 |
| No, Woman. This is MY bed! |
Sleep for humans is overrated. There, I said it. Humans spend over half their lives sleeping and that isn’t right. Humans pick the most inopportune times to sleep. Why do humans want to sleep when it gets dark at night? They should be playing with their cats during that time.
We have a problem around the condo and we hope that someone has a solution. It pertains to
I used to be the world’s best cat at night. I’d turn in when TW did or sometimes before. I’d jump into her bed and lay on my pillow. All that has changed and it’s not my fault. TW changed her routine and thus my routine. She used to go to bed by 11-11:30 p.m. then she started staying up until 12:30-1 a.m. or later. Those are play times in CST (Cat Standard Time).
TW insists on getting sleep at night. She’s tried everything to get me to cooperate. She plays with me before bedtime; she doesn’t play with me before bedtime. Neither works to her liking. She’s tried going to bed earlier again but then she’s interrupting my new routine and I won’t have it.
When she does play with me, there are bad consequences for both of us. From her side, she gets all wound up and can’t sleep. None of the natural sleeping aids help her: valerian, melatonin, lavender, acupressure points, Sleepytime tea, etc. Her goal is to tire me out but I also get wound up and want to play even more. I don’t tire from play. I always want more so I sing the song of my people. Then I jump on her bed and give her the "stare of death." I dare you to move, Woman, so I can jump your bones!
TW knows my stare of death which is why she sleeps in flannel pj’s in a light room. I’ll wait for her to move and then come flying at her with my teeth and claws bared. That is fun for me but apparently no fun for her cos she’s afraid I’ll send her to hospital with infected wounds. Seriously, would I do that?
When she doesn’t play with me, she can’t sleep cos I’m singing the songs of my people in the foyer. If she closes her bedroom door, I'll scratch under the door and cry till early morning. If I’m forced to sleep in Pop’s room, I’ll show TW she didn’t win by frowing up the next morning.
She’s tried dosing me with Rescue Remedy but she’s afraid to do it too often because I go out like a rock. Does anyone know if you can use it daily? Feliway is too expensive and TW doesn’t know if it will work. Her bedroom doesn’t have many outlets to plug it in and she’s worried it will affect our asthma.
I think you need your own condo. Or a kitten. Or psychiatric help.
ReplyDeleteWhen Stubby the Farm cat was here and singing the song of his people because he still had his pompoms we just blocked his song out. Me because grew up with noisy brothers and I have an amazing capacity for blocking noise and the male person with ear plugs. He eventually got the message that it wasn't going to work and stopped singing.
Yes, I do believe TW needs her own condo and psychiatric help. Desperately.
DeleteBoth Waffles and I have pretty much taken to Glogirly's sleeping schedule. She stays up pretty late though... and we can almost always score a treat from Gloman when he gets up at 5am-ish.
ReplyDeleteWe've read that active play will tire you out and help with sleep. So maybe you need an extra round of foam rockets right before bedtime. Then a treat. Then a quick groom. And hopefully, then some ZZzzzzzz.
: ) Katie
Wish I could be more help - all I know is dat I sleep good if I get a big meal right before bedtime.
ReplyDeleteI have no advice, except to ask why TW cannot adjust her sleeping schedule to yours. I mean, it'snot like cats don't sleep about 19 freaking hours a day. Surely SOME of those hours could be convenient for her to sleep! I mean, she doesn't have to get all her sleep at once right? We hear Leonardo da Vinci took naps. I think that was a Seinfeld episode.
ReplyDeleteIn all seriousness, the Humans get kinda cranky and not-fun if they don't get enough sleep. Maybe she needs to get some really great earplugs and toss you out in the hallway and let you sing. Sometimes the Human uses museum putty for earplugs. It's like being completely deaf.
I can't believe you'd rather sleep with TW than with your adorable Pops. What's up with that?
CK, I adjusted to the human's schedule pretty easily - all three of us kitties sleep with the humans at night and we rather enjoy it. Of course, my human stays up later, and she will play with me if I ask her too, but if don't, she is usually too busy at the computer and forgets. She says that if you were living here, you would be getting Rescue Remedy all the time! It's just a flower essence so it can't be bad, can it? I have no idea. I'm not a vet. Actually vet and cat only have one letter in common, so that makes me even less of one!
