4 ms·

In my case, it demolishes any chance of restful sleep. She literally walks all over me. She'll meow at the door if I shut the door. So it's either meows or w

In my case, it demolishes any chance of restful sleep. She literally walks all over me. She'll meow at the door if I shut the door. So it's either meows or walking. It's a ... nightmare.

castlecrasher2 5y ago
Cruel as it may sound, you could try establishing dominance. We have a male cat who would meow EVERY MORNING sometime between 2 and 4 am. We tried many kinds of discipline, but it didn't stop until one morning I chased him into hiding downstairs and it hasn't happened since. Every morning after for about a week I would go out of my way to thank him and give him attention. I know many out there would say that running after him was cruel but it worked and he's still as friendly as can be, and we get to sleep through each night.
- shinymark 5y ago
  Not the original poster but I’m going to seriously consider this. I’m at my wits end with a male cat who habitually meows at 2 am and 5 am point blank in front of my face.
  - bombcar 5y ago
    Boop him on the snoot. It’s what mama cats do to kittens.
- andyferris 5y ago
  They say healthy expression of anger is an important tool even in human communication, to set boundaries/etc. Angry cats chase each other. It doesn’t necessarily imply dominance. I wouldn’t think this is cruel - it’s just a decent way to express your feelings on the matter to your feline, and he understood/learned.
- knicholes 5y ago
  For about two weeks I'd chase her with a spray bottle of water whenever she meowed. sigh
- eyelidlessness 5y ago
  This is something that comes up more with human/dog relationships but I think it’s worth mentioning here too: there’s nothing wrong with this as a training approach if, and because, the pet trusts you and baseline feels safe with you. If they feel unsafe or haven’t made that assessment it can be traumatic and even personality-altering. I don’t want to discourage anyone from any kind of safe, instinct triggering corrective action. But I do recommend something similar to what people say about human child discipline: act consistently and with intent. Don’t accept some instances of a bad behavior sometimes and correct others; if you’ve decided this is your approach stick with it unless you see harm in following through. Don’t overreact out of frustration; think through what you’re going to do, and be sure it’s safe and something you’re gonna be comfortable reflecting on when it’s over.
- mgarfias 5y ago
  I had a kitten that was relentless with her biting. One day she bit my hand, and without thinking I leaned down and not her ear. She never bit me after that.
klowrey 5y ago
It may be frowned upon, but we communicated to our cats that meowing at the door was not acceptable by discouraging them with a vacuum cleaner. Flip the switch on the vacuum and run the cord under the door to your bed side. Upon meow, quietly plug the vacuum in to activate -- if the cat senses that you activated the device, the process doesn't work. If "the environment" doesn't want them to meow at the door, they learn quickly. Of course give them lots of love in the morning and before bed.
- knicholes 5y ago
  I tried programming my arduino to trigger a servo to pull the handle on a spray air can when a sound over a threshold was detected by the microphone, but the servo wasn't strong enough. Enabling an outlet to an already-plugged in vacuum sounds good, though. Excellent... I had plans to train a cat meow classifier so I wouldn't activate the can due to other noises, say a fire truck, fireworks, or a neighbor slamming a door shut.
  - daniellarusso 5y ago
    They actually sell these devices, but they are IR motion activated, not via sound. https://store.petsafe.net/ssscat-spray-pet-deterrent https://store.petsafe.net/ssscat-spray-pet-deterrent
    - Nursie 5y ago
      We have one of those, they're good but the refills are strangely expensive. Turns out they fit some standard brands of canned air, I picked up some branded "ecomoist air duster" and it works really well, although slightly quieter, it still seems to work on our kitty.
- _carbyau_ 5y ago
  Sounds like a good reason for a robot vacuum cleaner. "I'm just fiddling with my phone over here entirely not related to your meowing and the vacuum coming to get you!"
UncleOxidant 5y ago
Getting an automatic feeder has helped a lot. The cats used to wake us up at 3AM for food. Now it's much better. One of them still comes in at around 5:30AM to play, but that's not so bad.
- trhway 5y ago
  not surprising giving that the cats are night hunters. With age though our cat was meowing if we were still up starting around 12am and until we'd go to bed, basically he was enforcing our the typical routine (and yes, he was sleeping with us, and the cats are big on routine)
tracyhenry 5y ago
Instead of intimidation, simply ignoring it (i.e. absolutely not opening the door whatsoever) can work. It can take a while so be patient. My kitty stopped meowing at night after I do this for two weeks, and has never since meowed at night.
- eyelidlessness 5y ago
  This is good advice but it’s going to vary by human more than pet. I have a lot better track record developing patience and a good discipline relationship with my pets by actively engaging, because I’m cognitively (ADHD, ASD) incapable of ignoring a lot of things and trying to force it brings out my worst, least intentional self.
tverbeure 5y ago
In the past year, the biggest quality of life improvements in our household were: - changing the door handles to door knobs, because our lovable asshole had long ago figured out how to open a door, and used that special trick every morning at 4:30am when he wanted to go out. - installing an RFID triggered electronic cat flap that we installed in the outside wall of my hobby room. It uses the RFID tag that was already in implanted in his neck. Ours is one from Sure Petcare, but there are multiple brands of course. The cat flap is amazing: it took roughly 1 day to teach him how to open and close it, and now he can leave and enter the house as he wishes: he usually leaves around 4:30am and comes back an hour or two later. We're extraordinary lucky that he taught himself to do this potty business outside, so we don't have a litter box. Once he learned how to use the flap, he stopped bothering us at night. An additional benefit is that we can now go out for a weekend without locking him up, using an automated feeder to make sure he stays happy. We can also check leaving/entering activity on an app. It's a life changer.
- Nursie 5y ago
  The "Sure" flaps are great. We keep our cats in at night, and have the flap programmed to only allow inbound after 8pm, until about 6am (at this time of year), and it keeps other cats out.
Nursie 5y ago
Close door. Ignore meows. If meows continue or start up in the middle of the night and you can't ignore them, open the door suddenly, hiss at the cat and chase it away. You won't have to do this often. Our cats have (mostly) learned this. They are still affectionate, loving cats that desire our company, but they know that meowing at the bedroom door in the night is not allowed. (and we had to do this for the very same reason, our boy cat loves to be on the bed with us or in the room when we're sleeping. He loves it so much he has to get up and move around every few minutes, trill and purr at us, demand attention, walk around on his people etc etc. He can't be a night-time bed cat because he's just too into it!)

