early wake-ups

felines are naturally more active at night or early morning hours. they sleep a lot (16 hours) mostly during the day. when dusk or dawn sets in, their instinct tells them to hunt. it is also the most productive time of the day to catch prey.

problem

when you compare the cats sleeping habits and human sleeping habits, its actually no wonder when some felines are perfectly happy to wake us up at 3 am and ask for food or for entertainment. we probably don't appreciate it as much and it can become quite a strain when those early wake-ups happen regularly.

solution

• don't be tempted to get up and play with your cat in the middle of the night when it demands it. if you do, your cat will make a habit of it and won't understand when you suddenly refuse
• don't feed your cat when it wakes you up, ignore it
• if ignoring doesn't work, invest in an automatic feeder that opens at the requested early time, the cat will help itself and won't bother you as much, or, if you're feeding dry food, fill up the bowl just before you go to bed, so that there is still plenty left for the morning
• keep your bedroom door shut, so that your cat can't physically wake you up
• if it starts meowing and scratches the door, try to ignore it and don't react, after a while your cat will figure out that meowing doesn't help and it will retire
• be aware that any reaction of you, positive or negative, will actually encourage your cat to go on with the attention seeking behaviour
• be strict!