If you have cats, you understand they spend most of the day sleeping only to become active around dawn and dusk, and during parts of the night, which can disturb your sleep and be quite a nuisance if you have an early day at work. If you are having problems and would like to calm your cat down at night so you can get better sleep, you’ve come to the right place.
We are about to list several methods you can try to keep your cat calmer while you sleep. We’ll provide you with a short description of each one and an image where possible to help you be better informed.
The 13 Tips for Keeping Your Cat Calm at Night
1. Don’t Allow Your Cat in the Bedroom
If you are a cat owner who wants to get better sleep, try not to allow your cat in the bedroom. While it feels silly to say that sentence out loud as a cat owner, cats are extremely habitual by nature. If you put the cat in a specific room at the end of each day or confine them to a certain area of the house where they will have everything they need, beginning as a kitten, the cat will feel comfortable and settled there as an adult, and you will be able to sleep peacefully.
Unfortunately, most of us allow and even encourage small kittens to sleep with us and invade our personal space in other ways that we might not appreciate when a full-grown cat does it. If the kitten plays in bed while you sleep, the adult is more likely to do the same. There are many other ways to spend quality time with your kitty, other than allowing them to sleep in your bed. However, if you can’t say no to their attempts to keep you company at night, then be prepared to do the same when your cat grows up, as they won’t understand your sudden change of heart and this may cause them stress.
2. Increase Playtime
One of the best ways to get your cat to sleep more at night is to spend more time playing with them during the day, especially before bedtime. Cats love to pounce, stalk, hunt, and play games, and most cats will take short naps if nothing is exciting. Spending a few extra minutes each day playing with your cat, especially during the few hours leading up to bedtime, can significantly reduce your night disturbances. A bored cat is more likely to keep you awake trying to play, as they’ve not had enough exercise or mental stimulation throughout the day.
Playing with your cats will also help you form strong bonds, and other family members can help share the responsibility and the fun.
3. Window Perches
If you live alone and spend a lot of time away from home, it can be challenging to help your cat get the activity they need to sleep during the night. Perches placed in different windows around your home can be a great substitute.
The wildlife outside your home is about as exciting as it gets for a house cat, and they will expend plenty of energy running back and forth to see the sights.
4. Bird Feeders
Keeping in line with the methods we’ve already looked at, bird feeders are a great way to bring action to your cat. Window bird feeders use suction cups to attach to your window.
You can then fill them with birdseed, and the birds will flock to your window, which will be a tremendous excitement for your cats, and it will expend plenty of energy as they make their strange chattering sounds. Birds are also fun for us humans to watch. However, in some cats, this may lead to frustration, as they can’t get to the birds, so ensure this is an appropriate method for your cat. Having bird feeders further away from the window may be more suitable in those cases, and certainly less stressful for the birds.
5. Feed Your Cat Before Bed
If you are new to owning a cat, it won’t be long before you discover that cats frequently go to sleep right after eating. They have an extremely predictable routine of eating a large bowl of food and then wandering off to one of their favorite spots to groom themselves for a few minutes before taking a long nap.
If you use this to your advantage and feed your cat right before you go to bed, you are possibly guaranteeing yourself several hours of peaceful sleep.
6. Automatic Feeder
If feeding your cat before bed isn’t an option, you can also try an automatic feeder that will feed your pet later at night without disturbing your sleep. These devices are extremely helpful, inexpensive, and fairly reliable.
The cat will be satisfied without disturbing you, and what is even better is the cat will associate the machine with food and not you, so when they’re hungry, they may spend more time hovering around the machine instead of waking you up.
7. Create a Safe Place for Your Cat to Sleep
Unfortunately, we can’t see the world out of the cat’s eyes and don’t always know what scares them or makes them uncomfortable. Garbage trucks, rattling pipes, and other noises can disturb your cat’s sleep. If they feel threatened, they might try to seek you out for shelter, disturbing your sleep.
If you have a skittish cat, a cave-style pet bed is a great choice for helping your pet feel more secure while they sleep and less likely to seek out your protection or reassurance at night. We’ve also had great success throwing a blanket over an office chair to create a cave-style hut for the cat to hide out in.
Finding the perfect cat bed begins with understanding what your feline needs regarding support, design, and comfort. Hepper has combined these essential features and created the Nest, a cat bed that most felines truly enjoy and continue to choose. The intriguing bowl-shape draws them in and the warm sherpa insert and supportive foam base are what keep them coming back. Explore the Hepper Nest here.