In my case, it demolishes any chance of restful sleep. She literally walks all over me. She'll meow at the door if I shut the door. So it's either meows or walking. It's a ... nightmare.

castlecrasher2 5y ago

Cruel as it may sound, you could try establishing dominance. We have a male cat who would meow EVERY MORNING sometime between 2 and 4 am. We tried many kinds of discipline, but it didn't stop until one morning I chased him into hiding downstairs and it hasn't happened since. Every morning after for about a week I would go out of my way to thank him and give him attention. I know many out there would say that running after him was cruel but it worked and he's still as friendly as can be, and we get to sleep through each night.

shinymark 5y ago
Not the original poster but I’m going to seriously consider this. I’m at my wits end with a male cat who habitually meows at 2 am and 5 am point blank in front of my face.
- bombcar 5y ago
  Boop him on the snoot. It’s what mama cats do to kittens.
andyferris 5y ago
They say healthy expression of anger is an important tool even in human communication, to set boundaries/etc. Angry cats chase each other. It doesn’t necessarily imply dominance. I wouldn’t think this is cruel - it’s just a decent way to express your feelings on the matter to your feline, and he understood/learned.
knicholes 5y ago
For about two weeks I'd chase her with a spray bottle of water whenever she meowed. sigh
eyelidlessness 5y ago
This is something that comes up more with human/dog relationships but I think it’s worth mentioning here too: there’s nothing wrong with this as a training approach if, and because, the pet trusts you and baseline feels safe with you. If they feel unsafe or haven’t made that assessment it can be traumatic and even personality-altering. I don’t want to discourage anyone from any kind of safe, instinct triggering corrective action. But I do recommend something similar to what people say about human child discipline: act consistently and with intent. Don’t accept some instances of a bad behavior sometimes and correct others; if you’ve decided this is your approach stick with it unless you see harm in following through. Don’t overreact out of frustration; think through what you’re going to do, and be sure it’s safe and something you’re gonna be comfortable reflecting on when it’s over.
mgarfias 5y ago
I had a kitten that was relentless with her biting. One day she bit my hand, and without thinking I leaned down and not her ear. She never bit me after that.

