Cat + Sleep Issues

[TheNecrohazard]

I hope someone here can give me some good input because I've never dealt with a cat who does what my boy, Peyton, does.

He is 4 years old. For the duration of the first year of sharing space with him (from Christmas 2013 to 2014) he was a little angel. And he still is - when we're all awake; but, at night time he feels the need to do the following:

1. sleep on my head, neck, or face (which is fine if he's just sleeping)
2. attack my hair or chew/rip my hair
3. attack my wedding rings or necklaces (last week he ripped a pearl stud out of my ear)
4. smack me in the face
5. lick my face

I have read that ignoring them when they act up like this is (in the long run) the best course of action because they'll find that they don't get the reaction from you they desire, so they give up. But it's nearly impossible to ignore this.

I'm also opposed to sleeping with the door shut - being able to share my bed with my cats is extremely important to me.

There really seems to be no rhyme nor reason to when he does this either. Even if my hair is pulled back into braids or tucked up under a hood, he still finds ways to get to it. Plus it's really hard to be observant about triggers for this behaviour when I'm trying to get my z's.

Does anyone have any input? D:  

[M-EWTBAC Mule]

(This is your Captain, lol)
My fiance's cat, keke also does that sometimes.
Some cats just get high energy at night, and don't know where to focus it.
For some, all it takes is winding down hours beforehand so they can adjust. But if he does it without warning in the middle of the night and not right as soon as your sleeping, he may not respond to that. Or you may have already tried that.
My views do not reflect on the guilds views or goals, but I actually do shout a cat's name with a harsh tone if I have to, to make them stop. Like a little kid. Or I fidn if I firmly but not hurtfully remove them enough times from what they are trying to do, it helps. But that isn't very helpful when all you want is sleep :/
If you haven't already tried this, about a half an hour to an hour before bed, play with him A LOT. like super hyper laser pointer play or something. Then give a small helping of food after you're done and the cat knows its done, the food helps them sleep like how newborns need full tummies to sleep :3
Did any of that help?  

[TheNecrohazard]

M-EWTBAC Mule

(This is your Captain, lol)
My fiance's cat, keke also does that sometimes.
Some cats just get high energy at night, and don't know where to focus it.
For some, all it takes is winding down hours beforehand so they can adjust. But if he does it without warning in the middle of the night and not right as soon as your sleeping, he may not respond to that. Or you may have already tried that.
My views do not reflect on the guilds views or goals, but I actually do shout a cat's name with a harsh tone if I have to, to make them stop. Like a little kid. Or I fidn if I firmly but not hurtfully remove them enough times from what they are trying to do, it helps. But that isn't very helpful when all you want is sleep :/
If you haven't already tried this, about a half an hour to an hour before bed, play with him A LOT. like super hyper laser pointer play or something. Then give a small helping of food after you're done and the cat knows its done, the food helps them sleep like how newborns need full tummies to sleep :3
Did any of that help?

I do yell at him when he does it with a very firm "no" - but it's hard to express it very loudly since my husband is sleeping next to me haha. So I don't know that he always gets it. I'll also do the toss off the bed thing. I know that whatever I do needs to be consistent for him to finally understand, but it's SO hard when I'm also tired!

I had started trying to do the play and feeding before bed. I admit I wasn't as adamant with it as I probably need to be.

It's helpful to hear repeated ideas. I just need to be more consistent in applying them.

I was also hoping to hear some ideas that people might have for why he might be doing this. I hope I can solve it. I hate being mad at him!  

[~ Aki - Fairy ~]

Have a good playtime before bed, and also make sure he gets some positive one-on-one time with you at some point throughout the day.

With my cat, I've found that we both seem to have a better night if we have a bit of cuddle time before I go to sleep (be it during reading time or at/just after lights out). I've also created a designated spot for her on my bed via a little pet bed because we used to have issues with space-distribution (her laying by/on my ankles, generally between them and the outside edge, meaning I can't move freely, which caused issues), which has helped with the whole peaceful sleep thing (mind you, I don't have to share my bed with another person so there's room for her little bed).


