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My sweet 15-week old kitten keeps us awake all night - any tips?


GingerMay

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After our 14-year old cat died in September, we decided to get a new kitten a few weeks ago. She is sweet and friendly and a pure joy. We confined her to one room the first couple days, with barriers. She seemed happy, but soon showed interest in the rest of the house and started jumping over barriers. After about 10 days, we let her have full access to the house and she seems comfortable. She chases her toys around, and seems to have bonded with my husband. She will walk over me to get to him and curl up in his lap.

Since she has access to the full house, she is also able to sleep with us at night. I put a kitty pillow on the floor but she has no interest in it. She follows us into the bedroom and will immediately go under the bed and stay there until the middle of the night. We are woken up when she scratches at the bed trying to climb up. If we pick her up on the bed with us she won't leave my husband alone. She walks on his back and sits down, if he rolls over she will move over closer to him, she licks his head, if he bends his arm she will position herself inside his elbow. If we put her down on the floor, she just sits beside the bed and meows. Soon, she will be big enough to jump up on her own.

Does our little kitty have separation anxiety, or is she still adjusting to her new home?

Are there any ideas on how we can keep her happy at night so we can get a good night's sleep?

Thanks.

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Sorry to hear about you 14yo cat, it's never easy.

 

Aww glad you have a little kitten about the place.

 

Well my girls are 13 now! But when we got the second one she was very young when we brought her home. She was incredibly needy and used to cry all night.

 

My mum had to have her sleep in with her. She literally only fell asleep from laying on my mum's chest. My mum had fears of rolling over and crushing her in the night.

 

The first couple of months wasn't easy but she eventually grew out if it.

 

I think by time she was around three months. Funny enough after being spayed she was very independent and never meowed in the night.

 

It was just a rough couple of months until she settled in.

 

But we have always let the cats have free roam and sleep with her.

 

Just when they are bigger less fear of crushing them. Sorry I have no tips to help just a case of riding it out.

 

I'm not one who believes in those crates but I know people do that with new kittens and puppies at night.

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Cats are nocturnal, so the short amount of sleep she gets under the bed is enough to energize her--and then she wants everyone to have a great time with her.

 

Consider playing with her a lot before bed, preferably on the bed so she might become more comfortable sleeping on top of it later on. She might sleep longer if you tire her with the playing, and if she falls asleep on top of the bed, you'll have less of an issue with her ups and downs on it.

 

Another idea is to put 'climable' stuff near the bed and teach her during play time how to use it to get up and down from the bed. This could be an ottoman with a pillow or box near it to create steps.

 

Thank you for taking in another cat for a good home. Once you survive this toddler time, you will feel deserving of a medal--and you'll be right.

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Aww that's so funny how different people are.

 

Always got on better with female cats in my life.

 

I agree with you. Ride it out. She is a kitten, it will pass in good time.

 

Cats are very independent it's hard to get them to do what we want.

I find neutered male cats very loving. ❤️

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I remember you posting about your 14 year old cat in September, GingerMay. I’m sorry about this loss.

 

I’m happy to hear about this new little addition to your household though!

 

Ah, so cute! Reading your post makes me miss the two kittens I grew up with.

 

It sounds like your kitten is being exactly that, a kitten. She’s playful, curious and adjusting to her new family & home.

 

Back in the day, when my family took in our two little cats, we kept them in separate rooms over night (these rooms had doors though that we closed - no barriers). It took them some time to adjust to their new surroundings. In time, they adjusted, but they were still curious and playful.

 

I’m sure you’ll find your kitten will calm down a bit once she familiarizes herself with her new home.

 

Congrats on your new kitten though! I’m living vicariously through you and your story. Sometimes they’re like little kids - have to keep an eye on them! Lol. But love their little personalities.

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Ooooooh lol kittens are so mischievous! There is a reason they are so cute when they are little, because it makes it easier to put up with their naughty behavior! :)

 

Your kitten is going through separation anxiety, all kittens do when they are separated from their moms. I have had many kittens and cats and what you are describing sounds normal for a kitten of that age. Cats are nocturnal so they tend to wake up and night to play, eat, etc... to a degree we need to accept this about them, but I have some ways of mitigating the behaviors.

