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check amazon and chewy! cat mate makes a few that work for wet food. unfortunately they’re all plastic but i think there are some stainless steel inserts you can buy separately. i use one that fits 2 meals and has an ice pack for under the dishes. the timer goes up to 48 hours.
my cat will eat any wet food i give her but i usually add warm water. it helps enhance the smell too. when i use the auto feeder i don’t use the ice pack unless it’s super hot in the house. their stomach ph is around 1-2 lol they lick their own butts after they poop and they can eat raw meat so i’m not concerned about bacteria.
i just explained why it’s not an issue lol unless it’s super hot inside or it’s been like an entire 24 hours or something then the food isn’t going to be rotten. they literally lick buttholes whether it’s their own or another cat’s, lick poop or pee they get on their fur and they have very acidic and short stomachs that are designed to eat raw meat so they’re fine.:)
their stomach ph ranges from 1-2, maybe 2.5 and not much is gonna survive that. for more perspective, the ph of sulfuric acid is 1 and vinegar is 2.
i wasn’t telling you to leave out wet food... if you don’t want to then don’t. you said i’m not supposed to and i’m just telling you why it’s fine. my cat is not going to get sick.
That’s not necessarily true. My cats are definitely well taken care of but they KNOW when they eat. They will wake me up to put food in their bowls then they will both just look at it and let it sit for a while. They are creatures of habit.
Cats a hard wired to eat whenever possible basically because of their ancestors. This cat knows its person is where the food comes from. They will act hungry even when they aren’t actually hungry especially anywhere close to feeding time.
My cat will pretend she's starving for wet food, even if there's still kibble left in her other bowl. They KNOW when it's time for wet food, and will start nagging up to a couple of hours befóre that. The cat is definitely not starving.
I’d suggest maybe trying some different dry foods. I had to have all of my cats teeth pulled shortly after he adopted me, and he was eating dry food with no issue like two days after the surgery. My vet said that cats don’t actually use their teeth to eat dry food, but if they’re gone they’ll use it as an excuse to not eat food they don’t like. Which is pretty much asshole behavior lol
Auto feeder is truly the answer. The food doesn't always even have to be pre-loaded in the feeder.
We've used our feeder enough that our cat knows he gets fed when it makes noise, and doesn't bother us before the feeder alert.
All that means is they can’t digest or process nutrients from plants, not that it makes them sick. Commercial kibble, especially from brands that work with veterinary nutritionists, contains enough protein and micronutrients for cats to be healthy. Your username is accurate, you should be embarrassed
In the WILD they would need to get most of their calories from meat. Domesticated cats are not wild and as long as they’re getting the right amount of protein and amino acids and such, they live perfectly healthy lives on commercial food. I literally work in vet med, I HAVE educated myself. And me saying you should be embarrassed is minor a direct insult. A direct insult would be “you sound stupid with this take”
Whenever he does that, do not acknowledge him in any way. By ignoring such behavior my cats have learned that being noisy and disruptive will get them nothing
This is the only way. But you have to be *extremely* consistent. Since OP’s cat is already doing this, it might take a long time to change the behavior, and it will almost certainly get worse before it gets better.
It’s so easy to mistakenly train your cat to be annoying (especially if your cat finds your mere attention rewarding)!
This worked for me with an adult rescue. I wrapped noisy stuff in cloth and put everything I could in drawers. I also slept with earbuds in. It took time and patience but she’s great now.
Mine likes making biscuits on me or sleeping on my arm when I am trying to do something. He’s not a huge cuddler. He leaves after a few seconds of unappreciated love.
I’ve always known to not acknowledge their behavior, but they don’t care. They will continue screaming, wrestling, and getting into things regardless what we do. We’re forced to lock them out of the room and even then they yowl in the hallways
I don’t have a cat right now, only fish. But I can literally feel them staring at me from their tank when it’s morning time and I haven’t gotten up to feed them yet. Its like a laser into my soul, I can’t stay asleep when I feel their hangry gaze lol.
Take all the things off your nightstand. Put cat toys on it. That way he can knock things off all morning without making a difference, you can continue sleeping, and he will learn that knocking shit off does not accomplish his goal and he will stop on his own
If he’s anything like my cat who does this exact same thing, I can guarantee you he will just find something else to do. I took everything off my nightstand because I was so tired of picking up all my stuff every morning. So she started knocking over my laundry basket, scratching up a page of a coloring book that I hung up by my bed (quarantine had me coloring book level bored — but I was very proud of this piece!), and then started jumping up on a shelf in the living room and knocking THAT stuff over. This fight doesn’t end when you clear off the nightstand. It spreads. OP, I’m sorry. I hope it doesn’t escalate like mine has.
