It is not uncommon for cats to keep their owners up all night with plaintive meows and desperate attempts to elicit playtime. From laying favourite toys in front of a slumbering owner’s face to running riot around the house and in turn causing sleep-deprivation for the whole family, there will be many ways in which a nocturnal cat will try to deal with their unorthodox schedule.
Cats are nocturnal by nature, finding it easier to hunt at night at a time when their prey will be sleeping or less accustomed to the level of light. This is not much good to pet owners though who will often wrongly chastise their animal’s waking habits out of frustration, but still fail to look at ways to shift the natural sleeping pattern of their pet.
The first thing to do is to avoid feeding cats late at night, and to particularly avoid playing with them or feeding them during the night. Tiring them out before bed may help them to sleep but if you do this too late at night they may get into a routine of playing late on and struggle to sleep until you have worn them out.
The easiest way to change their schedule is to play with them and feed them throughout the day. Ensuring they have a routine in the day is the only way to change this natural nocturnal behaviour and if you do not get them into the habit of being awake and lively during daylight hours, they will happily snooze all day and play all night.
The right food may help too, and not only will feeding at the right time be important, but so will be feeding your kittens food that will give them the energy they need in the day but not so much that they will still be buzzing come evening.
Be patient though – they may not get used to a diurnal routine straight away. However, keeping them up and playful in the day will pay dividends in the end, allowing you to eventually sleep all night without ever being bothered by an overly energised mog again.
