Cat scratching outside our bedroom door at night

Glaceon

My wife and I have a couple of kittens (a male and a female, both neutered/spayed). We got them when they were a little older, about 6 months, and they'll be a year old next month. Back home, I had cats for a long time but only as outdoor pets so having them indoors is a new experience for me.

The male cat is very food driven, which can be annoying whenever you're preparing or eating anything. He seems more like a dog than a cat! But in the last couple of months, he has started coming up to us in the very early morning around 4 or 5 am and scratching at the bedroom door and carpet. If we ignore it, he keeps doing it, to the extent that the carpet right outside our bedroom door has been torn up and will need to be repaired or replaced. I've tried leaving a scratching post nearby but he won't use it (the female cat does) and will keep doing what he's doing. The only way I know to stop it is to give into him and feed him, but it's very disruptive. I've also tried saying 'no' and shooing him away but he always comes back. Last night, I got up around 3am to use the toilet and that was enough to start him off. I tried ignoring it again until about 4:30 when I couldn't take it anymore and fed him just to get some sleep. My wife woke up too, she said she has been holding it in to avoid starting him off!

I've heard several suggestions, all of which have their own problems. My wife suggested replacing the carpet with a hardwood floor to stop him ripping it up. I haven't mentioned it but I know she wouldn't entertain any idea of leaving them out at night because there's a large stray in the area and she's terrified that it would maul them, especially the female as she's a lot smaller than he is.

Another suggestion was to leave them in a room overnight so he can't get up to us. The problem there is that their litter boxes are under the stairs and on the landing, so we'd need to relocate them. In addition, I'd feel bad effectively locking them up overnight.

Any ideas?

Mollyb60

Most will say if you ignore them long enough he'll eventually learn that there's no reward forthcoming and will give up. But that requires more patience than most have. Our first cat was a yowler. Couldn't stick her outside the door at night. We ended up having to confine her to the kitchen overnight. Her bed, food and litter was there and she had access to the catio through a catflap so it was the best we could do.

If that's not possible you need to discourage in any way possible. Sticky strips of paper on the carpet outside the door, or tin foil if they don't like that. Something that will keep him away from the door completely. Could you get a feeder on a timer? Arrange for it to go off earlier than you normally wake up so he gets his feed? Might not work but worth a go?

The Nal

Leave the door open a little bit and them into your bedroom. They probably just want to sleep under the bed.

Or he could be hungry. Feed him a bit before you go to bed.

the beer revolu

After some years of letting the cats sleep in the bedroom we, for various reasons, decided to lock them out. Our male cat cried and scratched at the carpet outside the door almost continually for about 2 weeks. He did eventually stop! It wasn't easy but was worth going through for the years of peaceful nights. He was allowed back into the bedroom for his last few weeks!

OP, is your cat ginger?

Glaceon

We tried, as a test, last night to leave the bedroom door open and see what happens. He came in and woke me up on one occasion but I went back to sleep. My wife got up early (planned) and said he was fine, no scratching. So it makes me wonder if it's a separation anxiety thing? We do find sometimes that if we're somewhere in the house that he doesn't know about, that he starts making strange, almost sad sounding, meows, but he stops when he sees us.

Not sure if I'm missing something here but no, he's a grey/white tabby.

FlubberJones

Both of ours do this to some degree but they've practically given in at this stage, I did go through the stage of getting up and giving a few biscuits and they went quiet but it stopped.

Alun

He just wants to be close to you!

We never fully close our bedroom door anyway, but in my experience cats hate closed doors.We had one cat that would jump up repeatedly on door handles to open bedroom doors when they were closed if we had guests staying who weren't over keen on cats. Very annoying!

We'd also leave a small amount of kibble in a bowl overnight in case they felt like a snack.

Calahonda52

or similiar

the beer revolu

Not sure if I'm missing something here but no, he's a grey/white tabby.

Ah, no. Just in my experience, gingers can be very food oriented and persistent!

Glaceon

Thanks for all of the suggestions. Leaving the door open appears to resolved it for now without too much of an issue. We'll see how we get on.

Alun

Remember that cats are not, as some people think, nocturnal, but crepuscular which means they're most active at dawn and dusk which explains the 4-5am activity. It's when cats in the wild hunt for their prey.

Did you try leaving out a small amount of food for them?

Glaceon

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121391283#Comment_121391283

We did try leaving some dry food with the door closed but it made no difference, he was still upstairs scratching in the early hours. That's why we're seeing it more as a separation issue than a food issue now. I got up at 8:30 yesterday morning to feed them and he was fine. It does look like he just wants the option to come and see us or know we're there. So far he hasn't been too disruptive to our sleep.