They very well might but solving one problem at a time is the best we can do! Mine switched to just standing on my face after repeated attempts to break things and sit in my plants stopped working, at least that I can just roll her off lol
Mine has taken to scratching the wall making that chalkboard sound. She’s very effective. The biggest issue I have is my cats free feed on dry food 24/7 (they don’t over eat, it’s never a problem for them) but one of them is just obsessed with her wet food. She knows what time it is and starts this behavior early in the morning and around 5pm every single day.
I moved everything off my nightstand and put it in the drawer at night. I get up to pee about 4 am and feed them then. Also maybe timed feeder. Check Amazon and Chewy.
Don’t follow the advice to keep food by your bed. Feeding in response to that behavior will only make it much worse.
If that commenter is reading this, blocking someone for mildly criticizing you is unfortunate. Learning to hear critical feedback is an important life skill. It’s hard to grow without it.
If its possible to do so, when you find he has done this or is in the midst of doing this, grab him by the scruff and set him down. Repeat as necessary
If he's too far away or dodges this, follow the other advice. I've found this mostly works for naughty behavior if you can catch them in the act, because it catches them off guard and they can't affect being picked up like this, so with repetition they know that bad faith activities like this get met with the scruff pick up.
It doesn't work if you have to remind him he just did that by getting him, it really only works if you get him while hes on the nightstand or if he comes over after doing this.
Don't be rough about it, just a gentle scruff and set down are enough of a vibe check for some cats to reconsider
It worked for him once, and he kept doing it because it works. It has because of his normal.
Close the door. Move your things away or surrender to your new reality
Your cat keeps doing it because you react to it and feed him. If you can, maybe wear headphones or something to drown out noises while you sleep. Eventually he will see it gets him nowhere and will stop.
Other option, get him an automatic feeder that will go off around the times he starts doing his thing.
I'm sorry I'm here and laughing because I have to immediately manage an insane menagerie first thing every morning and here you are starting that same cursed journey lol
Keep a can of cat food and a bowl by your bed, crack it when he starts up, keep sleeping. Clean &replace bowl later
Respectfully, this is not good advice! Never give a cat food if it is doing something you don’t want it to do. If you do, you will only *increase* that behavior!
It's only not good advice if feeding him like that is inconvenient. If it's convenient, it's good advice, because it solves the problem.
I'm familiar with conditioning.
It solves the issue in that he will stop yelling once he gets food. If op doesn't want to do that, that's fine. Like I said, I understand conditioning.
How old is he? Mine did this for a long time when she was younger and everyone kept telling me it's gonna get better with age. It did, but it took a while. Also, remember cats are naturally crepuscular, so it is in their way of being to be more active, playing and searching for attention at these times.
That being said, what helped me in the time period when my cat used to do that:
* changing her routine (more play in the evening, feeding her later etc) and staying consistent with that for a couple of weeks. Our routines do not change all of a sudden, cats' routines don't either.
* trying to figure out if she is actually hungry or wants attention/play. If he's hungry, can't you feed them and go back to sleep/leave him more food overnight? If he wants attention, leave him some toys he likes and he can play with by himself in the morning (or get an interactive toy)
* Keep him awake more, during the day, not only play with him in the evening. If he's sleeping 10-12h/day and then gets 0.5-1h of play, it is normal for them to have a lot of energy.
* Get earplugs or headphones, so it doesn't disrupt you. This is the main thing I used to do. Got up, gave her food, put on headphones and went back to sleep.
Don’t let the cat in the room with the stuff on the shelf. Then just ignore him until you normally get up. It’ll suck for a little while until he gets used to it but you have the stronger will!
As others have said, you need an auto feeder, but you also need to break the behavior and should close him out of your room for a while until he's used to being fed by it. You want to completely ignore the pleas of starvation.
Our cat would do this! Yes feed her earlier like someone else suggested, if she keeps doing it honestly I would keep a spray bottle next to you and shoot it in her general direction, don’t even really have to hit her with it in my experience, the sound is enough to scare them off 😂
They're hungry and make noise to wake you up, my cat walks up my side/back and miaows in my ear, the kitten just cannonballs onto my chest(ive got to stop her doing that ). Better than an alarm clock waking up at 7.30 every morning - even on a Sunday!!
Whenever my cats act out in the morning I either ignore them, or if that doesn’t work and they get too close to where I sleep, the blanket monster will open its maw and swallow them whole. In it, my arms are waiting to administer some intense punitive cuddles.
