Hello. I have a very affectionate 5 year old cat that I got this August. He warmed up right away and wanted to sleep with me in my bed the first night. So I have let him ever since.
Recently he has gotten in the habit of clawing me to wake me up (or just generally for attention). I have tried both making a loud noise when he does this or ignoring him, but it doesn’t seem to work. Plus ignoring it is difficult when it hurts you lol.
So last night he was sleeping in bed with me as usual. He started clawing me at like 5 am and wouldn’t stop. So I tricked him to get him out of the room. I got out of bed and went into the hall where he obviously followed me. But then I walked back into my room and shit the door behind me.
He has been crying at the door all night which makes me feel bad but still. Is this a viable way to correct this behavior? My plan was to maybe do this each morning that he does this.
When I got my cat he was waking me a lot at night.
Wear the cat out before bed.
Play a lot together. A wand toy works great. Something interactive. That way the cat will stay engaged.
It also encourages bonding and trust-security.
Wear the boy out so that he sleeps when you sleep.
See if that helps.
People say scolding cats doesn’t work but when mine started doing this I responded by yelling “NO” at the top of my lungs which caused her to evacuate at full speed. Took about 4 or 5 times until the behavior stopped and she’s just as affectionate. She still wakes me up from time to time but only by meowing and not as early.
I have a spray bottle of water marked “CAT CONTROL - WATER ONLY” in permanent marker set to spray long range. I keep it on the floor next to the bed and would spray them if they did this. Now I only have to grab the bottle and shake it and they scatter.
Spray bottle works on kids too.
But in all reality it’s a good deterrent for inappropriate behaviors. Just don’t use it too much or the cat starts distrusting you.
If hes been living there more than 30 days, he has tenants right and legally you must allow him in the room as well an ensuring you’re promptly feeding him breakfast at 5am, 6am, and 7am.
Source: attorney specializing in cat law
Bahahaha
But then I walked back into my room and shit the door behind me.
Ultimate power move, great way to assert dominance 😂
You can let him back in after a few minutes, once your point is made. You will need to pick him up and put him out yourself, however, to make your point. Tricking him will only erode his trust in you.
Ah ok, got it! Thanks! Good ideas!
Yes.
Cat would do the same or worse if you did that to them.
Can… can they do that? Just shut you out of the room if you annoy them?
Yes. They have ways. If coercion or violence do not work they will resort to chemical warfare.
Another thing that can trigger this is as you say, a lack of attention.
How often do you play with him? If you’re not doing minimum 15 minutes a day of active play you might want to step it up.
I would also suggest nail trimming. The rule in my house is that if someone uses their claws inappropriately (on furniture, me, whatever) then it’s time for a nail trim. If you’re not sure how to do it, have your vet show you how to do it properly. You need to be very careful. If you trim a nail too short and hit the quick it’s very painful for your cat and it will bleed, maybe a lot. As I said, have a vet show you how to do it if you don’t already know how.
You do NOT want this to be a traumatic experience. This is not a punishment. It’s just a consequence of using their claws when they shouldn’t. If you do it right, it is not painful for them but they do not enjoy the feeling of having short nails without points. I think it just feels weird to them. They will spend a lot of time afterwards at the scratching post working on resharpening them. If you promptly trim the nails after they misbehave, they will associate the two experiences and stop clawing inappropriately.
Also, you might want to give them a treat immediately afterward to console them, if they are food motivated. After several years now, my cats will actually line up to get their nails clipped because they want the treat.
My cat started doing the same thing, except he started attacking my feet which was quite painful. I picked him up and put him outside and closed the door, then went back to sleep. Mine also cried but I sleep like a rock so it doesn’t bother me plus he can just go sleep with the other cat so it’s not like he is lonely all night. He got the hint super quick and now it’s no longer an issue.
Just put him on the floor every time he does it, rather than kicking him out of the room. He’ll get the message eventually. Mine did.
Thank you! He gets wet food and I have an auto wet food feeder, but it is a real PITA to set up and clean and it only holds a couple of meals. I’ll have to work on being more regular about it.
