Living with cats, especially during the first few weeks or when they've just arrived, can be very difficult . They spend the day sleeping, and at night they run around, meow, and explore the house as if it were their hunting ground. This behavior, while perhaps not to our liking, is natural for them ; after all, they are predators with very high activity levels during the hours of low light.
When cats come to live with humans, they gradually adapt to our schedules, but they need our help to channel their energy and instincts appropriately. One area where they'll need assistance is in learning to rest when the family does, without suppressing their natural behavior. To achieve this, it's essential to understand their nature, why they're active at night, and what we can do during the day to make nighttime a calm time. Below, we'll explain how to help cats sleep at night with practical, respectful, and effective strategies.
The cat, a nocturnal and crepuscular predator
First of all, it's necessary to get to know the animal we have at home a little. As we mentioned at the beginning, the cat is a furry creature that hunts primarily at dawn and dusk , and can maintain significant nocturnal activity. Its body is perfectly adapted for this: it has much better night vision than ours (while we can't see anything in near-total darkness, it can distinguish details), a sense of hearing that allows it to hear the sound of a mouse from several meters away , and amazing musculature that allows it to jump to great heights and move with great speed.
Furthermore, it possesses very strong claws and teeth for hunting and eating small prey, such as rodents and birds. It is an excellent hunter, and even more so because from a very young age it hones its hunting skills through play. When we throw, for example, a ball or use a feather wand, it can strengthen its leg muscles and improve its coordination so that, in the future, if necessary, it can pursue and catch its prey.
Even if it never leaves the house, it has the blood of a predator , of felines, and that means that at night it will tend to be more active, exploring, patrolling, and marking its territory with its scent or by scratching certain spots. It may not hunt any real animals, but it will "hunt" strings or cords, balls, stuffed animals, shadows moving on the wall, or anything that catches its attention and awakens its instincts.
This instinctive aspect combines with another key factor: a lack of daytime activity . When a cat spends many hours alone or bored during the day, it tends to sleep more than usual and accumulate energy. It releases this energy when the house is quiet… precisely when we want to sleep. That's why it's so important to understand that its nighttime behavior isn't a "whim" or bad behavior, but rather the result of its nature and how it organizes its day.
All of this explains why, when night falls, the cat might start running down the hallway, jumping on the bed, nipping at our feet under the covers, or meowing to get our attention. And of course, doing so can make noise and disturb our sleep. So, how can we get our cat to sleep more at night and let us rest?
How to make the cat sleep at night?
Cats spend many hours sleeping, between 12 and 18 hours a day , and up to 20 hours when they are very young kittens. If we want them to sleep more at night and let us rest, we must remember that we shouldn't reduce their sleep hours or, much less, take away their naps. What we need to do is redistribute their activity so that during the day they are more entertained and tired, and at night they are more inclined to rest than to play.
The best strategy is to increase their daytime activity level . This means spending time with them when we're home, providing stimulation when we're out, and, above all, maintaining a consistent routine. Simply locking the cat out of the bedroom, for example, is usually a terrible idea: if they feel excluded or anxious, they may start meowing, scratching at the door, or knocking things over, making the situation even worse.
When he's awake, we need to spend time with him, but not just by sitting on the sofa doing nothing. We need to move around, interact with him, play with him, and give him exercise . Pet stores offer a wide variety of cat toys , but we probably already have ropes or cords at home that we no longer use, small balls (at least the size of a golf ball to prevent choking), cardboard boxes large enough to cut holes in for him to climb in and out of, or even homemade tunnels made with blankets and chairs.
And if not, we can always make a ball out of a piece of aluminum foil or crumpled paper. With these simple toys, both he and we can have a wonderful time. It's also a perfect excuse to keep him fit and prevent him from becoming overweight, helping him maintain a healthy weight and a more stable emotional balance.
For this strategy to work best, it's advisable to organize the cat's day into three key moments that are repeated whenever possible:
- Intense gaming sessions in the late afternoon or early evening, with wand toys, balls or stuffed animals that it can chase and catch.
- Food after the gamemimicking the natural cycle of hunting-eating-resting that they would have in the wild.
- A moment of calm After dinner, with caresses, gentle brushing or simply quiet company, so that he associates that part of the day with relaxation and sleep.
