Does your feline keep you up at night?
Cats and kittens will sometimes make a lot of noise during the nighttime hours when humans usually prefer to sleep, meowing and playing and running around or even knocking objects off shelves or pouncing on their guardians.
“We want them to be on our schedule, even if it might be natural for them to be more active at night,” says BC SPCA manager of animal welfare Kim Monteith.
To help ensure you get your beauty rest, here’s a few things you can do:
- Close the bedroom door to keep them out
- Don’t reinforce unwanted behaviour by rewarding it (i.e. playing with your cat when she wakes you up in the middle of the night)
- Set up play session with your cat(s) at least twice a day and especially before bed
- Enrichment – hide treats or food in your feline’s toys to encourage them to ‘hunt’ for their food
- Purchase a Manners Minder or similar automatic feeding dispenser, where food can be released by a timer
- If noise at night indicates a change in your pet’s behaviour, it could be health-related – check with your veterinarian if you notice any behavioural changes
