Jun 12, 2012

Two Cats Tuesday: So, I'm Thinking About Locking Moo Out of the Bedroom

Happy Two Cats Tuesday, Cuteheads! Today I have a confession to make: I'm seriously thinking about locking Moo out of my bedroom in the mornings. I'm pretty sure I'd get at least an extra full hour of solid, sound, restful sleep!

Here's the thing: Like I've said before, he is an enormous cuddlebug. His little heart is the size of his entire body and he loves his mommy with every single inch of it. (And his mommy loves him right back!) BUT, this is not something I need affirmed at 5:00 in the morning.

I am the cutest bed buddy ever!
If that's how adorable he was all the time in bed, we'd be fine. But instead, what I get at about an hour before I have to wake up (and I have to wake up very early as it is to go to the gym before work every morning, is this...

You awake yet? ARE YOU? ARE YOU? ARE YOU?!?!
I'm sure you all have the same thing in your faces every morning. But here's the thing: I'm so tired all the time! I really think that if I put Moo out at the first nose nudge, I'd be way more rested.

He's so cute all night -- he loves to cuddle my head and he falls asleep at the foot of the bed like a good boy... but come 5:00 a.m., he becomes this Moo Monster, trying to crawl up my nose and into my dreams.

What do you guys think? I don't even know if I have the heart to do it, but I'm really thinking about it.

In other news, this is how Pimp sleeps all night. Like an absolute angel.

I'm the good boy.

64 comments:

  1. OMG I WISH MY KITTIES DID THAT - send MOO over here. Dorian that photo is PRICELESS!

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  2. My cats used to do that. One would even use her pinky claw to ever-so-gently pull at my lower lip. And as cute as cold, wet noses are up close, they're a bit shocking when they touch your lips, waking you out of a dead sleep at 5am. I just stopped feeding my girls in the morning and they were suddenly purrfectly content to stay snuggled in ybe covers.

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    1. What I do is play with my kitties before bed time. I make sure kitty pans are clean, change their water bowls, some treats and a good belly rub. They sleep through the night without any problems. :-)

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  3. I have to confess too... I did this recently to my little Ollie! And it broke my heart! Especially because it wasn't my decision to make. 
    You see, I live with a boy, who just happens to be my boyfriend, and who just happened to not like cats before he met me (he does now though!) and when we got our second cat Ollie, he turned out to be the opposite of our other cat Bosco, in that he is super cuddly and also likes to sleep on the bed. But our problem was slightly worse, in that he would get all up in my face and purr like a motorbike at any time during the night. Sometimes it would be 2am, other times 5am, or somewhere in between. 
    It bothered the bf a lot more than it did me. We tried everything, even me drinking less fluids after 7pm to avoid mid-night trips to pee, but it didn't work. We tried for a year before we (by "we" I mean "he") decided we had to lock him out. Then came our next problem - if we close our door my other kitty Bosco would scratch on it (he hates closed doors). Then, silly me told my bf about ssscat. And that was it. Now no kitties sleep with me at night and I miss it :o( The other bad thing is that Ollie doesn't really cuddle at any other time of the day, only at night, so now I miss out on most of my cuddle time. Waaaaaah! If I can offer any advice Dorian its this - DON'T DO IT!!!

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  4. That's a tough one....the guilt, the guilt. If you get other cuddle time with Moo, I say go ahead and try it. You gave to take care of yourself first to be a good mom to your boys! Similar problems with Puffy and Winky up here in Minnesota. Sometimes I bury my head under pillows and that helps, too. (You're a great storyteller, Dorian!)

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  5. I too have often wanted a kitty alarm clock, as I am a BEAR to get up in the morning.  Alas, all of mine just sleep along with me.  Even if they're hungry and wanting noms, they wait until I rise to start meowing at me!  They're so considerate. :)

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  6. Here's wishing you luck on being able to toss Moo out of the bedroom, but I wanted to share what happened to me when I did that with my cat: he figured out that he could snake his paw underneath the door and scratch it to bits. The door, the doorjamb, all scratched on -- and that can be loud. 

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  7. I couldn't do it. To me, getting woken at 5am (or sleeping in a comfortable position, for that matter!) in exchange for kitty cuddles is well worth the sleep deprivation.

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  8. I think I'd just start going to bed earlier.  What a sweet way to wake up!  WAY better than an alarm clock!

