# Are Your Pets Bad When It Comes To Waking You Up At Night?



## Remy (Mar 24, 2022)

These two I have now sure can be. My last two girls were much quieter.

My tabby (profile picture) likes to start pawing at things during the night. Anything left on the nightstand. Books, papers. She paws at the closet door. I don't get it. 

My calico (they are littermate sisters) likes to meow for absolutely no reason especially when I'm falling asleep.  Or they will have an early morning litter box-a-thon. Scratching and scratching and scratching. This isn't every night but I swear it happens more when I have to work the next day and get up at 430am.


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## Tish (Mar 24, 2022)

My son's youngest kitty, Sugar, gets the Dart's/Zoomies at around 3.00 am, the other two kitties are sleepy heads, and my dog Chicka wakes me at 5.00 am unless she hears a possum fart


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## Ceege (Mar 24, 2022)

I have a big bathroom in my house.  It's where I keep Misty's litter, a bowl of water, a few toys, and two cat beds (1 in the  closet that has a pet door in the closet door, and one on a chair).  That's where she goes when I go to bed.  And, she does it willingly.  Follows me in when I go to brush my teeth.  I leave her a few treats and she seems to be content with this. 

I do this because she can't seem to stay off of me if I'm laying down.  She fusses with my hair and wants to lay down on my legs.  If I want to get _any_ sleep, I don't have much choice. I've had 6 other cats before her, and she's the only one I've ever done this for. She is also the only cat that didn't have another cat or dog to keep her company. I'm it. I figure that might be why she's like that.


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## Remy (Mar 24, 2022)

Tish said:


> My son's youngest kitty, Sugar, gets the Dart's/Zoomies at around 3.00 am, the other two kitties are sleepy heads, and my dog Chicka wakes me at 5.00 am unless she hears a possum fart


Yes, I've heard of this. Actually my two haven't been too bad in this area. But at almost 11, my tabby is very active.

When they were young and I was working the PM shift, (I was often not out of work until midnight or later) they would wake me up about 8-9am. I'd put ear plugs in and go back to sleep since I usually slept until about 11am because I was up until 3am. Hated it. I missed mornings.


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## HoneyNut (Mar 24, 2022)

Ceege said:


> wants to lay down on my legs


Yes my cat too, not all the time but when he does he's a bit of a heavy unmovable chunk.


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## Paco Dennis (Mar 24, 2022)

Yep."Tom-Tom" is a very bad cat. He wakes Misa up by pawing at her face and laying on her head. 



I keep my door closed when I sleep. "Ma-Ma" takes to nesting on my lap when I am at my computer.


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## Ruth n Jersey (Mar 24, 2022)

I've had many cats and dogs but one German Shepard we had seemed to be on guard duty all night long. She barked at most anything. I felt very safe but missed quite a bit of sleep while she was with us.


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## Pinky (Mar 24, 2022)

Ruth n Jersey said:


> I've had many cats and dogs but one German Shepard we had seemed to be on guard duty all night long. She barked at most anything. I felt very safe but missed quite a bit of sleep while she was with us.


My friend's Shepherd years ago, would pace regularly through the night. It seems to be a trait with the breed.


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## Gemma (Mar 24, 2022)

No, I don't have this problem at all.  I have 3-11 year old females and 2-(1 male and 1 female) 8 month old kittens.  When I announce it's time for bed, they all find their spot and are quiet until my feet hit the floor in the morning. 

I usually play laser light with them an hour before bedtime.  Perhaps that's what makes them calm for the night.


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## officerripley (Mar 24, 2022)

Tish said:


> My son's youngest kitty, Sugar, gets the Dart's/Zoomies at around 3.00 am, the other two kitties are sleepy heads, and my dog Chicka wakes me at 5.00 am unless she hears a possum fart


"The Zoomies"; I love that, very descriptive of what my dog does sometimes, great word!


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## Della (Mar 24, 2022)

My dachshund has slept with me, under the covers, behind my knees since she was born 12 years ago.  Every night about 2 A. M. she comes up to my face, tickles it with her whiskers, and I get up and let her out and back in.

Some little dogs just have trouble holding it all night.


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## Remy (Mar 25, 2022)

Gemma said:


> No, I don't have this problem at all.  I have 3-11 year old females and 2-(1 male and 1 female) 8 month old kittens.  When I announce it's time for bed, they all find their spot and are quiet until my feet hit the floor in the morning.
> 
> I usually play laser light with them an hour before bedtime.  Perhaps that's what makes them calm for the night.


That's a lot of kitties. Seems they get along. I too play with my cats at night, especially when I have to work the next morning. I have a cloth mouse on a stick I made. My tabby loves that thing. Also these squishy plastic balls.

It doesn't always work.


