Amy, I have indoor-only cats who can destroy a peaceful night's sleep, so I can empathize.

Have you moved into your new place yet? Your kitties will be letting you know that new surroundings can be a major cause of nighttime exploration and expressing a cat's opinion. You've started a new job, so your time at home and general comings and goings will disrupt a cat's sense of the way things ought to be. Cats are very sensitive critters and one little thing out of place or awry will be a big deal to a cat.

My cats are grazers food-wise and sometimes they eat everything and get a hankering for a midnight snack. You might want to make sure there's a bit of food available in his dish before you go to bed. Make sure they get plenty of attention from you when you get home from work.

My cats know how to wake me up, from running across the bed (and me), howling, or rattling the lampshades on my night stands. So irritating. I have a covered keyboard on a stand in my bedroom and one night Zephyr jumped on it, stepped on the on/off switch, and triggered some rousing sampler at high volume. Worse wake up ever.

Our year old kitty is also a night owl. I know your place may be smaller than ours but we’ve been locking him in the basement with toys and food. Because we have two this is a bit of rigmarole each night making sure both have food dishes and litter box. Love them lots but you do need your sleep. Good luck!

I need my sleep. I would make a nice bed for the cats on the sofa, put out toys and a little dry food. Then I would shut my door and put in ear plugs and hope the cats don't resort to destructive behavior.

We had a cat who would occasionally jump on my tall dresser and push the knick knacks on the floor if we weren't getting up early enough to suit his appetite. Like 5am. He was a jerk.

If lots of love and cuddling before bed time isn’t helping to calm them, then I agree that until the little guys are acclimated, the only option might be to close the door when you’re sleeping. One thing that might help though is to create a small “safe” spot for them that they can crawl into. It will make them feel more secure when you’re gone or asleep. A box that’s fully enclosed that they can crawl into or a kennel with the door open. Lay a blanket or towel with your scent or some catnip in it. That was helpful to a couple of cats we had when we moved across country.

All the above advice is good. During my cats' first year (they're twins) they could be total a-holes at night. I had to shut my bedroom door. There was a major ruckus and protest over that: howling outside the door, flinging oneself at the door, once even pressing down on the handle to open the door and coming flying in. I stood my ground and after a couple of nights they stopped. They are 7 now and sleep with (on top of) me. If I wake up in the middle of the night, they know. All I have to do is open my eyes and they want to make a move.

My girl doesn't bother me during the night but look out if I am not up by 6:30. I can't shut my bedroom door because her litter box is in the master bath--the only place in the house to put it. She used to sleep with me but stopped about a year ago-don't know why. She now sleeps on a rug going into the master bath and if I get up during the night I have to step over her to get into the bathroom. Like d_gw's cat mine is up on the nightstand pushing things off.

The best thing I ever did when we got our last new kitties years ago was to give them (they were litter-mates) their own room. I realize this is not ideal or possible for some folks but DH is allergic to cats and we have never let them in our bedroom. Zen and Zoe were in "their" room, aka the laundry room, from right before we went to bed until we got up in the morning. It was initiated from the beginning, and although when they were younger they could be super difficult to catch to put in there (they were smart enough to realize what was going on when you got the first one) I'm so glad we did it for our sleep sanity. Our kitty we had before them would paw and cry at our door until she finally would give up and go find her senior friend to cuddle with. (He didn't care where he slept.) Many a night did I just count how much pounding on the door and crying was going on outside our door with her. Kind of like counting sheep, but less helpful. :-)

I taught my cats to sleep where I wanted them to with an electric throw. I put it on low on the piece of furniture that I didn't mind turning over to them. Very soon that was their favorite place to sleep. To be fair, your cats just have to get used to their new home.

ugh! I have two that can be awful! I imagine Henry is stressed right now. I'd try waking him up occasionally so that he's a little sleep deprived too, keep him as active as possible with lots of play time, and give him catnip right before you go to bed (assuming catnip makes him snooze! if not, try giving him a massage... and/or a treat that he likes). Those things seem to help here.

Lots of good advice above but I will reiterate what girlnamed said. A heated pad for each cat in my room in my case had the best impact. My cats love their heated pads and never disturb my sleep. Best of luck. Henry's a cutie.

