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It’s the middle of the night and you are sound asleep. Then, you startle awake to hear scratching at the door, followed by a loud “meow.” Your cat is either hungry or eager to play, but either way, it’s still bedtime.
Being woken up at night is a common frustration that many cat parents face. But how can you stop your cat from waking you up at 3AM? And why do they do it?
First, you need to know why your furry friend is up while you’re asleep.
Why Are Cats Active at Night?
One reason why cats are active at night is because they were bored all day long.
It’s a common scenario. While you and your family are at work or school all day, there is not much for them to do except sleep. Then when you are ready for bed, your cat is wide awake because they already had their sleepy time. After being alone all day, wouldn’t you want to hang out with someone too?
However, boredom is not the only reason for increased night activity.
According to the National Sleep Foundation, it turns out that a cat’s circadian rhythm (their natural 24-hour clock) makes them most active between dusk and dawn. Cats have this cycle because they are natural predators, making them hard-wired to hunt at night, just like their wildcat ancestors.
Believe it or not, this is not to say that cats are nocturnal, because they actually aren’t. However, this popular belief stems from the fact that they tend to be active at dusk and dawn, as we mentioned. Unfortunately, those happen to be the times when many people are still asleep.
Now you might be thinking that the cards are stacked against you. Is it even possible to guide their circadian rhythm to meet our needs?
Thankfully, the answer is yes. However, before training your cat to let you sleep, it’s important to understand the steps that a cat naturally takes before they sleep.
A Cat’s Four Natural Steps Before Sleep
Pam Johnson-Bennett, author and certified cat behavior consultant, explains that cats naturally go through four steps before they sleep:
- Hunt
As we mentioned earlier, cats are natural predators, which means they hunt for their food. Finding a tasty meal is the first step that a cat takes before getting ready for shut-eye. - Feast
After capture, the cat feasts on their prey. Cats are ready to sleep after a full tummy. (I mean, who isn’t?) - Groom
After their feast, the cat will groom themselves to remove traces of prey from their fur. They do this because in the wild, they don’t want to risk becoming prey to a larger predator, especially during sleep. Cats think of everything, don’t they? - Sleep
Finally, the cat will fall asleep (full, secure, and satisfied)!
With these steps in mind, it’s time to come up with a routine that will encourage your cat to let you sleep at night. Jackson Galaxy, cat behaviorist and host of My Cat From Hell, has a list of tips and tricks to stop your cat from waking you up at 3AM.
Tips to Stop Your Cat From Waking You Up at 3AM
- Establish a Daily Rhythm
It’s imperative to establish a daily rhythm with your cat. Although day-to-day schedules understandably change, try your best to have consistent play and meal times for your cat. When your cat has a regular routine, they will be more likely to sleep around the same times. - Play Before Bed
In order to tire out your cat before bed, Jackson recommends having playtime an hour and a half before bed. Playing with interactive toys will satisfy your cat’s natural instinct to hunt, which is their first natural step before sleep.
Try laser pointers, fishing poles, or puzzle toys to really get them moving. Mice, balls, and scratching posts are good choices too. Plus, playing with your cat gives them the opportunity to exercise, which is important for their health.
When you go to bed, make sure there are still plenty of accessible toys for your cat. This way, if they do wake up at night, they have stuff to occupy themselves with.
Personally, my favorite toy to use for playtime is an automatic later pointer, because it really gets my cats moving. This one from Amazon is automatic, but also has a handheld mode. - Give a Discrete Last Feast
After the play session, give the cat their last meal before bed. Jackson says that their final portion of food should be about an hour and a half before bed, so immediately after playtime.
Once your feline friend has a full belly, they will begin their third natural step towards sleep by grooming themselves. Grooming helps them unwind for the night. Do you see where we’re going this this?
After unwinding, it’s time for them to enter their last step: sleep. This is good news for you, because that means you get to sleep too! - Meal-Feed instead of Free-Feed
It’s important that you do not let your cat graze food all day. When grazing, a cat is in a constant state of digestion, which is not the way that a cat naturally processes food. In addition, free-feeding makes your cat’s energy level unpredictable, which is something you don’t want at bedtime.
Jackson recommends discrete meal times throughout the day, waiting no longer than six to eight hours between meals. After all, cats are built to eat every five to six hours, not graze all day long. To regulate meals, put the food down, and then a half hour or 45 minutes later, pick it up again.
If this is hard to remember, you can get an automatic feeder. To be extra fancy, you can even pick one that can be operated from your phone. - Ignore Them
If your cat still manages to be active after trying these tips, there is one last resort: ignore them. Although this is the most difficult tip to follow, from personal experience, it’s the most effective. No matter how loud they get, don’t give in, because if you get up to give them any sort of attention, you are reinforcing that behavior.
If you are incorporating these steps for the first time, just be patient. Jackson explains that it may take up to two weeks for the cat to “give up” trying to wake you. But during that period, stay strong.
However, if you absolutely cannot follow through with ignoring them, Jackson says to at least “reward the silence, not the tantrum.” In other words, when your cat finally quiets down, you can (for example) get up to give them breakfast.
Personally, my husband and started closing our bedroom door to prevent the cats from waking us up. However, this predictably resulted in scratches and meows at the door.
Placing a pet gate outside our bedroom was incredibly helpful to prevent this behavior. Another option is to stack two pet gates on top of each other at the end of the hall (since most cats can jump over one).
After incorporating these tips into your cat’s routine, you should finally be able to stop your cat from waking you up at 3AM. Do you have any additional sleep tips? Let us know in the comments below.
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Disclaimer: The Purring Journal is not in the medical field. This post is made for entertainment purposes only. Use the information presented in this article at your own risk. Always seek medical advice from licensed veterinarians.
