Night-time behaviour - Help

I have recently adopted a DSH cat called Lily from the local Cat's
Protection League. She is between 18 months and 2 years old and she really
is a lovely cat but some of her behaviour is starting to drive me mad and I
would appreciate some advice as to how I can train it out of her!

First let me start of by saying that I have lived with cats from being a
child but all of the others have been much older than Lily when they came to
us. I have no experience with young cats or, to be honest, with house cats
as all the ones we've previously had were mousers who generally slept in
the barn rather than the house.

During the day I am at work and Lily comes and goes
from the house via a cat flap so she is getting plenty of excersize. She is
fine at night when I get home from work too but as soon as I turn the lights
off to go to bed she goes CRAZY. She runs all over the house, jumps all
over me while I am in bed, scratches EVERYTHING, constantly tries to break
into the fridge / break out through the cat flap, which I lock at night etc.
I am now constantly tired and at my wits end. So far I have tried:

1) Not letting her into my bedroom at night (she cried at the door for about
an hour until I relented and let her in)
2) Playing with her to wear her out before bed (Didn't work)
3) Feeding her just before I go to bed (I thought that if she was full she
might sleep - Wrong again!!)
4) Leaving the lamp on in the bedroom as the manic behaviour seems to be
triggered by the dark (Total failure - I couldn't sleep anyway because the
light was on and she acted exactly the same as she always does).
5) Ignoring her when she started being manic as I thought that the behaviour
might have been encouraged by the attention she got from me (Tried this for
2 weeks and it made no difference)

I am hoping that you're all going to tell me that she will grow out of this
but in the mean time is there anything I could do to make her less hyper.
Understanding WHY she is doing this would even be a start, but I haven't got
a clue as at all other times she is a perfectly placid normal cat.

Any help would be much appreciated

Jeannie

In article , jean@NOSPAMspackman
says...
I have recently adopted a DSH cat called Lily from the local Cat's
Protection League. She is between 18 months and 2 years old and she really
is a lovely cat but some of her behaviour is starting to drive me mad and I
would appreciate some advice as to how I can train it out of her!

First let me start of by saying that I have lived with cats from being a
child but all of the others have been much older than Lily when they came to
us. I have no experience with young cats or, to be honest, with house cats
as all the ones we've previously had were mousers who generally slept in
the barn rather than the house.

During the day I am at work and Lily comes and goes
from the house via a cat flap so she is getting plenty of excersize. She is
fine at night when I get home from work too but as soon as I turn the lights
off to go to bed she goes CRAZY. She runs all over the house, jumps all
over me while I am in bed, scratches EVERYTHING, constantly tries to break
into the fridge / break out through the cat flap, which I lock at night etc.
I am now constantly tired and at my wits end. So far I have tried:

1) Not letting her into my bedroom at night (she cried at the door for about
an hour until I relented and let her in)
2) Playing with her to wear her out before bed (Didn't work)
3) Feeding her just before I go to bed (I thought that if she was full she
might sleep - Wrong again!!)
4) Leaving the lamp on in the bedroom as the manic behaviour seems to be
triggered by the dark (Total failure - I couldn't sleep anyway because the
light was on and she acted exactly the same as she always does).
5) Ignoring her when she started being manic as I thought that the behaviour
might have been encouraged by the attention she got from me (Tried this for
2 weeks and it made no difference)

I am hoping that you're all going to tell me that she will grow out of this
but in the mean time is there anything I could do to make her less hyper.
Understanding WHY she is doing this would even be a start, but I haven't got
a clue as at all other times she is a perfectly placid normal cat.

Any help would be much appreciated

Jeannie







Congratulations on your adoption!

Young cats can be a handful, and if you're used to cats that are outside
at night, you're going to find this a very different experience from that
of your youth.