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## Gemma (Mar 25, 2022)

Remy said:


> That's a lot of kitties. Seems they get along. I too play with my cats at night, especially when I have to work the next morning. I have a cloth mouse on a stick I made. My tabby loves that thing. Also these squishy plastic balls.
> 
> It doesn't always work.


Yes, they do get along quite well.  It only took about 8 weeks to get the older cats accustomed to the kittens.  They were all feral kittens when I brought them in.  I have a clowder of 13 feral cats & kittens outside which I also look after.  

The laser light seems to tire them out quicker for me.  I also take baby socks and overfill them with catnip, then tie them shut with cord.  They love those! Even the cats outside do.  My cats aren't fond of traditional cat toys. They like straws, pen and milk bottle caps, small tennis balls and just knotted long shoe strings.  And the occasional wild turkey feathers we find.  We watch them closely when they play with those.


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## Lavinia (Mar 25, 2022)

One of my cats used to insist on going outside late in the evening. At about 3am, he'd come howling outside my window to be let in. He'd march confidently up the stairs, settle himself on my bed, and sleep for the rest of the night. One night, he didn't come home and I never saw him again 

When you have babies, you get used to be disturbed during the night, but it also happens when you have pets. There have been many times when one of the animals was ill, and I couldn't sleep for worrying. I'd be up and down the stairs all night, checking on them. I once spent the night with a parrot in my bed, when it had a chest infection and needed to be kept warm.


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## oldaunt (Mar 25, 2022)

My 2 dogs, one old Chow and one young rat-boston terrier, are both good at night unless there is thunder and lightning. Old dog is afraid of lightning, young one can't handle thunder. I have to get up and turn on a light and sit with them.  20 year old cat just sleeps with the Chow all night.


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## Tommy (Mar 26, 2022)

Ruth n Jersey said:


> I've had many cats and dogs but one German Shepard we had seemed to be on guard duty all night long. She barked at most anything. I felt very safe but missed quite a bit of sleep while she was with us.


Our (100#) dog roams the house at night but only wakes us if something unusual is happening.  That's rare, so I pay attention when he barks in the night.

Daytime is a different matter ... he barks at almost anything.  We've learned to distinguish between his various barks, like his "There's an animal in the yard" bark, his "We're getting a delivery" bark, his "Hey, I want attention" bark, &c.


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## oldpeculier (Mar 26, 2022)

No, Frenchie rarely wakes me at night. I am up several times each night for restroom breaks. On rare occasions she will jump off the bed and strike me with her paw if a outside visit is needed. She never barks at night. I do envy her ability to sleep so soundly all night long.


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## JonSR77 (Mar 26, 2022)

Oh, yeah, absolutely.  They have NEEDS.  They have NEEDS and....NOW!!!

They are always waking us up in the middle of the night to cater to their feline whims.

For several years we fought them. Then, we just surrendered to our feline overlords.


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## Silent Rose (Mar 27, 2022)

My Scottish Terrier/Poodle Mix sleeps most of the night and if she does awaken and starts to bark it certainly wouldn't be me that wakes since I am deaf.  It would be my teenage daughter who would hear it and wake up.


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## Alligatorob (Mar 27, 2022)

Remy said:


> Are Your Pets Bad When It Comes To Waking You Up At Night?


No, I sleep pretty soundly.  

Even the dogs bark doesn't  usually wake me, and when it does I am back asleep pretty quickly.


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## JonSR77 (Mar 27, 2022)

Silent Rose said:


> My Scottish Terrier/Poodle Mix sleeps most of the night and if she does awaken and starts to bark it certainly wouldn't be me that wakes since I am deaf.  It would be my teenage daughter who would hear it and wake up.


pets are soooooooooooooooooo much better than people!


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## RobinWren (Mar 29, 2022)

My cat will wake me up during the night, I will then put her out of the room and close the door. My dog is very calm and sleeps through, my cat is manic and makes me laugh.


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## JonSR77 (Mar 29, 2022)

RobinWren said:


> My cat will wake me up during the night, I will then put her out of the room and close the door. My dog is very calm and sleeps through, my cat is manic and makes me laugh.


you put your cat out of the room and she doesn't attack the door all night long?  Please tell me the secret...


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## Oldntired (Mar 29, 2022)

One of our dogs wakes me up every morning at 5:00 to eat. Ive tried to ignore him but he mumbles and whines and basically drives me crazy until I get up. So…I get up and feed both of them, then go back to sleep until 8:00 when the other dog promptly wakes me up. Don’t need an alarm clock with those two around .


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## Pinky (Mar 29, 2022)

Oldntired said:


> One of our dogs wakes me up every morning at 5:00 to eat. Ive tried to ignore him but he mumbles and whines and basically drives me crazy until I get up. So…I get up and feed both of them, then go back to sleep until 8:00 when the other dog promptly wakes me up. Don’t need an alarm clock with those two around .


