My pets won't let me sleep and I am exhausted. Help.

[ybiaw]

So for the past week or two (seriously have no idea I’m so tired all the days are blurring together), my pets (cat and dog) have decided that sleeping at night is super lame (because, you know, they get to sleep all day while I’m at work and stuff), and that they’re going to wake up at all hours of the night. Most notably, it’s been EVERY MORNING at 4:30 for at least the past week and a half - but I know, just by my level of exhaustion when my alarm goes off in the morning, that they’re waking me up several times during the night, too. It’s mostly the cat - he ends up waking the dog up…the dog would sleep 24/7 if she could.

Seriously, I feel like a zombie.

Any tips/tricks/suggestions for getting them on a better sleep schedule? Ugh, it’s like having a baby or something.

I make sure to play with both of them in the evening after dinner. The cat gets an extra scoop of food before I go to bed, and I always make sure he’s got a clean litter box for the night. The dog eats at 6pm-ish when I get home, goes out for a walk and then another quick pee/poo before bed, so I know shes not waking me up because she needs to go out. She’s just waking me up because the devil cat wakes her up and then she thinks it’s time to play or eat. She comes back to bed right away, but still, ANNOYING.

The cat is fairly new to my house. I’ve had him for about 5 weeks. His newest thing is that he likes to play with the blinds in my bedroom at night. I’ve tried locking him out of the room, but then he meows and scratches at the door. He’ll lay down and sleep for a bit, but then wakes up in the middle of the night purring (omg, how can I be mad about that?!?! it’s the cutest thing ever and if it weren’t happening in the middle of the night I’d be totally fine with it) and wanting to play.

Help me, I’m sleep deprived. Is there anything I can do, before I go insane?

[Preposterous_Ponies]

Earplugs and / or spray bottle (or some other form of ammunition).

My boyfriend and I got those super size kinder eggs for Easter. We now keep the plastic eggs that they toy came in beside the bed. The Fat Cat likes to scratch at the animal food pantry door in the middle of the night - we throw the eggs at him.

[Dramapony_misty]

Lock the cat in the room with the litter box (and maybe put at least a water dish in there, then lock the dog out of your bedroom. Easy peasy.

Growing up “no animals allowed in the bedrooms” was the rule of the realm. Though I did try to sneak my cat in bed with me, she would always jump down and run if she heard my parents coming. Pets do NOT have to sleep with us!

[ybiaw]

[QUOTE=Preposterous Ponies!;8110120]
Earplugs and / or spray bottle (or some other form of ammunition).

My boyfriend and I got those super size kinder eggs for Easter. We now keep the plastic eggs that they toy came in beside the bed. The Fat Cat likes to scratch at the animal food pantry door in the middle of the night - we throw the eggs at him. :D[/QUOTE]

LOL, I keep rolled up socks by my bed and chuck them at him when he gets annoying but then he thinks OMG ITS TIME TO PLAAAAAY!!!

[french_fry]

[QUOTE=Dramapony_misty;8110124]
Lock the cat in the room with the litter box (and maybe put at least a water dish in there, then lock the dog out of your bedroom. Easy peasy.

Growing up “no animals allowed in the bedrooms” was the rule of the realm. Though I did try to sneak my cat in bed with me, she would always jump down and run if she heard my parents coming. Pets do NOT have to sleep with us![/QUOTE]

This is great until your cat howls at the door to let her in and, if you lock her in a room further away, howls so loudly that she bothers the neighbors.

Pets are terrorists.

[Nezzy]

i crate my dogs. I have no issues sleeping. i would probably crate the cat, too if it was that much of a pain. Sleep is precious to me.

[french_fry]

Benadryl for both.

(Only half joking.)

[ybiaw]

[QUOTE=french fry;8110130]
This is great until your cat howls at the door to let her in and, if you lock her in a room further away, howls so loudly that she bothers the neighbors.

Pets are terrorists.[/QUOTE]

This is my issue too - I have to be courteous to my neighbors. And a yowling cat who is unhappy about being locked up in kitty jail is going to get on their nerves. LOL

@Nezzy;8110133

i crate my dogs. I have no issues sleeping. i would probably crate the cat, too if it was that much of a pain. Sleep is precious to me.

Sleep is also precious to me. But I won’t crate the dog. Not that I don’t believe in crating, because I do, it’s just because of the situation she was in before I got her. shrug She’s not really the bad one, though. It’s 95% that damn cat!