You'll get contradictory advice from people on whether to keep your cat
inside or allow it outside; I keep mine inside, but you have to be the
judge of how safe your neighbourhood is for your cat. Since she's
outside as she wishes, though, I don't think that lack of exercise is the
problem. I think she just misses you when you're at work all day, and
wants attention (and doesn't understand why you have to go lie down and
sleep).

I seem to often see that the people who have the most trouble with their
cats' social behaviour - toward them and other humans - is people who
have only one cat. I'm a firm believer in having at least two; they
entertain each other and are more likely to disturb each others' sleep
than yours. Of course, this doesn't work for everyone - some cats just
never take to others. Also, you may not be able, for your own reasons,
to keep two cats.

She's still young, and will probably get more used to your sleeping hours
as time goes on. Try to be patient.

HTH
Deb



--
Don't let perfection get in the way of 'pretty damn good'. - "Coach" Jack
Donohue

In article , jean@NOSPAMspackman
says...
I have recently adopted a DSH cat called Lily from the local Cat's
Protection League. She is between 18 months and 2 years old and she really
is a lovely cat but some of her behaviour is starting to drive me mad and I
would appreciate some advice as to how I can train it out of her!

First let me start of by saying that I have lived with cats from being a
child but all of the others have been much older than Lily when they came to
us. I have no experience with young cats or, to be honest, with house cats
as all the ones we've previously had were mousers who generally slept in
the barn rather than the house.

During the day I am at work and Lily comes and goes
from the house via a cat flap so she is getting plenty of excersize. She is
fine at night when I get home from work too but as soon as I turn the lights
off to go to bed she goes CRAZY. She runs all over the house, jumps all
over me while I am in bed, scratches EVERYTHING, constantly tries to break
into the fridge / break out through the cat flap, which I lock at night etc.
I am now constantly tired and at my wits end. So far I have tried:

1) Not letting her into my bedroom at night (she cried at the door for about
an hour until I relented and let her in)
2) Playing with her to wear her out before bed (Didn't work)
3) Feeding her just before I go to bed (I thought that if she was full she
might sleep - Wrong again!!)
4) Leaving the lamp on in the bedroom as the manic behaviour seems to be
triggered by the dark (Total failure - I couldn't sleep anyway because the
light was on and she acted exactly the same as she always does).
5) Ignoring her when she started being manic as I thought that the behaviour
might have been encouraged by the attention she got from me (Tried this for
2 weeks and it made no difference)

I am hoping that you're all going to tell me that she will grow out of this
but in the mean time is there anything I could do to make her less hyper.
Understanding WHY she is doing this would even be a start, but I haven't got
a clue as at all other times she is a perfectly placid normal cat.

Any help would be much appreciated

Jeannie







Congratulations on your adoption!

Young cats can be a handful, and if you're used to cats that are outside
at night, you're going to find this a very different experience from that
of your youth.

You'll get contradictory advice from people on whether to keep your cat
inside or allow it outside; I keep mine inside, but you have to be the
judge of how safe your neighbourhood is for your cat. Since she's
outside as she wishes, though, I don't think that lack of exercise is the
problem. I think she just misses you when you're at work all day, and
wants attention (and doesn't understand why you have to go lie down and
sleep).

I seem to often see that the people who have the most trouble with their
cats' social behaviour - toward them and other humans - is people who
have only one cat. I'm a firm believer in having at least two; they
entertain each other and are more likely to disturb each others' sleep
than yours. Of course, this doesn't work for everyone - some cats just
never take to others. Also, you may not be able, for your own reasons,
to keep two cats.

She's still young, and will probably get more used to your sleeping hours
as time goes on. Try to be patient.

HTH
Deb



--
Don't let perfection get in the way of 'pretty damn good'. - "Coach" Jack
Donohue

I can relate. We have a 4 month old kitten and he's doing laps at night
sometimes too. He is getting better. He's an inside only cat so I don't have
him asking to go out at night which is what your girl may want.

