Advice Needed

My cat is not a grazer. He can not leave any food in his bowl so we
have put him on a schedule. He eats when we get up in the am and when
we get home. The problem is that he begins to try to wake us up around
5:00 am everyday - instead of waiting for the alarm clock like he used
to. I was thinking that I would start waiting to feed him until I was
about to leave the house instead.

1) is this cruel?
2) any suggestions on how to turn him into a grazer?
3) how long until he stops crying because he isn't getting fed first
thing in the am?

Thanks for your advice.

KitKat's Mom

On Wed 13 Dec 2006 08:08:13p, wrote in rec.pets.cats.health+behav
oups.com:

My cat is not a grazer. He can not leave any food in his bowl
so we have put him on a schedule. He eats when we get up in the
am and when we get home. The problem is that he begins to try
to wake us up around 5:00 am everyday - instead of waiting for
the alarm clock like he used to. I was thinking that I would
start waiting to feed him until I was about to leave the house
instead.

1) is this cruel?
2) any suggestions on how to turn him into a grazer?
3) how long until he stops crying because he isn't getting fed
first thing in the am?

Thanks for your advice.

KitKat's Mom



I think this is a good plan. I don't feed my four immediately when
I get up in the morning, and I don't feed them right when I get
home at night. They used to think they could come wake me up and
I'd feed them, but when I didn't, they got used to it. It isn't
cruel at all.

--
Cheryl

Thanks cheryl, he is kind of stuborn. How long do you think we will
have to live through the crying before he gets used to it?


Cheryl wrote:
On Wed 13 Dec 2006 08:08:13p, wrote in rec.pets.cats.health+behav
oups.com:

My cat is not a grazer. He can not leave any food in his bowl
so we have put him on a schedule. He eats when we get up in the
am and when we get home. The problem is that he begins to try
to wake us up around 5:00 am everyday - instead of waiting for
the alarm clock like he used to. I was thinking that I would
start waiting to feed him until I was about to leave the house
instead.

1) is this cruel?
2) any suggestions on how to turn him into a grazer?
3) how long until he stops crying because he isn't getting fed
first thing in the am?

Thanks for your advice.

KitKat's Mom



I think this is a good plan. I don't feed my four immediately when
I get up in the morning, and I don't feed them right when I get
home at night. They used to think they could come wake me up and
I'd feed them, but when I didn't, they got used to it. It isn't
cruel at all.

--
Cheryl

Thanks cheryl, he is kind of stuborn. How long do you think we will
have to live through the crying before he gets used to it?


Cheryl wrote:
On Wed 13 Dec 2006 08:08:13p, wrote in rec.pets.cats.health+behav
oups.com:

My cat is not a grazer. He can not leave any food in his bowl
so we have put him on a schedule. He eats when we get up in the
am and when we get home. The problem is that he begins to try
to wake us up around 5:00 am everyday - instead of waiting for
the alarm clock like he used to. I was thinking that I would
start waiting to feed him until I was about to leave the house
instead.

1) is this cruel?
2) any suggestions on how to turn him into a grazer?
3) how long until he stops crying because he isn't getting fed
first thing in the am?

Thanks for your advice.

KitKat's Mom



I think this is a good plan. I don't feed my four immediately when
I get up in the morning, and I don't feed them right when I get
home at night. They used to think they could come wake me up and
I'd feed them, but when I didn't, they got used to it. It isn't
cruel at all.

--
Cheryl

on Thu, 14 Dec 2006 02:55:52 GMT, wrote:

Thanks cheryl, he is kind of stuborn. How long do you think we will
have to live through the crying before he gets used to it?

I'm not Cheryl, but I do know that some cats adapt in just a few days. My
weirdo cat, Rudy, *still* cries at breakfast and dinner time even though
we've had an automatic feeder in place for weeks. I have to go jiggle the
food with my finger before he'll jump up to his shelf and start eating.
Hehe.

--
Lynne

http://picasaweb.google.com/what.the.hell.is.it/

On Wed 13 Dec 2006 09:55:52p, wrote in rec.pets.cats.health+behav
roups.com:

Thanks cheryl, he is kind of stuborn. How long do you think we
will have to live through the crying before he gets used to it?