[french_fry]

But srsly when our little terrorist was in heat prior to her spay BF and I did resort to Benadryl-ing her once or twice. Otherwise we would have literally died of sleep deprivation from the ceaseless yowling.

Not sure what we’re going to do when we have human kids; I’ve heard drugging them is frowned upon…

[ybiaw]

[QUOTE=french fry;8110144]
But srsly when our little terrorist was in heat prior to her spay BF and I did resort to Benadryl-ing her once or twice. Otherwise we would have literally died of sleep deprivation from the ceaseless yowling.

Not sure what we’re going to do when we have human kids; I’ve heard drugging them is frowned upon…[/QUOTE]

I may resort to that at some point. If not for them, then for myself!!

I took Zzzquil the other night and 1) oops I took too much and was groggy yesterday at work all day 2) still woke up a couple times during the night, and 3) awesome crazy dreams.

[Preposterous_Ponies]

[QUOTE=ybiaw;8110129]
LOL, I keep rolled up socks by my bed and chuck them at him when he gets annoying but then he thinks OMG ITS TIME TO PLAAAAAY!!![/QUOTE]

Upgrade your weapon: http://mentalfloss.com/sites/default/files/styles/insert_main_wide_image/public/super_soaker_50-_original.jpg

Although a pistol might be better than a pump action shotgun.

[ybiaw]

Hahahaha, OMG that would be hilaaaarious.

[tabula_rashah]

Will your cat play? We have to wear my 9 month old kitten out before we go to bed. Basically he plays fetch with his toy mice until he gets bored, then I have this thing that looks like a lunge whip that he LOFFS. He chases the end at top speed until he pretty much collapses as an exhausted kitty (YAY!) who will now sleep through most of the night.

[ybiaw]

[QUOTE=tabula rashah;8110803]
Will your cat play? We have to wear my 9 month old kitten out before we go to bed. Basically he plays fetch with his toy mice until he gets bored, then I have this thing that looks like a lunge whip that he LOFFS. He chases the end at top speed until he pretty much collapses as an exhausted kitty (YAY!) who will now sleep through most of the night.[/QUOTE]

Yeah we play every night until he flops down exhausted but to no avail! I’m going to grab some earplugs and just ride it out!

[Covergirl15]

Honestly, you might ask your vet… Not saying there’s anything medically wrong (there probably isn’t!), but he may have some ideas i.e. Benadryl or something similar to help your cat sleep, at least until kitty outgrows this habit!

[threedogpack]

take those same plastic eggs, make kitteh find and work for food.

away from bedroom.

[GraceLikeRain]

I can really really relate. Mine is a snuggle angel until 6 AM when she starts screaming at the top of her lungs. She’s closer to 3 and low energy so I’ve developed a short fuse for her nonsense.

Flame Suit On
Tactics:

1. I toss her rear end in the bathroom and turn on the fan. It really isn’t enough to drown her yowls but the unusual setting worries her enough that she shuts up.

2. Water bottle works moderately well. So does a well-aimed pillow but neither gives me more than a few minutes of reprieve.

3. Minor kitty sleep deprivation. Starting a few hours before bed I keep her alert by playing, petting, etc. She settles in much better at bedtime if she hasn’t been zonked out for hours before bed.

[Raincityrider]

Closed door for kitty with a scat mat outside. I wouldn’t have been comfortable using a zap mat until I rescued a Bengal who would crawl under the middle of my queen-sized bed and howl like a fire engine. The scat mat was the only thing that prevented a complete sleep deprivation breakdown. He eventually learned how to roll the thing up like a burrito and not get zapped but most cats are not evil masterminds. I still use it with my standard American house cat to prevent him from knocking at the door all night. I don’t even need to turn it on. Cat gets the run of the house and I get to sleep which works out better for both of us.

[In_The_Gate]

Is your cat waking you up to play or for food? If for food, a timed feeder set for ~1hr before your cat wants to wake you up will do wonders. I remember this when I forget to set the feeder and my cat wakes me up screaming.

I have this one.
http://www.entirelypets.com/2mealfeeder.html?mr:trackingCode=73108A9F-B8BF-E011-8D66-001517B188A2&mr:referralID=NA&mr:device=c&mr:adType=plaonline&mr:ad=61553320150&mr:keyword=&mr:match=&mr:filter=126524208790&gclid=CjwKEAjwgcipBRDgxK_3ztrBty8SJACRuv4dUIiv_MHF2opKwYk4XvdFs8ZQJmljul3lOYuT25AscRoC9ybw_wcB

I do have to duct tape it down to the bookshelf it is set on or they will knock it over.