You said she's scratching everywhere. The first thing is to get her
scratching where it's acceptable. Get a cat tree or build one if you can. If
you can get some sisal wrapped on it all the better. Spray it with catnip,
give her treats on the tree, praise her when she uses it. This gives her
somewhere to climb and scratch inside. If you can get her using it during
the day she'll probably use it at night too. Get her some toys to play with.
My guy loves those little mice.

If you have to, close the bedroom door and put a radio on low to provide you
with some background noise so you can ignore her begging at the door. You
need your sleep.

I don't know if feliway might help. I haven't tried it but others here do
use it and can add their opinions.

Try to "baby proof" for a while. Put things away you don't want her getting
into. You may find it easier to ignore the running around if your not
worried about what she's getting into. Move a chair against the refrigerator
door. That way you don't have to worry about her getting into it.

BTW is she neutered? If not, get her spayed.

Hang in there eventually they do settle down.


"Jeannie" wrote in message
...
I have recently adopted a DSH cat called Lily from the local Cat's
Protection League. She is between 18 months and 2 years old and she really
is a lovely cat but some of her behaviour is starting to drive me mad and I
would appreciate some advice as to how I can train it out of her!

First let me start of by saying that I have lived with cats from being a
child but all of the others have been much older than Lily when they came to
us. I have no experience with young cats or, to be honest, with house cats
as all the ones we've previously had were mousers who generally slept in
the barn rather than the house.

During the day I am at work and Lily comes and goes
from the house via a cat flap so she is getting plenty of excersize. She is
fine at night when I get home from work too but as soon as I turn the lights
off to go to bed she goes CRAZY. She runs all over the house, jumps all
over me while I am in bed, scratches EVERYTHING, constantly tries to break
into the fridge / break out through the cat flap, which I lock at night etc.
I am now constantly tired and at my wits end. So far I have tried:

1) Not letting her into my bedroom at night (she cried at the door for about
an hour until I relented and let her in)
2) Playing with her to wear her out before bed (Didn't work)
3) Feeding her just before I go to bed (I thought that if she was full she
might sleep - Wrong again!!)
4) Leaving the lamp on in the bedroom as the manic behaviour seems to be
triggered by the dark (Total failure - I couldn't sleep anyway because the
light was on and she acted exactly the same as she always does).
5) Ignoring her when she started being manic as I thought that the behaviour
might have been encouraged by the attention she got from me (Tried this for
2 weeks and it made no difference)

I am hoping that you're all going to tell me that she will grow out of this
but in the mean time is there anything I could do to make her less hyper.
Understanding WHY she is doing this would even be a start, but I haven't got
a clue as at all other times she is a perfectly placid normal cat.

Any help would be much appreciated

Jeannie

I can relate. We have a 4 month old kitten and he's doing laps at night
sometimes too. He is getting better. He's an inside only cat so I don't have
him asking to go out at night which is what your girl may want.

You said she's scratching everywhere. The first thing is to get her
scratching where it's acceptable. Get a cat tree or build one if you can. If
you can get some sisal wrapped on it all the better. Spray it with catnip,
give her treats on the tree, praise her when she uses it. This gives her
somewhere to climb and scratch inside. If you can get her using it during
the day she'll probably use it at night too. Get her some toys to play with.
My guy loves those little mice.

If you have to, close the bedroom door and put a radio on low to provide you
with some background noise so you can ignore her begging at the door. You
need your sleep.

I don't know if feliway might help. I haven't tried it but others here do
use it and can add their opinions.

Try to "baby proof" for a while. Put things away you don't want her getting
into. You may find it easier to ignore the running around if your not
worried about what she's getting into. Move a chair against the refrigerator
door. That way you don't have to worry about her getting into it.

BTW is she neutered? If not, get her spayed.

Hang in there eventually they do settle down.