Hehe, depends on your endurance. I just ignore them. I'm stubborn,
too. They're fed at 6am and about 5:30pm-6pm, sometimes later.
If it's later than 6 when I get home from work, I will feed them
after I get in, change clothes, and turn on the news, so they only
have to wait then about 15 minutes. The key is to not immediately
do it as soon as you walk in the door.

My worse offender is a former feral girl, and she'll climb on my
chest and yowl at me as soon as she thinks I'm awake. That's better
than when she used to jump on me to wake me up! With some of them
it can probably take some time.

So how obnoxious is he when he tries to wake you up?


--
Cheryl

He has actually gotten better. I keep a squirt bottle by my bed now.
He used to jump up and he got some nice blasts. Now he will only put
his front paws up on the bed and cry...or just stand in front of the
door depending on wether he has seen the bottle come out. Basically
from approx 5 am to 6:30 when I get up I have to keep the bottle in my
hand and jiggle it so he hears the water before he will run away for at
least 15 min.

On Dec 13, 10:11 pm, Cheryl wrote:
On Wed 13 Dec 2006 09:55:52p, wrote in rec.pets.cats.health+behav
roups.com:

Thanks cheryl, he is kind of stuborn. How long do you think we
will have to live through the crying before he gets used to it?Hehe, depends on your endurance. I just ignore them. I'm stubborn,
too. They're fed at 6am and about 5:30pm-6pm, sometimes later.
If it's later than 6 when I get home from work, I will feed them
after I get in, change clothes, and turn on the news, so they only
have to wait then about 15 minutes. The key is to not immediately
do it as soon as you walk in the door.

My worse offender is a former feral girl, and she'll climb on my
chest and yowl at me as soon as she thinks I'm awake. That's better
than when she used to jump on me to wake me up! With some of them
it can probably take some time.

So how obnoxious is he when he tries to wake you up?

--
Cheryl

That is not encouraging!! :O)

We considered the auto feeder, but felt the same issue would happen.
How would he even know to go check befor trying to wake us up?


On Dec 13, 10:08 pm, Lynne wrote:
on Thu, 14 Dec 2006 02:55:52 GMT, wrote:

Thanks cheryl, he is kind of stuborn. How long do you think we will
have to live through the crying before he gets used to it?I'm not Cheryl, but I do know that some cats adapt in just a few days. My
weirdo cat, Rudy, *still* cries at breakfast and dinner time even though
we've had an automatic feeder in place for weeks. I have to go jiggle the
food with my finger before he'll jump up to his shelf and start eating.
Hehe.

--
Lynne

http://picasaweb.google.com/what.the.hell.is.it/

I don't think they would check, as they are used to the routine. I got
to where I left some food in their bowls at night so the anxiety wasn't
there over empty food bowls in the morning. Now, even if their bowls
are pretty full, they will still want to be "fed". So I look at the
food, and then they start eating.

Go figure!
StephanieM

On Thu 14 Dec 2006 07:26:00a, wrote in rec.pets.cats.health+behav
oups.com:

He has actually gotten better. I keep a squirt bottle by my bed
now. He used to jump up and he got some nice blasts. Now he
will only put his front paws up on the bed and cry...or just
stand in front of the door depending on wether he has seen the
bottle come out. Basically from approx 5 am to 6:30 when I get
up I have to keep the bottle in my hand and jiggle it so he
hears the water before he will run away for at least 15 min.

I guess I just don't consider this intolerable behavior. I don't
use water bottles for a couple of reasons - they are ineffective,
and they can invoke fear. Ineffective because your cat isn't going
to associate your reaction to his want for food, and your desire
for him to stop begging, especially since you are in bed and not
the kitchen. He's going to associate the water squirtings to his
general interaction with you. You can already see that because he
runs from your room when you jiggle the water bottle. You have
invoked a fear response, not trained him to wait for a meal until
you have gone to the kitchen.

--
Cheryl