My cat is noisy at night. Is crating her in the bathroom acceptable?

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I don't think many people crate their cats beyond the "getting used to the new house" period. If Cecile is destructive or may hurt herself or ingest something it is best to crate her. I thin if you want to to start letting her out at night now and she knows where her food/water and litter boxes are. I do know people who have confined their cats for their entire lives at night. So it is a personal decision for you. I hope this helps!

Unfortunately, this is a very common problem - it's normal for cats to be awake and active during the night, since they are nocturnal animals. There are a few things you can do to help. First, try and provide something for Bixby to do at night while you're sleeping - I really like food puzzle toys for this purpose, like a Kibble Nibble or Eggcersizer. You can pick up his food bowl a few hours before bed, and give him the toy with kibble in it at bedtime. He will need to roll it around to get bits of food to fall out, one piece at a time, which should help to keep him occupied with something fairly quiet during the night. You can also try giving him a natural calming supplement like Composure before bed to see if this helps. Finally, I would recommend closing your bedroom door to keep him out of your room at night, and using a white noise machine or something similar to help block out any noise from other parts of the house so that you can sleep.

If she's alone during the day she probably has excess energy. I do not think this is a medical problem. Try having her play with a laser pointer, throw toys or treats for her to chase and try to get her to exercise earlier in the day. As she ages she will outgrow this behavior. Cats often sleep all day then are active at night. Don't try to catch her or control her as when they are like this she may scratch or bite. Remember she is just a teenager acting up, and this stage will pass. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for Katy.

You guys are in a difficult situation, and I can sympathize. I had similar problems with one of my cats when she was young. You are doing the right thing by keeping her in at night, however, and hopefully as time goes on and Autumn matures a bit, she will adapt more fully to the human "non-nocturnal" habits and learn that nighttime is for sleeping. Unfortunately, the evolutionary drive to hunt in the nighttime is strong in cats, and not easy to un-do. In the meantime, consider confining her to a small room like a bathroom for the night - equipped with comfy bed, food and water, litterbox, and scratching accessories - and invest in a good set of earplugs. Purchase a plug-in diffuser that diffuses calming cat pheromones - Feliway is the brand I use - which will hopefully help her to calm down and eventually settle in for the night.

I think the cage was a good try, but instead of the cage anytime she gets too “wound up” I would put her in a quiet dark room to calm down. There is no use scolding. You can try if ignoring and walking away first, but if she continues then put her in a quiet dark room for a while. Best of luck and thank you for using Pet Coach.

Charlie should be able to tolerate a very large dog style crate or a cat condo for days to a week or so. Cats often stay in similar sized cages while boarding, however be aware that cats confined will need litter changed several times daily and he would benefit from interactive toys. If possible, he may do better if allowed to be closed into a room vs a crate. Other options may be long term boarding if needed, if there is a cat facility near you with larger cages/condos available. A cat condo that might work better than a crate: https://www.amazon.com/Prevue-Pet-Products-Premium-Deluxe/dp/B015RRSZXO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1522461943&sr=8-1&keywords=cat+condo+cage The larger the area Charlie has and the more toys/interaction that Charlie has will make confinement less difficult on him. Be sure to monitor him for signs of stress such as not eating, going outside the literbox or excessive grooming. I hope this helps. Good Luck and thank you for using PetCoach

HI, thanks for using PetCoach! Sadly this is a very common complaint. It is normal for cats to be vocal early in the morning, especially around the times they know that people get up. Despite appearing to not want your attention there is probably comfort for her knowing you are around. It is likely due to loneliness or boredom. Since she is already confined, you should enrich her environment. Be sure there is an open window to look out, consider putting a bird feeder there so she can watch the birds, get a cat tree for her to climb, etc. You can also close your door and use a noise machine or box fan to drown out her crying. Since she has food and is already confined there is no easy solution to stop this behavior. https://indoorpet.osu.edu/cats I hope this helps and I wish you the best!