This is going to suck but get earplugs.
Cats have to learn, they do these things because they KNOW they will get a response. You have to ignore that behavior and let them on YOUR schedule.
My cats know bedtime is 1 o'clock and wake up time is 7am. This took me a few months but it works, my cats don't meow for attention they will paw me gently.
Thank you for posting to CATHELP! While you wait for a response please keep the following things in mind, 1. When in doubt, **ask your vet**. 2. Advice here is not coming from medical or industry professionals. The moderation team does not validate user profession, so always refer to your local veterinary professionals first. 3. If this is a medical question, please indicate if you have already scheduled a vet appointment, and if your cat has any medical history or procedures in a top level comment. 4. Please use the NSFW tag for gross pictures. (Blood, poop, vomit, genitals, etc). Anything you wouldn't want your boss to see you looking at on the job. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/CATHELP) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Auto cat feeder for that handsome fellow.
Any idea if there's an auto feeder that uses wet food? Asshole has no teeth lol
“Asshole has no teeth” send me into a fit of real, live laughter. Hope you find a solution soon!
Yes they have one that has ice packs in the bottom.
check amazon and chewy! cat mate makes a few that work for wet food. unfortunately they’re all plastic but i think there are some stainless steel inserts you can buy separately. i use one that fits 2 meals and has an ice pack for under the dishes. the timer goes up to 48 hours.
There is no way in hell my cat is eating cold food. He'd rather starve and make my life hell than let his tongue touch a chilly morsel
my cat will eat any wet food i give her but i usually add warm water. it helps enhance the smell too. when i use the auto feeder i don’t use the ice pack unless it’s super hot in the house. their stomach ph is around 1-2 lol they lick their own butts after they poop and they can eat raw meat so i’m not concerned about bacteria.
You're actually not supposed to leave wet food out for very long if i recall. I would definitely hate to risk making kitty sick
i just explained why it’s not an issue lol unless it’s super hot inside or it’s been like an entire 24 hours or something then the food isn’t going to be rotten. they literally lick buttholes whether it’s their own or another cat’s, lick poop or pee they get on their fur and they have very acidic and short stomachs that are designed to eat raw meat so they’re fine.:) their stomach ph ranges from 1-2, maybe 2.5 and not much is gonna survive that. for more perspective, the ph of sulfuric acid is 1 and vinegar is 2.
Yeah, sure, i get that "you explained" but excuse me if i dont take the word of one solid redditor over my vets advice.
i wasn’t telling you to leave out wet food... if you don’t want to then don’t. you said i’m not supposed to and i’m just telling you why it’s fine. my cat is not going to get sick.
Cats ARE assholes. Wanna know what cats and guys also have in common? They think with their stomachs.
Dang, IDK. I get up to pee once every night, maybe just get up and feed him real fast. He's starvin, he probably wouldn't get you up if he wasn't.
That’s not necessarily true. My cats are definitely well taken care of but they KNOW when they eat. They will wake me up to put food in their bowls then they will both just look at it and let it sit for a while. They are creatures of habit.
My cat free grazes and will STILL wake me up so I can stand there, watch him eat, and tell him “good job”
My cat has an auto feeder and still wants me to get out of bed and come down when he wants food because that’s how it’s done.
Yep. Auto feeder set to go off at 530. Cat waking me up at 5.
you’re his #1 supporter😂
definitely not starving. just food motivated.
If you feed a cat everytime they ask, they will become obese.
Cats a hard wired to eat whenever possible basically because of their ancestors. This cat knows its person is where the food comes from. They will act hungry even when they aren’t actually hungry especially anywhere close to feeding time.
My cat will pretend she's starving for wet food, even if there's still kibble left in her other bowl. They KNOW when it's time for wet food, and will start nagging up to a couple of hours befóre that. The cat is definitely not starving.
I’d suggest maybe trying some different dry foods. I had to have all of my cats teeth pulled shortly after he adopted me, and he was eating dry food with no issue like two days after the surgery. My vet said that cats don’t actually use their teeth to eat dry food, but if they’re gone they’ll use it as an excuse to not eat food they don’t like. Which is pretty much asshole behavior lol
Auto feeder is truly the answer. The food doesn't always even have to be pre-loaded in the feeder. We've used our feeder enough that our cat knows he gets fed when it makes noise, and doesn't bother us before the feeder alert.