- HAPPY COZY CATS - Your kitty will bask in luxurious sherpa-lined comfort while feeling warm, safe,...
- MODERN DESIGN - Contemporary styling with upholstered fabric construction; just like your human...
- WARM FLEECE LINER - Self warming, thick sherpa fleece with microfiber trim.
At PangoVet, we’ve admired Hepper for many years and decided to take a controlling ownership interest so that we could benefit from the outstanding designs of this cool cat company!
8. Warm the Bed
For animals with very dense fur, cats sure get cold quickly, and yours is much more likely to seek out your warm body heat at night during the colder winter months than at other times of the year. Luckily, when your cat is doing this, they’re not trying to make you get up and feed them or play with them, so you can still get some sleep.
However, either a safe electric or self-warming, purchasing a warming bed can help you reduce sleep interruptions while providing a more comfortable environment for your cat.
9. Leave Out Toys
Many kittens and cats like to practice hunting when they first wake up, so leaving out some toys can help keep them busy, which might give you a few extra minutes of sleep. There are many plush toys your cat can casserole without making much noise, and some cats will carry on with them for quite a while.
10. Automatic Toys
As we mentioned earlier, toys can be a great way to keep your cat busy while you’re trying to sleep. While soft plush toys can help keep your cats quiet, automatic toys will keep them engaged. These toys can do a fantastic job of keeping your cat occupied while you get some extra sleep.
Unfortunately, most brands require you to start them manually, which means you need to get up for a minute, but if you are someone who falls back to sleep quickly, these toys can be a godsend.
11. Calming Pheromones
Several brands of calming pheromones are available to try and relax your cat, so they’re not running around and keeping you up at night. They can also help reduce the frequency of quarrels between household cats that do not get along as well.
Humans can’t smell the pheromones, and they’re non-toxic to cats, so it’s worth giving them a try if you have a stressed or anxious cat. It comes in a spray or a diffuser, but we prefer the diffuser because you can leave it plugged in for 30 days at a time.
12. Get Another Cat
In some cases, adopting a second cat can be a potential way to get more sleep. Your cat may wake you up if they’re feeling bored and want you to play with them or feed them. A second may make it much less likely that either cat will be bored.
The downside to this option is that cats are often extremely territorial, and may not get along, which will end up costing you sleep if you continuously need to interfere with squabbles. An introduction of a new cat or kitten has to be a slow and gradual process, in order to give both cats the best chance of accepting one another. However, do not take this lightly. Owning two or more cats comes with even higher responsibilities and costs, as each cat needs their own resources, such as food and water bowls, litter boxes, toys, preventative healthcare, and your attention. Make sure this is truly the right answer for your other cat and your family, before committing to it.
13. Visit the Vet
If your cat is unsettled overnight, confused, clingy, behaving strangely in any way, or vocalizing excessively and you can’t seem to figure out for what reason, they may be trying to tell you that something’s wrong, and we recommend making an appointment with a vet to have them looked over.
Your cat, especially if older, may suffer from any number of problems, from urinary issues, diarrhea, feline cognitive decline, hyperthyroidism, and constipation to something more serious, so it’s important to get a proper diagnosis from a vet so you both can get a good night’s sleep.
- You may also be interested in How to Calm Your Cat During Fireworks (12 Tips That Work)
Conclusion
In our experience, the most common reason cats are awake and ready to play while we are sleeping is that they’re bored and have a lot of energy to use, especially at a young age.
We discussed several ways to try and reduce this behavior, from feeding the cat before bed or purchasing an automatic feeder, along with increased playtime and a warm, comfortable bed or hide out. While they’re still a kitten, ensuring plenty of toys are around and their environment is enriched and stimulating can help keep your cat entertained while you sleep.
We hope you have enjoyed reading over this list and found a few ideas you want to try out.
- Related read: How To Calm Your Cat While On A Plane (Tips That Work)
Featured Image Credit: Iva Vagnerova, Shutterstock
Contents
- The 13 Tips for Keeping Your Cat Calm at Night
- 1. Don’t Allow Your Cat in the Bedroom
- 2. Increase Playtime
- 3. Window Perches
- 4. Bird Feeders
- 5. Feed Your Cat Before Bed
- 6. Automatic Feeder
- 7. Create a Safe Place for Your Cat to Sleep
- 8. Warm the Bed
- 9. Leave Out Toys
- 10. Automatic Toys
- 11. Calming Pheromones
- 12. Get Another Cat
- 13. Visit the Vet
- Conclusion
