cat owners... or anyone else with furry animals who would like to give me advice.... (long sorry)

bare with me everyone - im going to try & make this as short as possible...

not sure who remembers me saying a couple months ago that me & DH were taking in my friends cat until she looks for an apt... well, we've had the cat since august & things are totally fine with him EXCEPT when it comes time to go to bed.

DH doesnt mind the cat sleeping with us, EXCEPT this cat will ONLY sleep on your pillow... it refuses to sleep anywhere else on the bed. it wouldnt be SO bad if the cat layed down and went to bed, but he is constantly getting up & moving during the night & will walk over DH's head & he gets REALLLLLY mad.

i've tried EVERYTHING - making it a pillow bed on the floor of our room, putting a pillow at the end of the bed... DID NOT work then we started to lock him out of our room at night, but he started to get smart & scratch and meow at the door until we let him in.

last night i set up a banket and pillow on the guest room bed & put him in there, but all i could hear all night was him crying and scratching on the door

i am at a total loss as what to do... i havent gotten a good nites sleep in a while b/c i dont want DH to get mad that the cat keeps walking on his head... so i am constantly waking up and pulling the car back over to my side of the bed... but i really dont know what to do now.

if anyone has ANY advice - i'll be glad to take it!! i havent lived with a cat since i was like 11 so i'm clueless

TIA

My cat sleeps with us all the time and I cant count how many times the little biatch wakes me and DH up. I find it funny because she wakes DH up by stepping on his manhood

Anyway, this is a toughie. What if you put a pillow by your feet. The poor kitty seems so lonely. DH has a pillow he always puts to support his back and kitty usually uses that one which doesnt really bother him. A lot of times we end up tossing her around and she gets annoyed and leaves. Try to annoy the cat! HAHA Im such a bad cat mother.

ohhh thats a tough one, i know its hard to keep him locked out of the room cause you hear him scraching and crying but i think he just has to get use to it and learn that it his place to stay!!

I know its hard i give in all the time and let the dog in too!

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Posted by Songstress

My cat sleeps with us all the time and I cant count how many times the little biatch wakes me and DH up. I find it funny because she wakes DH up by stepping on his manhood

Anyway, this is a toughie. What if you put a pillow by your feet. The poor kitty seems so lonely. DH has a pillow he always puts to support his back and kitty usually uses that one which doesnt really bother him. A lot of times we end up tossing her around and she gets annoyed and leaves. Try to annoy the cat! HAHA Im such a bad cat mother.

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i've tried putting a pillow @ our feet but it doesnt work... at first i thought thats what he wanted, but no!

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Posted by TM2008

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Posted by Songstress

My cat sleeps with us all the time and I cant count how many times the little biatch wakes me and DH up. I find it funny because she wakes DH up by stepping on his manhood

Anyway, this is a toughie. What if you put a pillow by your feet. The poor kitty seems so lonely. DH has a pillow he always puts to support his back and kitty usually uses that one which doesnt really bother him. A lot of times we end up tossing her around and she gets annoyed and leaves. Try to annoy the cat! HAHA Im such a bad cat mother.

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i've tried putting a pillow @ our feet but it doesnt work... at first i thought thats what he wanted, but no!

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Seriously, try annoying him. Ruffle his fur dont let him get comfortable. move him a few times. Theyr eally get annoyed after a while!

Cats can be determine especially when the found a spot they like. They sell at pet stores this off spray, that suppose to keep cats from going on counters or away from doors leading outside. You might find one that will keep them off the bed or your pillows.
What I did with my cats, who try to insist on sleeping on me. which was fine when they were small, but my big guy Appollyon is very heavy , making it hard to breath with him on my chest. What I did was remove him from my chest and put him on a spot on the bed that wasn't in the way but still close to me. He kept persisting, but so did I, until he got the idea and now just goes his part of the bed automatically.

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Posted by EmberLynn

Cats can be determine especially when the found a spot they like. They sell at pet stores this off spray, that suppose to keep cats from going on counters or away from doors leading outside. You might find one that will keep them off the bed or your pillows.
What I did with my cats, who try to insist on sleeping on me. which was fine when they were small, but my big guy Appollyon is very heavy , making it hard to breath with him on my chest. What I did was remove him from my chest and put him on a spot on the bed that wasn't in the way but still close to me. He kept persisting, but so did I, until he got the idea and now just goes his part of the bed automatically.

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I miss the days when my cat would sleep on my pillow. He now comes in every morning at 6am to snuggle wit hme, walks on DH and then comes back to me. luckily (i guess) DH sleeps through it so it's no big deal, and I actually like it so it's not a problem for us.

My mom's cat is heavy and always wanted to lay on her chest.... and my mom kept moving her to lay next to her and pet her... until now that is the cat's new spot and she comes there automatically. they are creatures of habit so just keep doing it and hope for the best. Or, you can put a carboard box out with a soft blanket in it and try to make a new 'bed' for the cat that it will choose to sleep in instead.

good luck

thanks everyone... i will try some of your suggestions!!!