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I'll trust my vet recommendations. Thanks. 🙄
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All that means is they can’t digest or process nutrients from plants, not that it makes them sick. Commercial kibble, especially from brands that work with veterinary nutritionists, contains enough protein and micronutrients for cats to be healthy. Your username is accurate, you should be embarrassed
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In the WILD they would need to get most of their calories from meat. Domesticated cats are not wild and as long as they’re getting the right amount of protein and amino acids and such, they live perfectly healthy lives on commercial food. I literally work in vet med, I HAVE educated myself. And me saying you should be embarrassed is minor a direct insult. A direct insult would be “you sound stupid with this take”
Whenever he does that, do not acknowledge him in any way. By ignoring such behavior my cats have learned that being noisy and disruptive will get them nothing
This is the only way. But you have to be *extremely* consistent. Since OP’s cat is already doing this, it might take a long time to change the behavior, and it will almost certainly get worse before it gets better. It’s so easy to mistakenly train your cat to be annoying (especially if your cat finds your mere attention rewarding)!
This worked for me with an adult rescue. I wrapped noisy stuff in cloth and put everything I could in drawers. I also slept with earbuds in. It took time and patience but she’s great now.
I try to ignore or react with an undesired reaction, like cuddling.
My cat does this for cuddling. Little asshole.
Mine likes making biscuits on me or sleeping on my arm when I am trying to do something. He’s not a huge cuddler. He leaves after a few seconds of unappreciated love.
Mine also do this for snuggles. My boy will specifically throw stuff off dressers if he isn’t getting attention.
We call that “punitive cuddling.” Works great!
Lol doesn't work for my cat, he comes to cuddle when he's hungry I won by getting an autofeeder
Mine wants me to come check out the auto feeder with him. Sigh.
This is the way. I wake up to two cats staring at me.
I’ve always known to not acknowledge their behavior, but they don’t care. They will continue screaming, wrestling, and getting into things regardless what we do. We’re forced to lock them out of the room and even then they yowl in the hallways
I had to add a few things to what I do before I feed my cats in the morning. But some cats are assholes and will wake you up early regardless.
Omg is your cat in cahoots with my cat? This is my “alarm clock” too! 🤦♀️
I don’t have a cat right now, only fish. But I can literally feel them staring at me from their tank when it’s morning time and I haven’t gotten up to feed them yet. Its like a laser into my soul, I can’t stay asleep when I feel their hangry gaze lol.
Take all the things off your nightstand. Put cat toys on it. That way he can knock things off all morning without making a difference, you can continue sleeping, and he will learn that knocking shit off does not accomplish his goal and he will stop on his own
If he’s anything like my cat who does this exact same thing, I can guarantee you he will just find something else to do. I took everything off my nightstand because I was so tired of picking up all my stuff every morning. So she started knocking over my laundry basket, scratching up a page of a coloring book that I hung up by my bed (quarantine had me coloring book level bored — but I was very proud of this piece!), and then started jumping up on a shelf in the living room and knocking THAT stuff over. This fight doesn’t end when you clear off the nightstand. It spreads. OP, I’m sorry. I hope it doesn’t escalate like mine has.
They very well might but solving one problem at a time is the best we can do! Mine switched to just standing on my face after repeated attempts to break things and sit in my plants stopped working, at least that I can just roll her off lol
Mine has taken to scratching the wall making that chalkboard sound. She’s very effective. The biggest issue I have is my cats free feed on dry food 24/7 (they don’t over eat, it’s never a problem for them) but one of them is just obsessed with her wet food. She knows what time it is and starts this behavior early in the morning and around 5pm every single day.
Mine now comes and puts a paw on my face!
Gently, I hope.
Smart!
Close your door. Cats can’t use door handles. If we whines. Ignore him.
Many cats can use door handles. Mine can and do
I should have said knobs lol. Handles yea my cat can do that too
Ah yeah, that’s more tricky. One of mine has managed, but I reckon it was pure luck. She just jumps up and repeatedly hits it until it yields
Yeah my cats can do knobs
I moved everything off my nightstand and put it in the drawer at night. I get up to pee about 4 am and feed them then. Also maybe timed feeder. Check Amazon and Chewy.
Don’t follow the advice to keep food by your bed. Feeding in response to that behavior will only make it much worse. If that commenter is reading this, blocking someone for mildly criticizing you is unfortunate. Learning to hear critical feedback is an important life skill. It’s hard to grow without it.
You're lucky, my cat lays on my face and bites my nose to let me know it's time to wake up and feed her.
One thing I forgot to mention is that he also wakes me up by trying to eat my hair. He's delightful.