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  9. Jeddah is the same way! She wakes me up like clockwork every morning at 5:30am, meowing, walking over me, walking over the radio to turn it on, jumping on Nala...everything until I get up. Every day. I haven't slept in for a year. Nala is an angel and sleeps quietly and gently wakes me up--but it can be tough some days because I'm so tired! 

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  10. Yeah - that works until they start doing their boxing routine on the door to get back in. Not worth it - trust me - I have tried it. :)

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  11. My first hubby tried to shut our cats out of the bedroom.  They raised such a racket trying to get back in & voicing their displeasure we couldn't sleep!  I have tried it since several times when I was very tired & needed more sleep but the same thing happened (& it was different kitties as the others are at the Rainbow Bridge).  It isn't worth it.......& sleeping with cats is a lot harder when one gets older!  Believe me!

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  12. Have no answer for that one Dorian!  Try to go to bed earlier - LOL - so Moo can have that extra hour's cuddlin'
    It's a hard choice - usually if mine curl up, I want to stay in bed but that's because I don't have to get up in the a.m. early and don't have a busy life like you.  Cuddles and hugs from them all.

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  13.  Beautiful Jeddah - so glad you took her home too.

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  14. We recently did this. Yes it was difficult, but now we are so much better rested and because we have so much more energy we can give our fur babies the quality play time they need during the day...when they are trying to sleep! lol

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  15. Changing the habits of a kitty CAN be done... my question is do you really want this habit to change? Its sweet to have them greet you in the morning but it was a lesson you taught him to do and if you would like you can unteach him fairly quickly. Does Moo have a favorite toy (maybe a catnip pillow or a Yeow Bannana) Does if even like catnip? If so then get a special toy that he doesnt get at any other time during the day and have it in your nightstand by your bed. When Moo comes to wake you up grab the toy and give it a toss on the floor or toss it out the bedroom door. He will go chase and play with it while you sleep a little longer. If there isnt a toy you can always try a kong treat toy that you can toss and he go try to get the treat out. should only take about a week for him to get in the routine of doing it.

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  16. Hobbes did that as a kitten and it was CRAZY! He would wake us up every two hours for some lovin' and it was sweet, but also very annoying.  Thank goodness it's just once--at 5:30 a.m.  What if you don't give in and pet him?  Pull the covers over your head until it is time to get up?  Do you think he'd get the hint?

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  17. I have the same problem with my Burnie.  I tried locking him out all night, but around 3:00 AM he was crying at the door until I let him in.  I can get a little more sleep if I keep some dry food in the  bedroom.  He has a little snack to keep him quiet.  In the meantime, Crash sleeps soundly at my side.

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  18. I miss my kitty alarm! An adorable tiny calico, who would touch her nose to mine occasionally through the night. Since she was blessed with long whiskers to tickle my face at the same time, it was quite efficient!
    Sadly someone stole her, but I the consolation of knowing shes alarming them too!

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  19. I just lost my 17 year old cuddler who did the same thing, and believe me, I just wish with all my heart he was there to wake me up again !  Don't lose that wonderful wake up call.  Go to bed earlier?

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  20. Wow, that MOO close up needs a boop!.  MOO may yowl and yowl once he's out, you know how kitties are when they are determined! But you never know, he might be an angel and just go snooze on the couch until breakfast! You could try it for a couple mornings and see how it goes. Maybe if Moo sees that he will be let out to the living room upon the 5 am wake up call, he may sleep that extra hour. I have this happen to me sometimes w/Lenny. He gets to pawing at my face or "washing" my hair at 5, luckily, if I rub his head and give him chin scritches, he goes back to sleep sometimes!

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  21. My kids wake me at 4:30 am every day, even though I don't have to get up.  I do pet sitting and at times I'm up at 3 or 3:30.  If I do that for a couple of days, then they all think that is the time to rise and shine.  No way can I shut any of them out-they bang on the door until i get up and let them in.
    Good luck and if you find a way-please let me know.
    The Clowder send purrs to Pimp and Moo.  Sassy, The Pack of One sends soft woofs.

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  22. There's always one!  And I'm the "one" in our family!  MOL!

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  23. maybe you can keep Moo up for an extra hr the nite before so he will sleep longer? or wear him out playing with him before bed time?  I am just thinking that he will probably meow outside the door or something,  Or you could go to bed an hr earlier? (LOL) ie, when it is probably still lite outside???

