People are looking for ideas when they type into a Google search bar ‘cat runs around at night’. They’re really asking what can I do to get some sleep because my cat is too active at night which keeps me awake?
Indoor cats
I am going to guess and say that the people who ask for help live with full-time indoor cats because an indoor/outdoor cat would nearly always do their running around or hunting at night outside. Under these circumstances there’d be less chance of being disturbed by a cat who’s active at night. Although domestic cats are often active at night and they often sleep during the middle of the day, which is their nighttime. Therefore outdoor cats disturb their owners at night too.
Changing cat’s body rythms and tiring them out
You can try getting your cat more tired by playing with them more. I suppose the ideal is to get cat companions to have the same body rhythms as their owners. However, this, I believe, is all but impossible as it is hardwired into a cat’s DNA to hunt at dawn and dusk and at night. Domestic cats also hunt during the daylight hours. They are very flexible. But one thing is sure: they see nighttime as a time to hunt.
Some behaviour experts would disagree with me. They’d say that you can train your cat to alter their body clock so that it fits in with human life. I have written about this before. If you’d like to read it please CLICK ON THIS LINK. It extends this article.
Easier to train yourself than train your cat
If cats are locked inside they’ll tend to run around expending energy or at least be active in a range of ways. Not all cats will be active, however. In my view, the best cat owners simply get used to it. That might sound flippant and careless almost but it is basically true. It is probably easier to train yourself to get used to being woken by your cat during the night or at 4 am than it is to train your cat to fit it with your body clock.
Lock cat out of bedroom
Some owners lock their cats out of the bedroom. I don’t believe in this as your bedroom is a very attractive place for a cat as it is soaked in your scent. Jackson also provides advice on this. He calls bedrooms ‘scent soakers’. A lot of cat guardians like their cat to join them on the bed at night.
No quick easy fixes
For those who don’t like their cat running around at night, the horrible truth is that it is normal domestic cat behaviour and you might have to learn to put up with it. In an ideal world when we adopt a domestic cat we should be prepared for this. We should be aware of it. Accepting it is part of the deal. That’s my rather straightforward and perhaps harsh or fatalistic mentality on this cat behaviour ‘problem’ (it’s not really a problem). Or relinquish your cat to someone who doesn’t mind their cat running around at night. But that is very much a last resort. There are certainly no quick easy fixes.