ReplyDeleteSorry we can't help but peeps says she is fed up with me getting her up at dark o clock to go and chases the foxes. Have a wonderful Wednesday.
ReplyDeleteBest wishes Molly
Dang CK, I wish we could help but we go to bed and to sleep when the peeps do.
ReplyDeleteI can't think of good solutions, but if playing before bedtime doesn't work, maybe you can try to play at earlier time so that you'll be active instead of napping. Another thing I can think of is to move dinner time close to bedtime, but it may be too late for dinner. I wish I could help more...I hope both you and TW get good night sleep.
ReplyDeleteThis is not going to be a solution for TW but it is an observation. Audrey was like that with her first home, and woke my humans' daughter all through the night. When they brought Audrey here, the rule was that Audrey got closed in the kitchen with a catbed. Worked like a charm. She did start scratching the kitchen door when morning came, but not during the rest of the night.
ReplyDeleteCK do you need a kitten?
ReplyDeleteM and i ALWAYS have playtime before bed too. We have lights out here at l0:45 pm o'dark. M starts playing with me off and on from about 8:00 o'dark to 10:00 o'dark. Not constantly mind you, just off and on. She'll come out into the kitchen and see me sitting there waiting, so starts swinging the Neko Fly around. But, I has to say, I'm more lazy than you are CK, so I not know if this method work for you or not. Dang humans are never happy! We have them spoiled CK.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't recommend those plug ins anyway- they get too hot and I am afraid of fire. I think her only choice is to go back to the original schedule of bed at 11. Well, she could just get on your schedule :)
ReplyDeleteWe wish we could help, CK, but aside from Zoe getting the zoomies in the middle of the night once in a while, and Moosey "patrolling" the house quietly each night, our cats kind of stick to the humans' sleeping schedules...
ReplyDeleteWe only can repeat what has already been said above ; we agree with Glogirly : Claire did it to adjust Zorro's schedule and succeeded in have pretty quiet nights. We hope it will help your mom and you ! Purrs
ReplyDeleteSounds like you need a little kitty :)
ReplyDeleteOH CK yous gotta let TW get sum sleeps. And sleepin' wiff da hooman when they sleep can be lots of fun. As fur da wescue wemedy, it's 100% safe to giv daily. So ifin dat's da only way yous let TW sleep then it's okay to giv to you. she kuld always adjust da dose ifin she finks yous knocked out more than hers wuld like. But yes, it's safe. We sleep when mommy duz, but weez awake duwin' da day when udder kitties might like to be nappin' cuz weez workin'. Yous not hav to work like us to be awake. TW kuld take yous fur a stwoll/walk ourside in da bwisk clean air. We do tend to sleep better on da days when we do this. But mommy also sez TW shuld ignore you and anyfin' yous do to twy to get hers up. Udderwise she's weinforcin' dat behavior. It dusn't matter what time mommy goes to bed, weez always weady. She's an insomniac and so sumtimes it's 11 p.m. and sumtimes it's 5 a.m. or sumwhere in tween. When mommy's weady to go to bed and go to sleep, hers carries boff of us to bed and gets in hers self (usually still holding one of us cuz we wuld udderwise jump down) and then she puts hers hands on us and weez purray fur each udder and all ow furiends, and then mommy tells us she luvs us and fur all of us to go night night and sleep on da bed togedder. And then she lays down. Most nights we do too. Occasionall one of us will get down and run to da pawdee box, but mommy tells us to hurry and get back to bed, and we do. Hope sumfin' weez sed helps, and good luck.
ReplyDeleteLuv ya'
Dezi and Lexi
I think you need more nip CK. Come over and share mine, we can have a party for two.
ReplyDeleteTruffles is actually usually ready for bed before I am! It's getting her to pipe down early in the morning that's the problem around here :)
ReplyDeleteIt is tough when everyone has different sleep schedules! Luckily for my kitties, I am usually up all night and my husband is up all day, so there is always a human available for play time. I hope that you find a way to work things out.