Our last dog, Peanut, used to wake us up at 5 a.m. I think that was the routine at the Humane Society where we got him from. He walked nice, was good in the car, never had an accident in the house .. but, couldn't be broken of waking so early.

The labs we had before him, woke when we did .. if we slept in, so did they.

Peanut. Part staffordshire terrier, so we were told.


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## Murrmurr (Mar 29, 2022)

My elderly cat, Boss, now deceased, was a big heavy guy. Not fat, but heavy. He used to sleep on my pillow right on top of my head, and in the morning he'd creep up onto my chest and lay down. The weight of him woke me up, and soon as I opened my eyes he'd meow for breakfast.

The cat I have now, Pixel, sleeps down by my feet. When I wake up, he comes to me for his morning head-rub, then runs to his food dish.


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## Oldntired (Mar 29, 2022)

Pretty dog, Pinky.


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## Pinky (Mar 29, 2022)

Oldntired said:


> Pretty dog, Pinky.


He was a good boy .. someone abandoned him on the street in the middle of March, when he was a pup. Shelter life was all he knew. Our daughter loved walking him and showing him off.


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## dseag2 (Mar 29, 2022)

Our cats are really good.  I am a very light sleeper so I cannot sleep with them in the bed.  I did this when I was younger and always tossed and turned because I was afraid I would roll over on them.

They stay outside of the bedroom all night, they don't cry and they greet me in the morning.


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## dseag2 (Mar 29, 2022)

JonSR77 said:


> you put your cat out of the room and she doesn't attack the door all night long?  Please tell me the secret...


Try two mellow, neutered male cats and you will learn the secret.  Neither of them even meows at my bedroom door.


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## JonSR77 (Mar 30, 2022)

dseag2 said:


> Try two mellow, neutered male cats and you will learn the secret.  Neither of them even meows at my bedroom door.


did you want to trade?  Take ours and we get yours?


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## Blessed (May 22, 2022)

I have 3 dogs.  The two littles sleep in or on the bed with me. Mr. Big sleeps in the den, he has two nice dog beds but prefers the wood floor.  One of the littles will come out of the covers and kiss my face if she needs to go out. The other gets up if I go to the bathroom, he does not like to miss anything. Mr. Big is prone to bark and I mean loud, if he hears anything.  The point being is I love them and they love me.  I would not feel safe without them and I know I would not be happy.


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## Remy (May 23, 2022)

dseag2 said:


> Try two mellow, neutered male cats and you will learn the secret.  Neither of them even meows at my bedroom door.


I have to say I'm more fond of female cats and took the two girls from the litter. I'd never turn down a male cat in need if I had the ability to take him. I wish I had been able to take all 4 cats from this litter. As bad as these two are.    I do agree neutered male cats can be very mellow kitties.


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## katlupe (May 23, 2022)

No, rabbits don't make much noise. Maybe thumping with his back feet if he hears something to warn me. But that is not very often.


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## WheatenLover (May 23, 2022)

Well, if my dog needs to go out, he asks me to help him get somebody else to do it. So I do. I don't take him out when it's dark because there are too many wild animals around. End result would be (and has been) that I fall and he gets loose. If he feels sick, he wakes me up.


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## Nathan (May 23, 2022)

> Are Your Pets Bad When It Comes To Waking You Up At Night?


I'm surprised I haven't replied to this thread before... they used to, the two dogs each had a crate to sleep in, in the master bedroom.   A couple years ago the poodle got the bright idea that 3AM was a great time to start her high pitched whining.  She knew her mommy would wake up, get up and take her outside, then go back to sleep in her recliner...with(you guessed it!) the poodle on her lap.  
After we boarded them and returned from our trip, we found that while there they were simply left in the kitchen in their crates overnight, no whining.   We started doing that, putting them "to bed" in their crates in the living room and going off to bed.  So far so good...sleep is golden!


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## Em in Ohio (May 23, 2022)

As stated elsewhere, my dog gets quietly in my face, nose-to-nose, until I open my eyes.  Then she grins and gives me her "crazy eyes."  (It's something herding dogs do).  I inevitably laugh at her and that's when she loses it and will sit on me until I tell her to get down so I can get up!


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## dseag2 (May 23, 2022)

Remy said:


> I have to say I'm more fond of female cats and took the two girls from the litter. I'd never turn down a male cat in need if I had the ability to take him. I wish I had been able to take all 4 cats from this litter. As bad as these two are.    I do agree neutered male cats can be very mellow kitties.



I had female cats for most of my life and they were very affectionate.  But they could be a bit high strung.  The only ashes I have in my house of from my first cat, Cleo, because she was with me through my younger, single days and was the most loving cat ever.