 

I found that playing with them a lot during the day, especially before bed, will make them sleep more in the night. Also, try to avoid free feeding during the day and feed right before bed so her tummy is full and doesn't keep her awake. Kittens and cats get more anxious when they haven't had enough stimulation so it's very important for their well being and your sanity that they have lots of play time.

 

That all being said, some cats are just more needy than others. My Ragdoll is very high needs and likes to follow me around yelling at me for attention lol... all very cute during the day but not so much at 4am... so I have trained him to leave me alone by closing the bedroom door on him. He might persist for a few minutes but will generally back off and go play with his partner in crime.

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I have never found a neutred male that wasn’t sweet.

 

I've noticed that, too. I grew-up with a male and female cat, and found the male cat to be much more affectionate. Honestly, he was so gentle. He could have done some damage at his size, but was a bit demure, yet so sweet and loving.

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I find neutered male cats very loving. ❤️

 

I've had both and I like boy cats. My current one is female and her buddy before, female as well.

For some reason the boy cats I've had tend to be more secure and have a little more personality.

The girls tend to be temperamental and sensitive. hmmmm :)

 

I love em all, either way.

 

And I agree with catfeeder, cat's are by nature nocturnal creatures. With some time and patience you can turn that around. The little kitty is just doing what's comes natural for her.

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I allowed my boy onto my bed when he was a kitten. He's 4 1/2 now and I'm afraid to say I wish I hadn't encouraged him, because as much as I love him I never get undisturbed sleep! He wakes me up at least once a night, usually around 4am. He meows for me to fuss him, taps me on the face and insists on sharing my pillow, even if it means literally lying on my head! If I shut him out of the bedroom he scratches the door and makes a racket. I hope this doesn't happen to you!

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We've got two cats, both female. Not by any kind of design. I don't have much of an opinion. Maybe it'd be nice to have a boy just to have a bigger cat. Then again, I was also half joking about not settling for anything other than a tortie Maine Coon, but ultimately settled on the most basic looking of tabbies. Except for her ears. They're satellite dishes.

 

We adopted Comanche when she was a few years old and then we adopted Xavi as a kitten hoping Comanche would be a bit less intimidated and more comfortable establishing her own boundaries. That was as wrong as I've ever been. But I raised Xavi from a wee 5-weeks old. She was a huge spaz for the first year of her life, but you'll look back fondly on when your cat was a cute little ****er. She loved sleeping with us. She still does, minus the "us." She prefers sprawling out in whatever nook my wife provides because she's a human space heater. But even though she was particularly obnoxious in the middle of the night as a kitten, I never had the heart to lock her out.

 

She doesn't make much of a peep anymore. It's the older cat I have to worry about now. She likes to find random toys at 3am to grab and yowl for us (me) to come throw so she can play fetch.

 

Look how tiny she was:

https://i.imgur.com/DSvW1Bj.jpg

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OMG! Jman, she's adorable! Well, you both are. I just love it when they curl up and spin around like that. I can see that she's a shoulder lover. I've always trained kittens to ride around on mine.

 

I fostered 3 kittens from a stray and they learned to climb to my shoulders while I did dishes. I could walk around with them perched there, do housework with them on, they stayed put during bends like perfect acrobats.

 

Here's the thing I never knew they learned. All 3 of the new owners sent me Christmas cards with pics that year. The one thing they all had in common was an ability to turn on the kitchen sink!

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Thanking you all again. "Spaz" is what I call little Violet, however she does have quite gentle behaviors at times. She will sit on my lap purring and turn around looking up at me with a soulful look and a slow blink. I blink back at her and we can go back and forth blinking for a while. She rolls over on her back playing and lets me pet her tummy. Just this morning I was taking a shower and I cleared the steam away from the glass door and saw her sitting on the rug and said "Good morning", and she walked up to the door and put her paw out to me. Little girl melts my heart.

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Not sure if any of you are familiar with the cartoons/videos called Simon’s Cat, but they’re quite cute/funny.

 

Cat owners can relate, I’m sure. Here’s one short video:

 

 

I love Simon Cats videos. My youngest son and I pass them back and forth.

 

Cute visual about the morning greeting, Ginger. Makes me want another kitten :).

 

I was at my friends last night. She adopted two kittens and they are about 6 months old right now.

No better entertainment then to watch those two little monkeys romp around the house.

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