ReplyDeleteWe usually tuck in to sleep at bedtime, either in the bed or in one of our own beds in the room. But both Pierre and Newton tend to get into trouble during the night. Well, Pierre says it's all Newton, and Newton says he gets the blame for all naughty things, so it's hard to tell. At any rate, would it help to get you would up with play earlier rather than just before bedtime? That might give you some time to cycle down and not be in such a predatory mode by time to sleep but still get you enough exercise to keep you from being so restless. Or did you try that already and we misunderstood?
ReplyDeleteHi TW, it's Marty's Mom. I have lavender aromatherapy that I use in the bedroom. I also have a cat tree, cardboard scratcher and a few misc. toys in our bedroom. We have a loose schedule, but try to be in bed by 10:30 every night. There are comfy blankies on the couch by me and the same type of comfy blankies on the bed so the boys have them to curl up on. Don't know if any of this might work for you guys but that is what we do. Plus playtime always ends by 8pm.
ReplyDeleteI think your stare of death would make me stay still too!!!
ReplyDeleteღ husky hugz ღ frum our pack at Love is being owned by a husky!
Wish we could help. We sleep when our humans do. Sometimes we get up at night if one of them does or if we need a snack or to use the box, but we are very quiet about it. Hope you get some good advice from some of your other furiends. XOCK, Lily Olivia, Mauricio, Misty May, Giulietta, Fiona, Astrid, Lisbeth and Calista Jo
ReplyDeleteCK, we too have adjusted to our peeps sleeping habits and we mostly sleep when they do. Though I like laying on the mom when she's sleeping so sometimes that wakes her up. Rescue Remedy is pretty safe and you can use it on a daily basis if needed. ~Wally
ReplyDeleteBFGF you just have way too much energy. However...we do like the effects we have from Feliway plug ins and we watch them and don't fret about fire etc. Mom L and Dad P both have asthma and neither have experienced any exacerbated symptoms with Feliway and we have used it for about 3 years in many rooms. When Cuzin Leo lived here and was getting better, he scratched at his door and sang our songs so Mom used ear plugs and all was well
ReplyDeleteBoy, CK, TW has a problem, doesn't she? We are all usually ready to go to sleep long before mom is and we pretty much sleep through the night. Wish we had some ideas for you.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad to know you still enjoy my Mancatly Handsomeness after all these years. I know I get all melty inside when I see you--that picture of you all aseepeez the other day made me all fainty. XOXO
ReplyDeleteLooks like you already have lots of comments, CK, but I'll throw in my two cents.
ReplyDeleteMaybe TW could play with you about an hour or so before bedtime and then feed you? Kitties typically fall asleep after they've hunted and eaten.
TW can give you Rescue Remedy everyday - just a drop or two on a treat or in your mouth. I also have asthma, and the Feliway/Comfort Zone didn't affect my asthma at all.
The other thing TW could do - and it will be hard on everyone - is to just ignore you when she goes to bed. If you are attacking her, then she should probably close the bedroom door and just ignore you - no matter how much you sing to her. I know it sounds very cold-hearted, but when behavior is "rewarded" with attention - even negative attention - it reinforces the behavior so you'll keep bugging TW at night. When Carmine was a kitten, he'd come and bite my toes while I slept. I had to put him outside my door and close it. I felt like a mean mom for doing that, but he *did* learn not to bite my toes anymore, and it didn't take long at all because he hates closed doors. He quickly learned that if he bit my toes, he would be put outside the bedroom. It only took a few days for him to understand, and he quit biting!
Boy, that Spitty! All I have to say. He's a Lothario.
ReplyDeleteMe neither have any good ideas :(
ReplyDeleteI go to bed before my humans and sleep all night as a good kitt. Just kidding!
I play in the middle of the night, but it doesn't bother my humans since all my toys are soft ones :)
XOXO
I sleep when the humans do too. That way I have something to snuggle with being as they won't adopt another kitty as I am "a big enough handful"...
ReplyDeleteNoodle
Have you tried changing your dining schedule so that you're eating a big meal a couple hours before bedtime? That might give your body something to do other than play.
ReplyDeleteJust a couple thoughts. Try some vigorous playing well before bed time,,,,,so you both have a chance to calm down some when it's time to sleep. For the human,,,,even if you have tried before,,,do not under-estimate the power of meditation. Research self-hypnosis,,,,,,it is not something to be afraid of,,,,,it can work wonders for you,,,,,and could be valuable in calming kitty down too.
ReplyDelete