PS I got the extra large size in case everyone decides like they like one particular pad. Often they sleep together but sometimes they sleep apart.

ak - did this kitty do this before you moved or is this something new that will hopefully pass? I have one who comes in the bedroom around 2:30am and usually lays down and sleeps for a little while. Then around 4am she starts bugging me. I put her outside the bedroom and shut the door and fortunately she doesn't throw a fit out there. The other two cats stay in the bedroom until DH gets up which is well before I do. If I'm home by myself and they start bugging me at 4 or 5am, I get up and give them some food and go back to the bedroom and shut the door while they're eating. DH thinks I'm so cruel but much as I love my cats my need for sleep is more important than their need to be in the bedroom.

3katz, yes. He would do it a lot. However, not all of the time. I know he is the most affected by the moves and changes. He stays under the bed most of the time. I think he gets his confidence at night and decides that is the time to bug me. He meows like you would not believe. If I did shut the door he and the other two would likely push on it and meow and I doubt I could drowned out the sound. I sleep with a pretty loud sound machine. I would use ear plugs but I can not bear them in my ears. They hurt.

Thanks everyone for the tips! Maybe I will look into a heated blanket and see what that does. Other than that, I am just going to have to wait and play this out.

My feline specialty vet suggested switching to once a day feeding, a can of wet food, before going to bed at night. It worked!

Vet says when cat wakes you up during the night or too early in the morning, when your're home, don't let them sleep. If you see them nodding off, shake them. That way they are tired just like you are.

I've pretty much switched my cats from dry to wet food, but I'm not sure I've converted the amounts correctly. If it's time to go to bed and their dishes are completely empty, I put small amounts of dry in their dishes. Otherwise, they're gonna do the "Get up! We're starving! You're mean!!!" routine starting anywhere after 3 a.m.

Don't ask me how it happened, but I've conditioned the boys to go to bed when I do. I close the bedroom door and they sleep fine for about 5 hours. Then Charlie wakes up and one of us walks him out to the kitchen/keeping room. Gus usually wakes dh between 4 & 5. If dh is out of town Gus sleeps until I get up at 7. Grateful for the small things in life.

Hope you can find a happy solution. I know how annoying it must be.

Mine sleep in the basement. No conflict. I used to have a couple diurnal cats that would sleep all night with me, but not this trio.

I'm sure the change has been a challenge for him and he just wants to be with you. Our big guy will start bugging me any time after 4 a.m. usually. Sometimes we have to lock him/them out of the BR, but our house is small and there not too many places to go. No laundry room and no basement. Of course, they howl. I am usually up around 6:30 ish even on the weekends. Little girl kitty likes to snuggle early mornings, but once she is ready to eat there is no stopping her. She gets very squirmy and then starts to howl. When I had my surgery or if I am away, DH would get up and feed them and then can fall back asleep. I can't do that.

mdln, currently they're each getting 1 small Fancy Feast can, twice a day. I can't keep them separate so probably Zephyr is eating more than his share. He is big and beefy and Bessie is the perfect weight.

I stopped feeling guilty about giving them FF. I've tried premium wet food and end up throwing it away. Dry is so convenient, but Zephyr throws up frequently when that's what they get. Since his dental work and multiple extractions, I think he inhales it without much chewing, so it frequently comes back. Nobody enjoys that, so FF seems to make them happy, as long as I rotate the flavors. They get bored easily.

Amy, sorry to detour into cat food in your thread.

Does he have anything to play with or to amuse him while you are gone? Toys that dangle, scratch post or a tower to climb, a donut shaped thing with a mouse or ball to chase, balls or mice to chase and hide under your furniture, anything happening out the windows, a video with birds, fish or other activity to watch? Couple of moving boxes to play in? LOL I have always tried to have something for the younger critters to do when I had to be away all day. That's the only thing I can think to add to the suggestions you already have. Hope something helps -- and soon. I'd be a mess.

With our son away at school, his cat now jumps onto our bed at odd hours of the night and purrs tremendously loudly. Sometimes she climbs up to the long pillow along the headboard. I asked my son if she did this with him, and he said yes! I never knew. Sigh. Well, all I can do is wait till DS comes home for holidays and she can pester him again so I can get a decent night's sleep. I'd say get a second cat, as that worked for me a few cats ago. But you, and I, already have another cat, so never mind.

Give ear plugs another try! Make sure you’re using extra soft ones and do not push them in too far. If you push them in too far they hurt. I learned to cut mine down (I must have short ear canals). If I don’t shorten them, but leave them sticking out, they end up falling out. I started using them to sleep thru caterwauling years ago.