"Jeannie" wrote in message
...
I have recently adopted a DSH cat called Lily from the local Cat's
Protection League. She is between 18 months and 2 years old and she really
is a lovely cat but some of her behaviour is starting to drive me mad and I
would appreciate some advice as to how I can train it out of her!

First let me start of by saying that I have lived with cats from being a
child but all of the others have been much older than Lily when they came to
us. I have no experience with young cats or, to be honest, with house cats
as all the ones we've previously had were mousers who generally slept in
the barn rather than the house.

During the day I am at work and Lily comes and goes
from the house via a cat flap so she is getting plenty of excersize. She is
fine at night when I get home from work too but as soon as I turn the lights
off to go to bed she goes CRAZY. She runs all over the house, jumps all
over me while I am in bed, scratches EVERYTHING, constantly tries to break
into the fridge / break out through the cat flap, which I lock at night etc.
I am now constantly tired and at my wits end. So far I have tried:

1) Not letting her into my bedroom at night (she cried at the door for about
an hour until I relented and let her in)
2) Playing with her to wear her out before bed (Didn't work)
3) Feeding her just before I go to bed (I thought that if she was full she
might sleep - Wrong again!!)
4) Leaving the lamp on in the bedroom as the manic behaviour seems to be
triggered by the dark (Total failure - I couldn't sleep anyway because the
light was on and she acted exactly the same as she always does).
5) Ignoring her when she started being manic as I thought that the behaviour
might have been encouraged by the attention she got from me (Tried this for
2 weeks and it made no difference)

I am hoping that you're all going to tell me that she will grow out of this
but in the mean time is there anything I could do to make her less hyper.
Understanding WHY she is doing this would even be a start, but I haven't got
a clue as at all other times she is a perfectly placid normal cat.

Any help would be much appreciated

Jeannie

"Jeannie" wrote in message
...
I have recently adopted a DSH cat called Lily from the local Cat's
Protection League. She is between 18 months and 2 years old and she
really
is a lovely cat but some of her behaviour is starting to drive me
mad and I
would appreciate some advice as to how I can train it out of her!

I assume you would not let her outside unless it is safe. Sounds to me
like she wants to be outside at night. Why not put her out at night?

"Jeannie" wrote in message
...
I have recently adopted a DSH cat called Lily from the local Cat's
Protection League. She is between 18 months and 2 years old and she
really
is a lovely cat but some of her behaviour is starting to drive me
mad and I
would appreciate some advice as to how I can train it out of her!

I assume you would not let her outside unless it is safe. Sounds to me
like she wants to be outside at night. Why not put her out at night?

"Diane L. Schirf" wrote in message
. net...
In article ,
"Jeannie" wrote:

I am hoping that you're all going to tell me that she will grow
out of this
but in the mean time is there anything I could do to make her less
hyper.

Train her to be an indoor cat. Right now, she's got you trained.


Another good suggestion. It can be done.

"Diane L. Schirf" wrote in message
. net...
In article ,
"Jeannie" wrote:

I am hoping that you're all going to tell me that she will grow
out of this
but in the mean time is there anything I could do to make her less
hyper.

Train her to be an indoor cat. Right now, she's got you trained.


Another good suggestion. It can be done.

"Iain & Deb" wrote in message
...
I think she just misses you when you're at work all day, and
wants attention (and doesn't understand why you have to go lie down
and
sleep).

I had not really thought of this. I wonder if this is it?



I seem to often see that the people who have the most trouble with
their
cats' social behaviour - toward them and other humans - is people
who
have only one cat. I'm a firm believer in having at least two; they
entertain each other and are more likely to disturb each others'
sleep
than yours. Of course, this doesn't work for everyone - some cats
just
never take to others. Also, you may not be able, for your own
reasons,
to keep two cats.

She's still young, and will probably get more used to your sleeping
hours
as time goes on. Try to be patient.

HTH
Deb



--
Don't let perfection get in the way of 'pretty damn good'. - "Coach"
Jack
Donohue