5 Reasons Why Your Kitten is Crying at Night
Just like adult cats, kittens are naturally nocturnal creatures. They instinctively are more active at night. This can create problems between you and your new feline friend that has not yet adapted to your preferred sleeping and waking schedule. If your kitten is extra vocal at night, here are some reasons why and tips to help stop the excessive crying at night.
1. Boredom and loneliness
Kittens have much more energy than adult cats. If your kitten is bored or lonely, it may just be looking for someone to play with. Sometimes adopting two kittens can alleviate night time crying because they will spend the night playing with each other.
2. Hunting
Your kitten may be practicing pouncing and hunting prey. Some kittens and cats are just noisy hunters. A kitten may vocalize when it sees movement or a toy that looks like prey, or meow when it catches and attacks its prey.
3. Chatty kitty
Some kitties are just chatty, and more prone to verbalizing. This tendency is definitely cuter during the day.
If you have just brought home your kitten, the crying at night may be anxiety related. Once your kitten starts to feel more comfortable in your home, it may quiet down. Providing your kitten with its own bed, scratching post, and toys can help it feel at home.
5. Uknowingly rewarding the behavior
Think about how you are responding to the crying to determine if you are in fact rewarding and training your kitten to cry at night. For example, if you feed your kitten early in the morning as soon as the crying starts, then you are training your kitten to cry by rewarding the behavior. Instead of getting out of bed and immediately feeding your kitten, do something else first. This way your kitten will not associate you getting out of bed with food.
More tips to stop a kitten's nighttime crying
Re-direct your kitten's attention, so they will not have the time or inclination to cry. Making your kitten tired is one way to accomplish this so it will sleep more at night. Before going to bed, enjoy some play time. Get your kitten to jump, run, and pounce with a feather toy or laser light for 20 to 30 minutes before bed. This will make your kitten tired and ready for bed at the same time as you. Also, leave out new toys at night for your cat to quietly play with in another room, ideally a room far away from your bedroom. Lastly, for some kittens who are just nighttime talkers, you may need to keep them in another room at night so you can sleep in peace and quiet.
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