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  24. Your kitties are Crash and Burn? What adorable names!

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  25. I have had a couple of kitties that did that.  Drew used to wake me up at all times of the night just to get  belly rubs.  He was very persistent and would walk on my hair if I tried to ignore him.  and if I still didn't respond, he would stick his whiskers up my nose.   My Moo used to wake me up for breakfast every morning and if I tried to ignore him would walk across my chest and ribs.  He was 23 lbs at one point.  Kind of hard to ignore that!  The cats I have now usually let me sleep until my alarm goes off at 5:30, but on the weekends, they somehow know that my alarm won't be going off, so they wake me up at 5:00am by jumping on the bed. ;-) 

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  26. My boy Boots used to do that, but if I didn't wake up he would tap my  face with his paw, and if THAT didn't work, he would nip my nose or lip. Someone told me to hiss at him, and three days later we were snoozing past 5am. Now he cuddles up right next to me, and will sleep with me until I get up. 

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  27. Instead of putting Moo out at night, how about going to be an hour earlier every night so you get your 8 hours of beauty rest before Moo wants loving.  My little boy Jack likes to love at any time between midnight and dawn.  If I wake up to go potty, he's right there waiting when I get back to the bed, wanting love.  Of course, he gets it!

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  28. You'd break Moo's heart if you lock him out of the bedroom - I agree with Katlentz, how about going to bed earlier? Just a thought!

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  29. Oh boy.  Im afraid there is no easy solution here.  My sister has had this problem for over a year.  She has tried everything.  If you lock Moo out he will just cry and scratch at the door.  I like the catnip toy idea.  But he will get bored of it quickly.  I know if I give my cats a little bit of food they go right back to sleep, or you can buy one of those timer pop-up thingys.  But I know Pimp cannot eat Moo's food so that is tricky.  Good luck!

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  30.  I know. Food can't be the answer because of Pimp not being able to eat Moo's. Sigh. And Moo doesn't care about treats, so I can't even just give him a couple. These crazy boys...

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  31. I don't know that putting him out would solve your problem. Mine just scream & cry & scratch at the door. Making more of a ruckus than kitty faces in my face. I can truly sympathize with your dilemma & with being tired all the time. I have 5 girls. All needy needy creatures. My Saki has a pile of toys that she drags from the living room one by one during the night; caterwauling loudly until she gets to the foot of my bed & requires that I tell her she is a good baby. Every morning there is a pile of 5-8 toys. In the evenings, she returns them to the living room in the same manner. My Sammi gets up on my chest several times a night & cries like that munchkin kitten your posted about the other day. Once she wakes me, she shoves her face into mine & rubs all over until I give her love then she finally settles down & snuggles me until then next time she wakes feeling insecure. My Surrey is my "Simon" cat or my kitty alarm. As soon as the sun is shining in the bathroom window she believes that I should be awake. She walks all over me, shoves her face in mine, licks my eyelids & chirps at me the entire time. I have no idea how I manage to function. LOL 

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  32. Wanna trade! LOL (just kidding)

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  33. You do know you taught Moo to do this right?  By giving him love and attention, you simply affirm that it is not only OK but a good thing to wake you up that early in the morning.
    Cats are actually very very smart; Too smart for their own good.  My Muffin loves getting attention from me and would wake me up nightly to get it.  I told her no and rolled over.  She would try again but not exactly the same way.  Instead of sticking her cold nose on my nose, she would stick it on my chin, so I would say NO and roll over.  She would adjust her strategy again every so slightly hoping it was simply that last step that was wrong.  It took several days (when she was a kitten) of some very sleepless nights, but I was constant and consistent.  She would NOT get what she wanted if she woke me up.
    As an adult cat that you have accidently trained to wake you up, you need to be very firm and NEVER give in.  Tell Moo you love him very much, but if he wakes you up he is not going to get what he wants.  Tell him that over and over.  And then don’t give him what he wants when he wakes you up.  Simply put him on the floor.  It is going to take some time… probably way too much time in your mind, but he will eventually understand that this is no longer a good thing and will wait.
    Now I have seven cats that actually sit there and watch me sleep and the minute I come awake they are often all over me – especially on the weekends – looking for love and attention.