My two males are so mellow I occasionally have to put a mirror under their noses to see if they are still breathing.  They sure are lap cats!


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## Blessed (May 23, 2022)

That picture says it all, what it is to have a pet that wants nothing more than to give love and affection to their human.


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## Remy (May 24, 2022)

My 11 year old tabby jumps high up on the bookcase and goes to the top of the kitchen cabinets. She is the most lively cat I've ever had. If I leave a cupboard open, she's in it.


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## Liberty (May 24, 2022)

Our cat, Gigi, a long haired calico, is a good cat - she was starving when my close friend found her and saved her life.  The only thing is she is afraid of lightening and thunder and will sometimes hide in the middle the  bathroom during storms...if you get up in the middle of the night and go in the bathroom you need to be wide awake enough not to step on her.


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## Leann (May 24, 2022)

My fur baby, a rambunctious but totally adorable 9 year old mixed breed, is just about perfect EXCEPT she is a barker. I have tried everything to get her to quit being so over-reactive to every noise but nothing has worked. The good thing is that she generally doesn't bark at night unless she hears something outside. 

She was abandoned by the side of a busy highway and some good soul took her to the local SPCA. She was afraid and somewhat anti-social. No one wanted to adopt her. I fell in love with her immediately and adopted her. That was 2015. She has turned into a sweet, affectionate pet who has a wonderful life here.


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## Ruthanne (Aug 22, 2022)

My dog wakes me before I want to get up.  She scratches her paw on my bed frame and I get up because I'm a light sleeper.


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## Teacher Terry (Aug 23, 2022)

I have 2 Maltese that sleep with me. They let me sleep as long as I want to.


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## i'myourpal (Aug 25, 2022)

> Remy said:
> 
> 
> > My calico (they are littermate sisters) likes to meow for absolutely no reason especially when I'm falling asleep.  Or they will have an early morning litter box-a-thon. Scratching and scratching and scratching. This isn't every night but I swear it happens more when I have to work the next day and get up at 430am.


When I grew up, I had both cats and dogs and a few other animals. One thing for sure about cats compared to dogs is that dogs are more about obedience and listening to you while cats are more about independence and having their own way. If you tell a dog to lie down somewhere he will probably do it. But I see with cats that they want to be with you. A dog during a day could be close to you and a cat would be playing and not close to you. Cats however at night when people go to sleep like to go to their owner's room to sleep. The cats want to be warm by you. Cats like to cuddle next to people while they're sleeping. Like I said you could probably train a dog but not true about cats. You see when the cat was removed its mother it will then think of you as its mother. That's because the cat now depends on you for food, and love. That's why the cat is trying to scratch in to be with you.

 And I know since my sister with her kids came to visit, she said that when I went to the restroom, he wanted to get in. The reason the cat didn't want to be with them was the kids were little and always trying to pull on the cat's tail. On that visit then the cat would just hide in my room.


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## Chet (Aug 25, 2022)

What about waking up the *NEIGHBORS* at night?


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## Remy (Aug 25, 2022)

@i'myourpal My cats sleep on the bed with me at night. I actually can't relax until I know both of them are on the bed. Once there they are usually quiet. But if not, they are out in the living room/kitchen area, sometimes meowing.


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## Remy (Aug 25, 2022)

Chet said:


> What about waking up the *NEIGHBORS* at night?


Are you talking about jerk neighbors who have barking dogs?


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## RobinWren (Aug 26, 2022)

My cat will wake me around 4am, I have to put her out and shut the bedroom door or she would bug me to get up. My dog is content to lie on the bed until I am ready to get up.


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## Pinky (Aug 26, 2022)

The only time one of our dogs woke me in the middle of the night, was to let me know he wasn't feeling well. He came to my side of the bed and put his paw beside my face. I thought he may have to go potty, so I let him out, but he didn't have to go. He just didn't feel well. Not knowing what to do, I rubbed Vick's Vaporub on his chest and put one of my tee shirts on him. The vapours seemed to relax him, and he settled down to sleep. 

The next day, he came to me, and once again gave me his paw. I knew something was not right with him, and got my husband to take him to the vet.

It turned out that his heart was enlarged. He'd had heart problems since he was a pup .. as he got older, he developed a cough. He was 10. It was extremely difficult and sad to let him go.


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## Lewkat (Aug 26, 2022)

Marley will sometimes bark in her sleep and it jolts me awake everytime.  She sits and stares at me at 5AM each day until I guess I feel her eyes on me, and then we go out.


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## Alligatorob (Aug 26, 2022)

Nope, my dog and I are both pretty sound sleepers.


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## sassysatin (Aug 26, 2022)

Our female black lab goes to bed with us and sleeps till I get up in the morning around 10.  She doesn't go out with her "dad" when he gets up at 7!!!  We gals need our beauty sleep!!!


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