Any suggestions?

Too late for some of you, but my suggestion is to get a dog instead!

;-)

Delilah, if the earplugs fall out the cat can just play with them, that'll keep it busy.

Oly, that is hilarious!!! It is funny how cats freak out when there is food in the bowl but not full. They act like they are going to die of starvation.

I will give softer ear plugs a try.

Maybe with my husband out of the picture they are missing him as well.

Another thing that is odd is they have started drinking out of the toilet. So strange! I keep their water bowl full and change it out often bc I know they are picky... but toilet water? Maybe not so picky.

Thanks to everyone for the great laughs and suggestions! I would try to keep him up during the day but I am not here, so I can not manage that. I guess cats are nocturnal and you really can not change that.

I need to get Henry a toy or something. His favorite one was lost in the move. I will have to get another one. It is like his security blanket. He literally carries it around from room to room. It has a large stick on it and he drags it. It is pretty funny to watch.

Oh gosh, the move, the absent other person in the house, the loss of his favorite toy, I think he's just trying to adjust. Poor guy. But I understand the pestering cats can do. Mine, thank goodness, does it in the morning if I don't get up and start the house routine.

I can't believe anyone can leave their toilet lids up with cats in the house. Mine would be in and out, slipping, sliding, tracking water all over.

I usually keep them down.... always. I have been running around like a chicken with my head cut off I have accidentally left it open.l They seem to be old pros. They do no get wet at all. I have resumed my lid down habit. Plus, it is just gross to keep it open (IMHO)

Have you ever seen the show with the cat behavior guy? I think it is called My Cat from Hell or something similar. He carries a guitar case full of cat toys. Maybe you can find his website and see what toys he recommends. You should probably spend 1/2 hour playing when you get home and then 1/2 hour before going to bed. The extra physical and mental stimulation might help with them leaving you alone overnight.

If you had a dog you would have to spend time on walks and play/fetch sessions ... the cat behavior guy encourages the same engagement with cats.

I forgot my earplugs for the pool one day and had to purchase from their store. The plugs I got were some kind of moldable waxy stuff (silicone maybe). Boy is it great. Does a much better job of blocking noise and is very comfortable in the ear.

My DH uses those soft earplugs all the time. One day they started disappearing from the dish he’d keep them in and he was finding them all over the house in the strangest of places. Turns out our cat was completely fixated with them. She’d carry them around in her mouth, toss them with her paws, watch them bounce around and then attack them. It was a hoot to watch. He didn’t have the heart to take them from her so he bought some more and started keeping them in his desk drawer instead. A couple of weeks later the problem started up again and we caught her opening the drawer with her paw. It was hilarious.

I don't have any advice as my cat sleeps over my head on my king size pillow. There's room for both of us. BUT he used to lick the lamp shade every single night, several times through out the night, and there is nothing more annoying than the sound of his tongue on that lamp shade when I'm trying to sleep. I finally had to take the lamp shade off and eventually switched to a floor lamp on my side of the bed and a glass lamp shade on my DH's side of the bed. Crazy cat!

You have a great point Chispa. I will need to give him some play time before bed.

Oly, I will look into buying some good comfy earplugs.

Lukki and patty, those are some great stories! I laughed out loud!

Cats are definitely odd creatures. Cat owners always have great stories! Only other cat owners can fully understand and appreciate the odd behavior of cats.

Patty, I would not be able to stand the sound of my cat licking the lampshade. That is hysterical! Henry loves to lick plastic bags I bring home from any and all stores!

Well no cat licking stories but yesterday my dog decided to lick the luckily packaged turkey that was on the counter getting ready to be stuffed and cooked. Unfortunately from our perspective he's just the right height to not even go up on his hind quarters to engage with something on the counter. I don't think I've ever washed the outside package of a turkey before.. :-)

Do you only have one cat? If so, then perhaps you need to get another one so that he will have someone to play with during the day, and this will tire him out.

When I read the title of this thread, I thought you were talking about outdoor cats. I used to have problems with that when I lived in Venice, but where I live now, the outdoor cats are pretty quiet.

When I was working, I wound up with a second cat. He adopted us, but I think they really enjoyed the company when I was gone long hours.

I think the op makes it clear there is more than one cat already, but this one is the problem.

I have three, One is the mom and her daughter and son. Henry is the son and the troublemaker! haha