Outfox the cat that wakes you
Editor’s note: This column is written by Rolan Tripp, a veterinarian and animal-behavior specialist and an occasional contributor to this column space. You may view his work at www.animalbehavior.net.Gloria Stepps treasures her sleep. When her beloved 6-month-old kitten, Bongo, began interrupting her blissful slumber, she wondered what he wanted. At first, she thought he was just hungry so she gave him breakfast early. When her sleep disruption continued, she tried soothing him with verbal cooing.
Another night, when he destroyed some valuable items with his midnight kitten-crazies, she tried to calm him back to sleep with cuddling.
Mistake. Mistake. Mistake.
Bongo quickly figured out the secret to getting anything you want in life is to ask for it at 3 o’clock in the morning.
The first thing Gloria did right was take the young cat to her veterinarian to rule out bladder, parasite and internal organ problems. Bongo was clean.
Her DVM then requested my help with a behavior case analysis before Gloria lost her patience and started beating Bongo like a drum. After an extensive behavioral and bond history, and with her vet’s blessing, I created a Bongo-sleep strategy.
First, I suggested ways to keep Bongo awake during the day so he might sleep better at night. Instead of breakfast, she began giving Bongo food puzzles to play with during the day while she was gone. Next, since Gloria had no reproductive plans for Bongo, she had him neutered. Gloria then covered the windows at night to be sure Bongo would not see cats roaming outside.
She bought a cat windowsill-perch at www.petsmart.com, so Bongo would be entertained during the day and hopefully spend less daytime catnapping.
We discussed it, but Gloria decided she wasn’t ready for a fish tank, bird, or second cat to entertain Bongo, but I had more tricks up my sleeve.
I suggested that Gloria do prey-play games a couple of hours before bed, to tire Bongo so he would sleep through the night. I explained that most cat play is based on fantasy hunts. I told her to get a fake bird toy, a fake mouse on a string, and a laser pointer to imitate a bug on the rug. I explained two key aspects of cat prey-play.
The first objective in each fantasy prey-play game is to mimic the movement of the prey. The bird toy should be still, then flutter up through the air and over to a new resting place. The second thing about cat play that Gloria learned was to give Bongo the thrill of victory. Dr. Debra Horwitz of Veterinary Behavior Consultations in St Louis suggests this as one reason why many adult cats stop playing after 3 to 5 minutes. Horwitz quotes a study that suggests most cats spend a limited number of minutes (depending on the individual) playing with a given toy. This might be the equivalent of hunting a given prey in the wild, and then if unsuccessful, giving up and moving on. One solution is to change toys to a new prey. Another solution is to have some special food treats handy, and when the cat begins to lose some steam, toss one and have the toy lead the cat to the fantasy kill meal. This also rewards longer play sessions.
After this prey-play Olympics, Gloria gave Bongo his biggest meal of the day. Just as in people, a stretched stomach tends to result in heavy eyelids.
Gloria and I talked about where Bongo sleeps. She had already tried closing him out of the bedroom, but he had used his claws on the bottom of the closed door to create loud percussive effects. There was no way in her house to get a two door separation, plus she couldn’t bear to make him lonely.
I learned that Bongo typically slept on her bed at night. I suggested she provide at least one cushy pet bed as a cuddle up alternative such as the Petmate’s Cuddle Cup bed found at most pet retailers. This not only moved Bongo a little farther away in the bedroom, it also prevented Gloria from waking Bongo unintentionally with her own normal sleep movements.
After we had satisfied Bongo’s need for exercise, food and comfy bedding, he continued to wake up Gloria, even though she ignored him as best she could.
Like a gambler hoping his luck would turn, Bongo was the alarm cat without an off switch. We had satisfied all his needs, tried everything else, and determined his stable personality could handle a big surprise. Only then did I tell her about the secret switch.
I suggested Gloria purchase an inexpensive remote power switch. She kept the remote on the bed stand, and plugged her hair dryer into the special power switch so the exhaust pointed at the area of the bed that Bongo used as a starter’s gate. When Bongo began playing his games, Gloria sneakily hit the switch, and Bongo nearly hit the ceiling. Since she was quiet and hid the switch, Bongo didn’t associate the experience with Gloria. The gambler attempted feline sleep interruptus a couple more times with the same airborne outcome before he realized his lucky streak was over. From then on, Gloria and Bongo slept happily ever after.