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  34. I say give it a try. I had a cat do the same thing, and after a few mornings of being shut out, she quit pestering me and was allowed to stay.

    Try this: Keep a squirt bottle full of water next to you. When he starts being a pest in the morning, squirt him with water. If he doesn't get the hint, put him out of the room and shut the door. Do not give in to any yowling or scratching. If he quiets down, then you can open the door. You want him to associate the door opening with him being quiet, not with him raising a fuss.

    You may lose some sleep a couple mornings, but Moo is smart. I'm sure he'll catch on quick. :-)

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  35. Don't do it! Just enjoy Moo being moo-ie. I had a cat once named Sneakers, she would do this every morning, it drove me nuts. Then one morning after yelling "STOP" too many times she waited until she thought I was asleep then jumped up on the bed at my feet and began an epic slow motion crawl up the side of my body, every time I moved she froze then would start again. It took at least 10 minutes to reach my head (she liked to cold wet nose my ear). I burst out laughing because you see the whole entire journey she was purring the loudest purr I'd ever heard! PURRRRRRRR...PURRRRRRRR...PURRRRRRR... I never complained again and wish she was here for one more...Enjoy Moo and all his moo-ie-ness!

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  36. The publicist and the male person had some very bad words to say about Sherpa the Farm cat this morning because he woke them up TWICE. They were NOT happy. They understand. They DID lock him out of the bedroom.

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  37. Really? I say don't waste your time. He'll just see it as a challenge & find another way. We used to have a cat named Smokey that would wake me every morning by jumping on my husband's electronic keyboard. He's scratch around & manage to turn it on and then start the pre-programed ":tune" that came with it. Smokey's been gone for over 10 years but I can still hear that tune in my head! I'm sure Moo is clever enough to find another way to get his point across!

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  38. I tried that with Hobbes. I now have a gaping hole in the rug on the other side of the bedroom door as my reward so I gave up. After a while he has gotten better about stepping on my face at 5AM...but it took years for him to snap out of it.

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  39. Lots of good advice here, but I honestly understand the dilemma, as I too worship and adore my furry loves. 
     I also am considering shutting my door. Olive molests me way too early with her paw, her tongue....It's pure love, but I prefer not to french kiss my cat. However, I've been lucky in the past doing this, so give it a try. Moo just might find another spot in the house and cuddle with Pimp. Oh, of course all the pics are precious btw!
    X's

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  40. I'm not sure that will work. Moo will be persistent for his morning lovin' and cuddles that he might just scratch and scratch consistently at the door and if you have carpet well he will dig a hole in it.

    I think I would settle more for wake-up cuddles than scratching noises on door.

    Usually cats win! Lol! They are so adorable your cats!

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  41. Yes, usually the cat wins. You have to be so strong! Any reaction from you that can be taken as a sign of Waking Up is a win for Moo. You can't just lie there unresponsive for the many, many days it would be necessary to extinguish that behavior from Moo. Instead, you're going to have to banish him.
    He'll hate it, won't he? And he'll 'guilt' you to death and cry outside the door. You poor kid!

    A friend of mine is going through the very same problem with a new cat, and I'm urging her to Be Strong. What she does is to put her cat outside the room at the first sign of trying to wake her up - the first paw up her nose, the first snuffle in her ear, the first dropping of a toy on her sternum... This doesn't add to my friend's actual sleep time, but the kitty is learning all the different ways of waking up my friend that are forbidden. It will take a while - this kitteh is a morning cat!! But I think she's onto something. You just have to be strong.

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  42. My cat Cheddar does that but he does it much earlier.  I think he does it because he is bored. After you get up and give him some treats, he usually leaves you alone.

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  43. AngryConservativeAsianDudeJune 12, 2012 at 5:58 PM

    Maybe give Moo some alcohol and he will quite down...
    Seriously, if his wake-up calls are making you tired all he time then it might be worth a try keeping him out.
    A similar but not exactly identical thing happened to me.  The late family cat was a bengal ( they are know for being exceptionally smart ) and he craves human attention.  Every morning he would scratch on my  bedroom door but after I let him in he would just peacefully sleep by my side without disturbing me untill I finally got out of bed.  Guess I should consider myself lucky.  I certainly miss him...a lot. 

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  44. If you put him out he would just meow at the door and wake you up even more! 

