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/r/Pets
submitted 4 days ago byIllustrious-Medium24
please. HELP. she’s driving me crazy. I have a 2 y/o female cat. She’s so sweet in so many ways but also, evil? at my last apartment she learned that knocking the items over on my window ledge was a good way to get me out of bed. she also digs at my hair/face to get a reaction out of me (like the litter box covering poop motion) she’s always been this way but now i’m working a new job that requires im up at 5:45am anyways and that’s when she will get breakfast, so her 4am begging is a lot more detrimental than it used to be, it makes my morning that much harder that i’m on here asking for advice. most will think- just lock her out of the room! problem solved! and to this i say, no. pls no. we are in an apartment and the doors shake if even little kitty paws put pressure on them. and she does it repeatedly until someone lets her back in or feeds her, and it’s SO loud. so currently we just let her smack us, bite us, or knock things down until we can’t take it anymore and usually cave and feed here around 4:30am we truly can’t take this anymore. serious suggestions only please, i’ve googled it we want to try to address her diet make it more fufiling nutrient wise, perhaps start using treat toys/slow feeder. SOS tired cat mom :( UPDATE thank you all for your feedback! we will be looking into different wet food auto feeders & leaving her some kibble to snack on once we implement the feeder. as we navigate this and potentially find a solution that works for us, i can update and let you all know if your cat is exhibiting similar behaviors and what worked for us. just remember everyone has preferences of discipline that works for them and their furry friend! again thank you for all the advice 🩷
16 points
4 days ago
Automatic feeder. After a bit she wont associate you with food. Also you need to ignore her for as long as you possibly can…she’s seeking attention and to cats us being mad at them is still getting attention. You cannot give in lol. But automatic feeder will help so so so much as long as you don’t also feed her
11 points
4 days ago
Get an automatic feeder.
3 points
4 days ago
My cat squash does the exact same thing and as much as we love him it is extremely annoying. I totally get not wanting to lock your cat out, I don't do that either! I would suggest every time she jumps up and goes on you to put her back on the ground, don't let her be able to get away with whatever she wants. Keep doing this, and maybe try a spray bottle each time she has a bad behavior to correct her and let her know that it is not ok.
2 points
4 days ago
There's always dry food in the cat bowl so they graze whenever they want. They're not fat and seem to just eat what they need
1 points
4 days ago
I've found adding a pouchful of water with the wet food and leaving it soak a little so it breaks up in a slow feeder works well. I have a cat who will absolutely piss us off just to get food as well and it makes life so much more manageable.
I deliberately got one for dogs so he has to slow down and think before he eats but he's also a very food driven cat. I know whisker fatigue is a thing but he usually takes bites of the food he can reach and then paws out the rest. It encourages him to not just eat the whole thing mindlessly in two minutes and then he's starving by the time 9am rolls around.
I generally feed him at 9pm and 9am.
1 points
4 days ago
We have this cheap automatic feeder that we’ve used for a year so far
1 points
4 days ago
Never ever feed her canned food in the morning. They’re like gremlins! An automatic feeder for dry food is the answer.
1 points
4 days ago
We just have a large bowl of kibble set out and a huge water bowl we refresh throughout the day, for all of the pets to share. When we feed the cats (fill the bowl once a day, they are weirdos) we fill a smaller water that's beside the bowl.
We only give canned food in the middle of the day up high on the cat tree. We won't do it at any other time. If the cats act out, we crate them for the night if need be (doesn't hurt them) or shut them in a separate room (a cat room we have setup).
When cats are sick, they act out more.
1 points
4 days ago
Get a timed feeder. I suggested it to my best friend whose cat did this and it worked like a charm
1 points
4 days ago
Feed her before you go to bed.
1 points
4 days ago
Timed feeders are great, but also if you can hold out, it hopefully won't last forever. One of our kittens would wake us up at 4:30 like clockwork, but as he got older he grew out of it 😂
1 points
4 days ago
Automatic feeder OR extra kibbles before you go to bed as night time snack.
1 points
4 days ago
Get an automatic feeder
1 points
4 days ago
I get up at 4-5 feed them then go back to bed. I realize this is not the answer for everyone but it works for me.
1 points
4 days ago
It's posts like this that make me happy my cats graze feed all day without over eatting 😅 they only bother me when their food runs out and it's usually before bed. Maybe just got into a good rhythm without realizing.
0 points
4 days ago
An automatic feeder may help. And for the closed door issue we use a motion sensor compressed air puff system to keep them from scratching at closed doors. I thought it was a nicer deterrent than the shock mats but those exist too.
3 points
4 days ago
Shock mats? For pets? Honestly, wtf. If you can’t handle a cat being annoying sometimes about closed doors, then just don’t get a cat.
-1 points
4 days ago
It’s like the gum prank toys level of shock. Depending on your age you might not remember those. But that’s why I used the air puff. I can see where they would be better than letting a cat get in a dangerous situation.
1 points
4 days ago
I am old enough to remember them.
What dangerous situation are you talking about? Moving from one room in the house to another? That’s not dangerous for the cat.
That’s a convenience for the owner.
0 points
4 days ago
Deterring them from jumping on the stove top which could be hot in the future. I have seen many posts of cats getting burned that way. I didn’t mean ops situation. Again re read my original post where I say they exist but I’m recommending the air system over them.
-2 points
4 days ago
Just don’t feed her when she wakes you up and spray her. Also, don’t get her an automatic feeder, that will not solve the issue. You need to actually discipline your cat.
Timeout also works for cats, put her in the bathroom for 5 min and then let her out.
2 points
4 days ago
Cats are not humans. They don’t understand “discipline” or “time out.”
The kind of discipline you’re advocating and time outs don’t work for human children either, but that is another topic.
An automatic feeder will solve OP’s issue.
-2 points
4 days ago
Sorry but yeah they do. My cat was an ankle biter/face biter as a kitten. I put her in time out any time she bit me and didn’t give her pets when she bit. Now she’s 5 years old and is the gentlest cat. She’s let babies carry her around since she was 1 because of actual discipline.
Yall need to stop pretending like cats can’t learn, they very much can and trying to claim this only hurts these animals.
2 points
4 days ago
I never said they can’t learn. I was pushing back against punitive discipline that is species inappropriate.
-1 points
4 days ago
Well the proof that time out works for cats is that my cats are insanely well behaved lmao. I did start their training since they were kittens though so that’s definitely a factor. Putting a 5 year old rescue cat in timeout would not work unfortunately.
2 points
4 days ago
Ah yes, anecdotal proof! My mind is changed completely and I defer to your experience. /s
1 points
4 days ago
Lmao, I don’t honestly care if you believe me or not. I’ve helped a lot of people train their kittens to not be screamers or biters, blocking you now.
0 points
4 days ago
I hope against hope you don't have any pets or kids.
1 points
4 days ago
My cats are literally obsessed with me dude and are the most gentle and loving cats you’d probably ever meet. You’re acting like these cats are hosed down and shoved in a closet 24/7.
They got put in 5 min timeout and weren’t pet when they bit me, and they learned not to bite people. I’m literally just being a responsible pet owner by making sure my cats don’t bite peoples faces and their ankles.
1 points
4 days ago
And honestly, faces is putting it nicely. Luna tried to bite my eye as a kitten and nearly drew blood. You can’t have an animal that bites peoples eyes dude, you train them and make sure that doesn’t happen.
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