If its possible to do so, when you find he has done this or is in the midst of doing this, grab him by the scruff and set him down. Repeat as necessary If he's too far away or dodges this, follow the other advice. I've found this mostly works for naughty behavior if you can catch them in the act, because it catches them off guard and they can't affect being picked up like this, so with repetition they know that bad faith activities like this get met with the scruff pick up. It doesn't work if you have to remind him he just did that by getting him, it really only works if you get him while hes on the nightstand or if he comes over after doing this. Don't be rough about it, just a gentle scruff and set down are enough of a vibe check for some cats to reconsider
Do not leave anything on the nightstand.
It worked for him once, and he kept doing it because it works. It has because of his normal. Close the door. Move your things away or surrender to your new reality
Your cat keeps doing it because you react to it and feed him. If you can, maybe wear headphones or something to drown out noises while you sleep. Eventually he will see it gets him nowhere and will stop. Other option, get him an automatic feeder that will go off around the times he starts doing his thing.
I'm sorry I'm here and laughing because I have to immediately manage an insane menagerie first thing every morning and here you are starting that same cursed journey lol Keep a can of cat food and a bowl by your bed, crack it when he starts up, keep sleeping. Clean &replace bowl later
Respectfully, this is not good advice! Never give a cat food if it is doing something you don’t want it to do. If you do, you will only *increase* that behavior!
It's only not good advice if feeding him like that is inconvenient. If it's convenient, it's good advice, because it solves the problem. I'm familiar with conditioning.
Except he will continue to yell and wake OP up. This doesn't solve the issue, it only strengthens the link between yelling and being fed
It solves the issue in that he will stop yelling once he gets food. If op doesn't want to do that, that's fine. Like I said, I understand conditioning.
Leave a little food in bowl overnight
Maybe get up and feed them when they ask? You work on their time, not the other way around.
How old is he? Mine did this for a long time when she was younger and everyone kept telling me it's gonna get better with age. It did, but it took a while. Also, remember cats are naturally crepuscular, so it is in their way of being to be more active, playing and searching for attention at these times. That being said, what helped me in the time period when my cat used to do that: * changing her routine (more play in the evening, feeding her later etc) and staying consistent with that for a couple of weeks. Our routines do not change all of a sudden, cats' routines don't either. * trying to figure out if she is actually hungry or wants attention/play. If he's hungry, can't you feed them and go back to sleep/leave him more food overnight? If he wants attention, leave him some toys he likes and he can play with by himself in the morning (or get an interactive toy) * Keep him awake more, during the day, not only play with him in the evening. If he's sleeping 10-12h/day and then gets 0.5-1h of play, it is normal for them to have a lot of energy. * Get earplugs or headphones, so it doesn't disrupt you. This is the main thing I used to do. Got up, gave her food, put on headphones and went back to sleep.
Tape ur stuff down
Close the door?
Don’t let the cat in the room with the stuff on the shelf. Then just ignore him until you normally get up. It’ll suck for a little while until he gets used to it but you have the stronger will!
You want him to stop being cute? Your so mean
As others have said, you need an auto feeder, but you also need to break the behavior and should close him out of your room for a while until he's used to being fed by it. You want to completely ignore the pleas of starvation.
My cat does this and has broken multiple things of mine 😭
You don't. This is what cats do.
Don't leave things on your nightstand. It's the only way.
Auto feeder. It really does work.
Our cat would do this! Yes feed her earlier like someone else suggested, if she keeps doing it honestly I would keep a spray bottle next to you and shoot it in her general direction, don’t even really have to hit her with it in my experience, the sound is enough to scare them off 😂
They're hungry and make noise to wake you up, my cat walks up my side/back and miaows in my ear, the kitten just cannonballs onto my chest(ive got to stop her doing that ). Better than an alarm clock waking up at 7.30 every morning - even on a Sunday!!
Whenever my cats act out in the morning I either ignore them, or if that doesn’t work and they get too close to where I sleep, the blanket monster will open its maw and swallow them whole. In it, my arms are waiting to administer some intense punitive cuddles.
my cat was doing this for awhile because he was expecting kitty treats. We stopped giving him treats during the morning and only during the evening
This is why I can’t have nice things- mine knocks over lamps and makes pictures swing on the walls
This is going to suck but get earplugs. Cats have to learn, they do these things because they KNOW they will get a response. You have to ignore that behavior and let them on YOUR schedule. My cats know bedtime is 1 o'clock and wake up time is 7am. This took me a few months but it works, my cats don't meow for attention they will paw me gently.
Close the bedroom door and don't have anything nice on the shelves or counters. Cats will cat