Did you know it’s possible to TRAIN your cat to sleep all night? Well you can. Make a mental note to yourself to understand it will take your Patience, Consistency & Diligence to re-train your cat.

It is important to understand that cats are naturally nocturnal animals. That means, they sleep during the day and are active (hunting) at night. Humans are typically awake during the daytime and sleep at night. The aim is to re-train your cat to follow a similar sleep pattern to you. Ie; awake during the daytime, sleep at night.

First let me lay out what YOU SHOULD NOT DO

  • One common mistake pet owners make with cats who wake them on a night is to get up and play/feed them. This re-enforces that the behavior will result in a reward, and therefore they will continue to do so.
  • Use physical punishment on the cat. Not only is this cruel, but it will only serve to instill fear in your cat. Which is not the kind of relationship you want with your cat. If you are having problems with your cat scratching at the bedroom door try ticking some aluminum foil or bubble wrap over it as cats don’t like the feel. Confine your cat to another room such as the laundry (obviously put in food, water and a comfy bed).
  • Re-training your cat may take time. With patience, it should be possible for you to get a good nights rest.

 Now this is WHAT YOU SHOULD DO TO RE-TRAIN YOUR CAT  to sleep all night

  • Schedule play during the daytime/early evening hours. Interactive toys are the best for this so that your cat can satisfy his hunting skills find something he can stalk, chase and finally capture.
  • After playing with your cat, feed him a high protein meal. This would simulate what happens in the wild. Ie: hunting down, killing and eating the prey.
  • Discourage catnapping, especially in the early evening.
  • Start as you plan to continue. If you want to discourage cats from sleeping in your bedroom, it is easier to start from day one.
  • Close your bedroom door.
  • Possibly look into getting your cat a playmate. If your cat is home alone during the day, he may be more inclined to spend the hours by sleeping. If he has somebody to play with, he may be more active.

Last but not least… Make sure your is healthy & not staying awake because of medical issues. Have them checked by a Vet to rule out the possibility of illness .

REMEMBER PETS RULE!

 

“How To Get YOUR CAT To SLEEP ALL NIGHT”