klowrey 5y ago

It may be frowned upon, but we communicated to our cats that meowing at the door was not acceptable by discouraging them with a vacuum cleaner. Flip the switch on the vacuum and run the cord under the door to your bed side. Upon meow, quietly plug the vacuum in to activate -- if the cat senses that you activated the device, the process doesn't work. If "the environment" doesn't want them to meow at the door, they learn quickly. Of course give them lots of love in the morning and before bed.

knicholes 5y ago
I tried programming my arduino to trigger a servo to pull the handle on a spray air can when a sound over a threshold was detected by the microphone, but the servo wasn't strong enough. Enabling an outlet to an already-plugged in vacuum sounds good, though. Excellent... I had plans to train a cat meow classifier so I wouldn't activate the can due to other noises, say a fire truck, fireworks, or a neighbor slamming a door shut.
- daniellarusso 5y ago
  They actually sell these devices, but they are IR motion activated, not via sound. https://store.petsafe.net/ssscat-spray-pet-deterrent https://store.petsafe.net/ssscat-spray-pet-deterrent
  - Nursie 5y ago
    We have one of those, they're good but the refills are strangely expensive. Turns out they fit some standard brands of canned air, I picked up some branded "ecomoist air duster" and it works really well, although slightly quieter, it still seems to work on our kitty.
_carbyau_ 5y ago
Sounds like a good reason for a robot vacuum cleaner. "I'm just fiddling with my phone over here entirely not related to your meowing and the vacuum coming to get you!"

UncleOxidant 5y ago

Getting an automatic feeder has helped a lot. The cats used to wake us up at 3AM for food. Now it's much better. One of them still comes in at around 5:30AM to play, but that's not so bad.

trhway 5y ago
not surprising giving that the cats are night hunters. With age though our cat was meowing if we were still up starting around 12am and until we'd go to bed, basically he was enforcing our the typical routine (and yes, he was sleeping with us, and the cats are big on routine)

tracyhenry 5y ago

Instead of intimidation, simply ignoring it (i.e. absolutely not opening the door whatsoever) can work. It can take a while so be patient. My kitty stopped meowing at night after I do this for two weeks, and has never since meowed at night.

eyelidlessness 5y ago
This is good advice but it’s going to vary by human more than pet. I have a lot better track record developing patience and a good discipline relationship with my pets by actively engaging, because I’m cognitively (ADHD, ASD) incapable of ignoring a lot of things and trying to force it brings out my worst, least intentional self.

tverbeure 5y ago

In the past year, the biggest quality of life improvements in our household were: - changing the door handles to door knobs, because our lovable asshole had long ago figured out how to open a door, and used that special trick every morning at 4:30am when he wanted to go out. - installing an RFID triggered electronic cat flap that we installed in the outside wall of my hobby room. It uses the RFID tag that was already in implanted in his neck. Ours is one from Sure Petcare, but there are multiple brands of course. The cat flap is amazing: it took roughly 1 day to teach him how to open and close it, and now he can leave and enter the house as he wishes: he usually leaves around 4:30am and comes back an hour or two later. We're extraordinary lucky that he taught himself to do this potty business outside, so we don't have a litter box. Once he learned how to use the flap, he stopped bothering us at night. An additional benefit is that we can now go out for a weekend without locking him up, using an automated feeder to make sure he stays happy. We can also check leaving/entering activity on an app. It's a life changer.

Nursie 5y ago
The "Sure" flaps are great. We keep our cats in at night, and have the flap programmed to only allow inbound after 8pm, until about 6am (at this time of year), and it keeps other cats out.

Nursie 5y ago

Close door. Ignore meows. If meows continue or start up in the middle of the night and you can't ignore them, open the door suddenly, hiss at the cat and chase it away. You won't have to do this often. Our cats have (mostly) learned this. They are still affectionate, loving cats that desire our company, but they know that meowing at the bedroom door in the night is not allowed. (and we had to do this for the very same reason, our boy cat loves to be on the bed with us or in the room when we're sleeping. He loves it so much he has to get up and move around every few minutes, trill and purr at us, demand attention, walk around on his people etc etc. He can't be a night-time bed cat because he's just too into it!)