It may not hurt, though, to think about anything that may have changed in your life/home around/just before he started doing this (I'd venture to guess that in a case like this, that's where you're more likely to find what triggered this change rather than in each episode itself)  

[M-EWTBAC Mule]

I always love reading your posts, Aki heart You always think of things I wouldn't have even considered myself lol emotion_kirakira
and Ahh! I see D: Other then the changes thing stated above, have you ever checked for signs of other animals being outside and riling him up at night? or is that a none possibility?
Keke always acts up at night extra hard when she smells the other resident kitty through the door. He instigates! emotion_awesome  

[Charonai]

These all seem to be good smart ideas 4laugh
What I usually hear (not that my ideas are more right), is that cats need about 30 minutes of play a day, and it helps to do it right before dinner then bedtime.

My cat will sometimes come and mess with jewelry I'm wearing if it's shiny or a dangly necklace, and has tried to eat my earrings off my ears.... I usually tell him no and redirect his attention if I can, or remove the jewelry to a place where he can't get it. Typically he's just trying to get my attention.

We also cuddle, a bunch. He's free to take over whatever space I don't when I'm sleeping (since we sleep alone now) and he has taken to sharing my pillows lately as well (I blame my grandpa's cat for stirring this idea).

I try to make sure he has food and water in various places in the evening as well as morning, but he gets his exercise outside too.

How are things now....?  

[The Lady Desire]

My year and a half does the same thing. With her we have to try our very best to wear her out while there is still light outside.

We have gone so far as to have the laser pointer for her at 11pm to try and wear her out (bear in mind my boyfriend works at 5am and he has little to no energy for this cat)
I have to get her running and keep her running for an hour straight. Feather toys, catnip toys, ANYTHING to keep her going (the energy these young cats have is IMPOSSIBLE) . We had to work for an hour straight every night to wear out her endless energy. Its a pain because my other cat is 5 years old and shes content to sleep when we do but Thea requires a whole new level of dedication and attention. She also needs more food at dinnertime (we do not leave the food out for our cats because they overeat if we do) it was an uphill battle for weeks but we eventually got her worn out enough that she surrendered to our sleep schedule.

Honestly I just recommend ANYTHING your cat has to get them excited.

It takes a long time and a lot of patients but eventually it pays off and you'll have a kitty tired as you are when bedtime comes.  

[Yule Cat]

I would suggest setting up a routine that consists out of play, eat, sleep.

Tire him out before bedtime, get him something to eat > sleep.

It's best to continue this routine through out the day so you have to get all his shitloads of energy out in one play session.  

[Miyoshii]

I wanted to share some tips since I have four cats that don't always get along with each other and I keep them inside as three are 17 years old! I have a young male about 3 years old. You can buy a spray called Feliway ~ it is feline pheromone ~ I bought it at the vet. I used it from time to time when needed. When travelling, if you are doing renovations, changes or new people or new pets. Just spray a little on your/their bed, or their favorite teddy. I find it calms them. I bought it during a tough time, it worked for me at the time. Watch out for cat n** ~ some cats get too wound up on it. I find giving my cats a little snack before we retire also helps.  

[TheNecrohazard]

Thank you all for your comments and tips!

I basically knew that a play routine would need to be included, but (guiltily) I find myself either falling asleep in the living room trying to watch stuff before bed with Le Husb or just plain not making the time I should. D: (I know, I know).

BUT the good news is that he's severely calmed this problem down. He will still play with my hair if I move it too obviously (if that makes sense haha), but generally it only happens around 5 a.m. So I think it's finally just gotten to the point that he is using is as a "I'm going to wake you up" tactic.

So that's good!

I noticed one person mentioned considering any major changes in our lives prior to him behaving this way, and I had done that before posting this thread. I know that cats are extremely sensitive to their environments and the positive or negative energies within them - but there have been none. I think it's just been a case of me simply not being proactive enough in making play time for them - which is just something I need to put into my daily routine again.