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Posted by Songstress

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Posted by TM2008

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Posted by Songstress

My cat sleeps with us all the time and I cant count how many times the little biatch wakes me and DH up. I find it funny because she wakes DH up by stepping on his manhood

Anyway, this is a toughie. What if you put a pillow by your feet. The poor kitty seems so lonely. DH has a pillow he always puts to support his back and kitty usually uses that one which doesnt really bother him. A lot of times we end up tossing her around and she gets annoyed and leaves. Try to annoy the cat! HAHA Im such a bad cat mother.

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i've tried putting a pillow @ our feet but it doesnt work... at first i thought thats what he wanted, but no!

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Seriously, try annoying him. Ruffle his fur dont let him get comfortable. move him a few times. Theyr eally get annoyed after a while!

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ITA w/Lea try to annoy the cat. Ours does the same stuff only licks the nose till you feel like it will fall off and meows at DH till he wakes up - She either wants be pet or fed I am a heavy sleeper so I get to sleep through all of it - but boy does DH get real pist He tells me about all of the goings on during the night

He does like annoy the cat now and teases her or shoves her away she does get the message but you have to be persistent. Try keeping a third pillow by your head and turn it like sideways - keep putting the cat there every night like routine. Try giving the cat treats on that pillow and pet the cat until it lays asleep. You might just have some hard work ahead of you - cats have mind of their owns! They are NOT like dogs They do NOT listen

then we started to lock him out of our room at night, but he started to get smart & scratch and meow at the door until we let him in.



YESS that is my problem, for a few days i just woke up and sprayed my cat with water, (with the sprayer) after 3 days he stopped doing it, my cat is verrryy loving and would love to sleep in between us, but its just uncomfortable and not safe, so we let him sleep in the living room but 5 am he wakes up and scratches at our door, so i wake up spray him with water and say NO loud, and hes stopped now.....also get ur cat toys!! if u dont have any
good luck

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Posted by luvabul

then we started to lock him out of our room at night, but he started to get smart & scratch and meow at the door until we let him in.



YESS that is my problem, for a few days i just woke up and sprayed my cat with water, (with the sprayer) after 3 days he stopped doing it, my cat is verrryy loving and would love to sleep in between us, but its just uncomfortable and not safe, so we let him sleep in the living room but 5 am he wakes up and scratches at our door, so i wake up spray him with water and say NO loud, and hes stopped now.....also get ur cat toys!! if u dont have any
good luck

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I am not sure what kind of cat you have long haired?- I am personally not a fan of spraying water tactic b/c I have to groom mine and I don't want them to be skiddish of water in general and relate that to punishment - esp if the cat has to be bathed for some reason even if not a a long haired cat - like a flea bath or a poopie butt

Some people use coins in a soda can for noise but I am not sure if you want to shake soda cans in the am that might just wake you up and DH as well!

Again try just to annoy the cat in the area it wants to go and set up a third pillow by your head - maybe invest in a cat bed? - or even bring home a cardboard box sometimes they love sleeping in those things

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Posted by luvabul

i have a persian/himalyan cat. Its not like its alot of water, its a mist almost.... and hes not fearful of bathes, he loves them!...so i dont know i guess its been working for us. I do have to groom my cat very often also hes hairY!

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OH gosh those are my second fav amounst what I have already Your very lucky the cat likes to be bathed
Don't get me started. One needs calming pills
The kitten tolerates it thus so far

I don't care about the hair being soo perfect it is those dam n Matts If you don't wash the cat to get the fur clean the fur gets inter tangled NO matter how many times you brush it This is what I get for a high maintenance kitties - but I wouldn't change it for the world

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Posted by luvabul

then we started to lock him out of our room at night, but he started to get smart & scratch and meow at the door until we let him in.



YESS that is my problem, for a few days i just woke up and sprayed my cat with water, (with the sprayer) after 3 days he stopped doing it, my cat is verrryy loving and would love to sleep in between us, but its just uncomfortable and not safe, so we let him sleep in the living room but 5 am he wakes up and scratches at our door, so i wake up spray him with water and say NO loud, and hes stopped now.....also get ur cat toys!! if u dont have any
good luck

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what's not safe about letting the cat sleep between you? you mean b/c you're afraid to roll over on him?

i have the same issue and at first it was me who didn't want her to sleep with us b/c i'd get kitty hair up my nose and she destroyed our quilt and I didn't want her to sleep on the bed... but then i gave in b/c she's so cute and lovey, and dh said I was mean to lock her out. she rotates but always steps on my stomach at like 5 am; her latest spot is on the pillow right next to dh's head. the water thing sounds like a good idea... I should try that for the couch clawing.

good luck!

yea rolling over on the cat is definately not 'safe'

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Posted by luvabul

yea rolling over on the cat is definately not 'safe'

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you never know... my old school grandmother and aunt used to say never to leave a cat alone with the baby b/c it could suck the life out of it.

so just checking.

my DH uses a air can for the computer to shoo him. I like him sleeping with me but he always wakes me up at 5 a.m.