Sunday, March 25, 2012

To Sleep or Not to Sleep?

The cats and I have a pretty regular routine at night.  We go upstairs, I read for an hour while they settle down and fall asleep.  Jack will join us if I let him stay.    

Jack will pretty much just sleep.  He may change positions once or twice , but that is all.

For Tiger, any attention is better than no attention at all.  He does things purposely to wake me up, knowing he will get a negative reaction from me, such as biting Motor, scratching the window screen, etc.

Both cats have the habit of getting up around 3:00am.  If I am asleep, Motor will come right up to my face and start his loud purring.  Tiger can spend at least an hour every night cleaning himself.  It drives me crazy when I am trying to sleep.  Or he will want me to open the window so he can look outside.  As I am falling back to sleep, he will start making a loud throaty noise.  It is a way he communicates with me.  If I don't respond to the loud throaty noise, then he will scratch at the window screen.  This gets me up right away and he knows it will.  Last night, I got up, picked him up, and took him downstairs and closed the door behind me.  If Motor does not go downstairs with him,  Tiger will loudly meow or bang himself against the door until I get up again to let him in.  The only way to get him to not do either of those behaviors, is to send Motor downstairs with him.

But Motor does not want to go downstairs with him.  I think Tiger plays too rough with Motor and so Motor would rather stay with me.  The last few nights, I have wanted Tiger out of my bedroom after his antics.  When I come back to my room to get Motor, he is curled up in a ball like he is sleeping.  And so, push over that I am, I let Motor stay, which means I have to let Tiger back up again.

I get up and down about 3-5 times every night with them.  It's exhausting.

I know, I know, easy solution.  Keep them out of the bedroom at night. When I get tired enough, I do, for a night.  Then we start the ritual all over again.

What is your nightly sleeping ritual? 
         

5 comments:

Seville at Nerissa's Life said...

It seems to me that Tiger and Motor have you pretty well trained...

Katnip Lounge said...

I fight for room on the bed all night, CC is glued to me, thrumming away. And he is HOT! Not good when I have a hot flash.

Have you tried a squirt bottle on Tiger?

The Cat Guy said...

Oh my, that sounds like you have a fun nightly routine!! Ok, maybe not so much fun! Sleep is kind of overrated.

Do you have a cat tree in the bedroom? Or some other high perches, I just wonder if having a cat tree in front of the window in the same room would solve the problem. Give him a special spot to enjoy while being in the same room. Just a thought.

Buddy always tells me when it's time for bed. He wants to go upstairs with me and snuggle. He always cuddles right up to me with his head on my pillow and his body under the covers and I scratch his tummy. This goes on until we both fall asleep. I may awake hours later and find he hasn't moved.

Theo is the next one up, he takes the spot in the middle of the bed at about the knees. Nahum takes the foot of my wife's side. Willow will try to lay on or between my legs. And Rose sometimes tries to fit in where ever she can. We need a bigger bed! I can't imagine trying to fit a dog on there too!!

Angel, Kirby and Max said...

How do you get any rest with this going on!

Inspiration for Daily Life said...

Yes Tiger does have me well trained. I do use a squirt bottle. He will run away, then come back for more. Cat Guy, I don't know how you do it with all of your cats. I have trouble with just 2. If Jack gets to stay, I cannot move. I am someone that turns a lot when I sleep. With the 3 of them all on the bed, it is impossible to move. Is it love that makes us do the things we do for our cats, or are we just crazy? Probably a little of both.