The short answer to this question is: don’t pay attention to your cat. It’s ridiculously hard but you must ignore it. Here are six tips to help you get results faster:
- Set a feeding schedule and follow it;
- Tidy up the litter box before bed;
- Allow your cat access to you;
- Make safe hiding spots;
- Aid your cat in calming down;
- Keep your cat up and active during the day;
And you will see that by the time you go to sleep, your cat will be as eager to sleep as you are.
- Have you not slept for a week or more?
- Do you have work the next day and your cat meows all night?
- Are you worried that your cat’s meows might annoy your neighbors…
If your cat keeps you up all night, it’s hard for you to make happy thoughts about it….You cannot allow your cat to interrupt your much-needed sleep.
So,
- If you feel frustrated;
- If you want to know effective and natural strategies to tackle this irritating problem;
- If you are wondering if your pet needs medical attention; and
- If you are ready to get your life in order…
You are asking yourself: how to get my cat to stop meowing at night?
There are a few options available.
Then, you are in the right place. …By the end of this article, you will know how to get a well-deserved night’s rest.
Let’s get started.
How to Get My Cat to Stop Meowing at Night? (Long Answer)
Here are six simple tips to help you get results quickly:
- Set a feed routine and stick to it;
- Clean the litter box before bed;
- Give your cat access to you;
- Create safe hiding places;
- Help your cat to stay calm;
- Keep your cat busy.
Yet, to have a deeper understanding I suggest that you first read this article:
Why Does My Cat Meow All Night? [11 Reasons You Must Know]
Remember: Education + Implementation = Results.
Thus, you will understand your feline friend better and solve this problem faster.
Let’s now go further…
# 1 Set a Feed Routine and Stick To It
The most important thing to do is to establish a feeding schedule. The sooner the better. Cats prefer to stick to a routine. If their mealtimes and sleeping habits are not structured, they may experience distress.
To prevent future nocturnal meowing, make sure you attend to all the cat’s needs before bedtime. This includes letting them out, feeding them, and playing with them.
According to Jackson Galaxy, a well-known cat behaviorist, you should do the following:
- Feed your pet three times per day;
- Feed it in conjunction with play (especially at night);
- Merge your cat’s energy with your energy.
The ideal situation is to not leave more than 6-8 hours between meals. You’ll see that your cat’s energy will be adequate to stick to these schedules.
Let’s suppose you want to go to bed at 11:00 p.m., thus your cat’s last meal should be at 9.30 p.m.
And, just before feeding it, spend some meaningful and enjoyable time playing with it. You’ll be simulating the play sequence they follow in nature which is chase, smooth, jump, beat, and kill.
Cats are made for speed, not for distance. So the game will consist of bringing them to a boil and then calming them down. Then repeat the process until they get tired.
If you are away from your cats most of the time, you can use an automatic feeder to nourish them.
By sticking to this simple routine:
- feeding it three times a day and…
- playing with it just before eating…
You will find that your cat’s energy will be matched with yours in less than two weeks.
# 2 Clean the Litter Box Before Bed
Cats can be picky about their toilet habits. They, like humans, prefer a fresh, clean place to do their business in.
Ideally, you should clean your cat’s litter box twice every day, one of which should be right before bed. That may be all that is needed to make your cat happy and quiet at night and prevent excessive meowing.
# 3 Give Your Cat Access to You
Cats want to be where we spend most of our time and where our scent is strong, so they can complement it with theirs.
This is why our sofa and bed seem safer, as these are the locations where our scent is strongest, and they prefer being there.
If your pet is lonely at night, make sure it has complete access to you; simply being with you might help comfort it.
If having your furry friend in your bed annoys you, you might give it a place to rest that is higher than the bed. A cat tree is perfect for this. That might fix the problem.
# 4 Create Safe Hiding Places
If your cat is older, like mentioned before, it could be feeling very anxious at night. It can either be because he cannot fully trust his senses or because he may be suffering from Cognitive Dysfunction Syndrome (CDS).
An easy way to solve this problem is by making your home more cat-friendly at night.
You could start by placing nightlights around your home, particularly near potential hazards like stairs.
Also, you could provide hiding places where he or she can feel safe. You could go from buying a lovely bed like this one or using a simple cardboard box with a hole.
Doing so will make your feline friend feel more secure, leading to no meowing throughout the night.
# 5 Help Your Cat to Stay Calm
Consider using a synthetic pheromone diffuser in the room where your cat is placed to calm it. Synthetic pheromones replicate the molecules secreted by a cat’s glands.
A pheromone-diffused atmosphere can offer a feeling of familiarity and help your cat relax.
You may also use herbal remedies as sedatives too. Catnip is the most commonly used of them.
Although this herb will stimulate your cat at first, it will then quiet it down and relax it.
You can use it during the evening, right after playing and feeding. By that time, you’ll want it to burn off any residual energy so it’s ready for bed.
# 6 Keep Your Cat Busy
Remember, cats, like humans, want interaction and companionship. Without it, they may feel lonely, scared, and bored at night. Which may result in excessive meowing while you sleep.
If you’ve been away most of the day, make time to play with your cat. You can do it in the morning before you leave and in the evening when you return.
By following these easy strategies, you will notice that your pet will be weary and willing to sleep all night.
Should I Ignore My Cat Meowing at Night?
Now, pay close attention, I know that it’s tough, but YES, you should ignore your cats, completely. Don’t get up, feed them, play with them, nothing.
If you need to get up just to make sure everything is okay, resist the urge of paying any form of attention. Even angry attention. Instead, do something else for yourself, like getting a glass of water or using the bathroom.
The key here is to extinguish any payoff night after night. You have to be consistent in your actions though. In this way, you’ll avoid giving any mixed signals that would confuse your cat in the process.
It’s hard, but it is a simple concept. If you indulge when they meow at night, you are letting them know that this behavior gets them what they want.
If your cat is well fed, watered, played with, and physically fit, you don’t have to feel guilty.
Be patient, and your pet should get the idea within a week or two. A good pair of earplugs could be a worthwhile investment during this noisy period of training!
IMPORTANT: Everyone in the family must fall into line.
This is critical because you can ignore your cat as much as you want, and you can get it into its rhythm as much as you want.
But unless everyone responds in the same way, the problem will persist.
Conclusion
That’s how you can sleep through the night. Nocturnal cat meowing is usually a sign of attention.
However, these strategies can speed up the solution to this annoying problem. If you have the willingness to apply two or more tips shown before, you can reach the uninterrupted sleep you crave!
It happened to me, so I know how you may feel. We couldn’t sleep because our cat Junior wouldn’t let us. At night, when I ignored him, my husband paid attention to him. And he also fed it every time the cat meowed.
My husband could not resist the urge to attend to him. Anyway, we weren’t aligned. As a result, it was quite difficult to get rid of this problem.
We couldn’t sleep well until we reached an agreement. We had to ignore it at night and establish a daytime eating plan. And guess what? it worked…
Thank you for reading.
