephew so that is another thing that people are suggesting...that we get one of those little things to chase him around. LOL

Sorry I didn't make myself clear, watching the dog walkers would be a day time activity to keep him up and interested.  I thought for a little bit that he could see the neighbor cats out in the middle of the night, but I never could see them out the window.  

We put his harness on him today, which he hates and he won't walk around in it.  I am thinking this might be his new nighttime wardrobe since he won't barely move.  This could be a delightful night.  We will see. 

Kaiene

Seriously, a second cat might do the trick.  I will never adopt a solo cat again.  Ours don't bother us until it's time for their breakfast.

marriedonmaui

If getting a second cat isn't an option for you and it seems like he's trying to get your attention, just lock him out of the bedroom and ignore him. 

Our cat is very chatty and he is an only cat. He will sit outside of our bedroom and cry and cry and cry sometimes. It used to be for hours every night. Now it's maybe a few minutes once or twice during the night. Last night? It didn't happen at all. We just make sure to give him as much attention as possible when we are home so when we go to bed he's tired and he'll sleep too, or he's okay with being alone and playing by himself.

If he's really just restless, I would wait to play with him before you go to bed and give him a good 30 minutes of activity and see how that helps.