At the same time, during the day it is essential that he has an environment rich in stimuli that prevents him from getting bored: vertical and horizontal scratching posts, shelves or cat trees from which he can observe, interactive toys that move on their own, puzzle-type feeders that force him to think to get the food out, or mobile elements on the window (such as bird feeders outside the glass) that keep his instinct of observation alive.
Routines, environment, and other factors that influence a cat's sleep
Besides play and exercise, other factors greatly influence a cat's calmness at night . One of the most important is daily routine . Cats are creatures of habit: the more predictable their day, the safer they feel and the less anxiety they accumulate.
It's best to maintain relatively consistent schedules for meals, playtime, and bedtime . They don't need to be exact, but there should be some regularity. This way, the cat learns that there are times for playing, times for eating, and times for resting, and doesn't need to improvise noisy activities in the middle of the night.
It's also important to maintain a calm home environment at night . A cat can become agitated by loud noises, bright lights, sudden temperature changes, or the presence of other animals that frighten it. Ideally, it should have:
- An comfortable bed located in a quiet, warm and, if possible, elevated or somewhat sheltered place.
- An noise-free rest area continuous, such as washing machines, household appliances or televisions.
- Access to clean water and food (or an automatic feeder if it is very persistent at certain times).
- Su litter box in a place nearby but not right next to the bed, so that she can use it without having to walk all over the house.
For very nervous cats or those going through major changes (moving, new pets, home renovations…), synthetic pheromones in a diffuser, such as Feliway, can be useful. These mimic feline facial pheromones and help the cat feel safer and calmer in its territory.
Another key point is to avoid inadvertently reinforcing the nighttime behavior we want to prevent. If every time the cat meows at three in the morning we get up, feed it, or play with it, we're teaching it that making noise at night works . As long as we're sure it's not in pain, truly hungry, or experiencing any other problem, it's best to ignore it at those times and focus all play, petting, and interaction on appropriate times.
And how to help the kitten sleep?
If we have a kitten that can't sleep or seems especially restless at night, the first thing we need to know is whether it has any health problems . If it was rescued from the street, or if it's the kitten of a stray cat, it's very likely that it has intestinal parasites , which, in addition to making it eat more than usual, can cause stomach pain, diarrhea, a swollen belly, or general malaise. A kitten with digestive problems will move around and meow more, even at night.
Furthermore, if it's a baby kitten and it's meowing desperately even after eating, it may not yet have learned to relieve itself on its own , and therefore, the accumulation of urine and/or feces is causing it pain, colic, or discomfort. In these cases, it's necessary to help by stimulating the genital and anal area with a warm, damp gauze pad, mimicking the licking of the mother after each feeding.
If we suspect something is wrong, we must take our kitten to the vet as soon as possible , otherwise its life could be in serious danger. Kittens are very vulnerable until they grow up. They need special care to reach adulthood, such as high-quality (grain-free) kitten food, a comfortable and warm bed, parasite control, and lots of love. Otherwise, not only will they not be happy, but their life expectancy may be significantly reduced.
If the vet says he's healthy, it's likely that what he needs is precisely that: extra attention and a stable routine. Kittens, like young children, can wake up several times during the night, but a warm and safe environment greatly reduces these awakenings. If we have to leave him alone at any point, we can put a piece of clothing we've been wearing on his bed so he can smell us, or we can use Feliway to help him stay calmer.
In the specific case of the youngest children, it also helps a lot to offer them:
- Un very soft cushion or blanket where to curl up, preferably in a basket or cave-like bed.
- An gentle heat source (like a well-wrapped bag of warm water) if they are no longer with their mother.
- An environment with soft background noisessuch as relaxing music or recorded purring sounds that they find comforting.
As your kitten grows, it will become easier to organize its play and feeding schedules so that it can sleep more often at night, although we must always remember that a healthy kitten will alternate periods of deep sleep with short moments of play throughout the day and night.
Thus, by following these tips, understanding their nature as small predators, and reinforcing routines for play, food, and rest, it is much easier for our beloved four-legged friend to sleep well at night , and for us to sleep with them, enjoying a more harmonious coexistence and a stronger, more respectful bond.