Kitty-Cat Midnight Crazies Keeping You Up?

It’s 3 am and you hear the unmistakable crash of something coming from your kitchen. After you forcefully drag yourself from the confines of your cozy bed to investigate, you soon find the source of the noise. It’s not an intruder but your feline, perched on the kitchen counter about to leap to the floor in one impressive bound. And normally, while her ridiculous antics would bring a smile to your face, the fact that it's the very middle of the night and you’ve got an early meeting leaves your tolerance quite low .

It may not bring you a lot of comfort, and as you probably very well know, you are not alone; there are many other cat owners also suffering from the kitty-cat midnight crazies - those short spurts of nocturnal roughhousing by your kitty. She just might decide that pouncing on your toes, face, hands or hair is fare game too in those wee hours of the morning or she may delight in chasing her tail or other items throughout the house. During daytime hours, this is great fun for you to watch, but in the middle of the night, you’re probably none too happy with her antics. While there is no one reason to explain her inappropriately timed shenanigans, one theory is that your kitty is honing her hunting skills, her fighting manoeuvers and her escape techniques. So, even though she is a well-fed house kitty, it could be that her instincts are kicking in or that she’s simply not getting enough stimulation and play during the day. No matter the reason, you’re left with disrupted sleep, especially if you cat is indeed still a kitty because "midnight crazies" are more common in the young.

So, if you’re bedeviled by a notoriously nocturnal feline, there are a few things you can do to try to get everyone a peaceful night of undisrupted slumber:

• Playtime! Playtime! Playtime!: In the evening, well before you turn in, engage your kitty in 15–20 minutes of solid play time with a laser light, a chase toy or other activity that gets her ramped up and hopefully sleepy - very, very sleepy. And do try to play with her as much as possible throughout the day, of course (who has time for THAT?!).
• Night-Proof Your Home: If she is going to get into mischief, do what you can to remove items that can crash to the floor, break or incite her mischief, stashing them away for the night in anticipation of her nighttime frolicking (seriously, WHO has time for THAT?!).
• Confine Kitty: If you have the ability to do so and you REALLY value your sleep, you can confine kitty to an area that won’t disturb your snooze, e.g. a second bathroom or a spare room. Just be certain to leave her some water and a litter tray.

Lastly, if your persistent puddy-tat tries to engage you in her midnight madness, do not encourage it by playing with her or cuddling her as this will only tell her that you too are up for some late-night fun! Or maybe your precious little princess is waking you to demand her food RIGHT NOW (!), the hour be damned! If that’s the case, have a read here about curtailing her diva-ish demands: DKC Blog - Cat calls, we jump!