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  45. LOL !! Dorian I feel your frustration.  My Louie does the same to me every morning. Starting at 4am. I get head-butts, paws on the face, nose- kisses, licking my nose, eyelids, lips, cheeks... After I push him away a number of times, he'll eventually stop pestering me and settle down next to me. Closing the door doesn't not work. I get the whole gang (all 3 cats) crying, banging on the door, digging at the carpet & the door. Good Luck with Moo !!!

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  46. I have five.  I hear you.  Last night was really like a circus.  *yaaawwwn*

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  47. Same here... whiskers in my face and/or the little whine cry, "Aw mom, get up".. at 5 am. also.  SO annoying.  Even when I play dead (asleep) he knows I'm awake some how.  I have to growl, STOP IT to get him to leave me alone... 

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  48. I had to close Mac & Fuz out of the bedroom because of my allergies (to them). They cried at the door but stopped when I didn't let them in. The crying returned (from Mac only) after our move (9 days ago) but is slowly going away again.
    Hissing works much better than squirting with water in my experience. I had to stop Mac from biting; the hissing worked!

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  49. Weasley has been responding well to the squirt gun when he gets up on things he's not supposed to be on. Maybe keep one on the nightstand? Every time I try to boot a cat, they make more noise at the door than in the bed!

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  50. lol...locking him out won't work...learning to live with it...will. Always love the CUTE!!

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  51. It won't work. First of all you will feel guilty, second if he is anything like my cats they make more noise pawing at the door or crying wanting back in. I have leaned to never close any doors inside, I guess they have me well trained. MOL

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  52. I have tried to squirt Moo before, but for different reasons. When he first came to live with us, he was horrible to Pimp. Poor thing couldn't catch a break, so I would squirt Moo to break them up. And I always felt HORRIBLE about it. I just don't have the heart. It can't be a bad move coming from me. I don't want him to associate it. :(

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  53. It does work for some, though. I just can't do it. 

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  54. I gave up ;my girls wake me everymorn between 330 and 500 to eat;never mind they have crunchys available and I feed canned food before we go to bed. Locked out theyscream like banchees that will wake the dead and certainlly me

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  55. Have you tried a can of compressed air instead of water? It's more noise than anything else. Harry kitty doesn't mind water, so Hubby switched to compressed air and anytime he goes after Sophie, Hubby just sends a burst of air and it stops him. We don't even have to shoot the air at Harry - just the noise is enough to stop him. 

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  56. I have the same problem with Tig. She thinks 6 am is time to eat. I do get up and give her some food and then she is fine until I wake up again on my own. You need your sleep!!! Do whatever you have to. Moo will understand. Love u. Gramma.

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  57. we've had this problem with link.  the only solution we came up with was to have an intense play session with him about an hour before bedtime.  by getting rid of his excess energy, he'd sleep longer and bug us less. :)

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  58. I think not rewarding him is the way to go. I am not a morning person at all - if the cats try to wake me up I just roll over and go back to sleep. At this point they don't even try - I might feel one coming up to cuddle but they wait until they see I am up before coming over to interact with me.  You need to do the same - take away Moo's reward for waking him. Try to give him some special Mommy and Moo time later during the day so he doesn't feel the need to get it first thing in the morning.

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  59. We have the same problem with my two cats Lunchbox and Cupcake. We HAVE to lock them in another room overnight...otherwise we don't get a full nights rest. I'll wake up with one of them sitting on my chest staring at me or meowing at me, or pawing at my face. We've tried playing them with them until they're worn out at night but they still insist on waking up WAY early to play with each other or with us or to get us to feed them. Even our two chihuahuas get annoyed with them because they try and knead on them while they are sleeping! I feel bad putting them away for the night but we'll all happier this way, and they at least have each other for comfort. It might take you and Moo a little getting used to but if you'll have to do it if you want to keep your sanity! :)

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  60. I'm betting he'd raise a loud stink if you tried--Minnie would. She KNOWS when I should be awake to give her a t-r-e-a-t (YES, I have to spell it...she also KNOWS the =word=). As it happens, I had to spend over 2 days away, & when I got home, it was "MOMMIEEEEE! YOU'RE BAAA-ACK! WHERE'S MY TREEEEE-EEEET?!"


    I took pity on her & gave her extra. Afterward she curled up on my pillow & purred herself blissfully to sleep, right by my head.../o)

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