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Tgillmeister

Lairian
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May 31, 2022
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Hi all. I’m new to the community and fairly new to owning a sphynx. Our girl Opal is turning 9 months in a few days.

She’s been the sweetest, most well behaved cat up until recently. She is very cuddly, will lay with us on the couch constantly and always slept with us until recently. Instead of sleeping in bed with us, she started sleeping downstairs on the couch. She wakes us up for her food around 5am every morning and after she eats she used to go right back to bed. Now ever since she started sleeping downstairs she won’t go back to sleep with us after eating. Instead, she cries/purrs while walking all over us. We’ve shut her out of the room but she just continues to cry. My husband gets up with her and goes downstairs and she’ll eventually settle down and cuddle on the couch and go back to sleep with him. This morning she didn’t rest until she got me to come downstairs too. It’s almost like she prefers sleeping downstairs suddenly and wants us to join her there. We don’t want to start new bad habits but we’re so exhausted that we end up giving in for our sleep/sanity. I’m not sure if she’s just testing our limits in her ‘teenage’ phase?

The only things I could think of that could be upsetting her is I’ve traveled twice recently (she was fine when I was gone) and we recently lost our dog. They weren’t the closest of companions but he was diabetic and had a strict morning routine so I feel like she fell in line with him. We are also getting ready to move and having been packing a lot. I’m not sure if any of the above could be upsetting her? We make sure to feed her before bed and work from home all but 1 day of the week so she gets a lot of attention during the day.

I appreciate any advice on this! We want to try to nip it in the bud before it becomes a bigger or permanent issue!
 

Catzzzmeow

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You are probably right her routine has upset her. Cats can be so finicky. And love consistency. You might consider getting a heated bed that might entice her to snuggle down again. I am the I give up and give them what they want type lol even back in the bed.
 

Tgillmeister

Lairian
Joined
May 31, 2022
Messages
9
Points
14
You are probably right her routine has upset her. Cats can be so finicky. And love consistency. You might consider getting a heated bed that might entice her to snuggle down again. I am the I give up and give them what they want type lol even back in the bed.
Thank you - she is a sucker for anything warm so I’ll try that! It really is so easy to give in to them lol
 

tennisplayer

Lairian
Joined
Mar 17, 2022
Messages
158
Points
91
We had the same issues and we ended up putting the cats on our sleep schedule, here are my notes:


The cats have their own room that has water and a litter box.

As soon as we go to bed they go into the room with the door closed and they don't come out until we wake up, we give them a treat to get them into the room at night. Now when we tell them it is sleep time they run into the sleep room for the treat. We also have the cat wheel in that room and things they can climb so they can play if they want, but they just usually sleep. Make sure the room is warm, if cold they will be extra active (winter time).

I get up super early before my wife so I make sure not to make too much noise or the cats will scratch at the door.

If I know I need to be up and will be making noise then I plan ahead and put a white noise machine on so the cats can't hear me getting ready.

At first the cats just kept scratching at the door. I have a engineering background so I made a motion detector that will trigger a water squirt gun which trained them not to keep knocking at the door. Today you can just buy a cat device that shoots a puff of air which is what I will do in the future once we get our new kitten.

I have a baby web cam in the room to make sure everything is okay. After a few minutes the cats just go to sleep in their spot. It would be ideal to have a cat spot that has a pet heating pad.

For the longest while we tried to have the cats sleep with the humans, but cats are night hunters and we found that they would initially go to sleep with us but eventually wake us up stalk around the house. The humans could not earn their keep with meetings and such.

The room also acts a cat safe place, when new humans enter our house one of the cats head there right away. Keep a kitty carrier in that room with the door wired open. If we humans have an important online meeting with their boss or higher ups at the work place, the cats go their so humans can earn their keep.

Make sure to have play time in the cat room so it does not become associated with a cat time out but more of a cat gym.

The room should have a window to the outside that has lots of things going on, so a window that faces another building is not the greatest. A window that gets direct sun is also good.

It took me years to figure this out and I have other ideas that did not work or only worked for a few days. If you run into a problem others on this forum can give you ideas.
 

Cleopatra Beers

Gold Lairian
Notable Member
Joined
Dec 24, 2011
Messages
5,542
Points
643
We had the same issues and we ended up putting the cats on our sleep schedule, here are my notes:


The cats have their own room that has water and a litter box.

As soon as we go to bed they go into the room with the door closed and they don't come out until we wake up, we give them a treat to get them into the room at night. Now when we tell them it is sleep time they run into the sleep room for the treat. We also have the cat wheel in that room and things they can climb so they can play if they want, but they just usually sleep. Make sure the room is warm, if cold they will be extra active (winter time).

I get up super early before my wife so I make sure not to make too much noise or the cats will scratch at the door.

If I know I need to be up and will be making noise then I plan ahead and put a white noise machine on so the cats can't hear me getting ready.

At first the cats just kept scratching at the door. I have a engineering background so I made a motion detector that will trigger a water squirt gun which trained them not to keep knocking at the door. Today you can just buy a cat device that shoots a puff of air which is what I will do in the future once we get our new kitten.

I have a baby web cam in the room to make sure everything is okay. After a few minutes the cats just go to sleep in their spot. It would be ideal to have a cat spot that has a pet heating pad.

For the longest while we tried to have the cats sleep with the humans, but cats are night hunters and we found that they would initially go to sleep with us but eventually wake us up stalk around the house. The humans could not earn their keep with meetings and such.

The room also acts a cat safe place, when new humans enter our house one of the cats head there right away. Keep a kitty carrier in that room with the door wired open. If we humans have an important online meeting with their boss or higher ups at the work place, the cats go their so humans can earn their keep.

Make sure to have play time in the cat room so it does not become associated with a cat time out but more of a cat gym.

The room should have a window to the outside that has lots of things going on, so a window that faces another building is not the greatest. A window that gets direct sun is also good.

It took me years to figure this out and I have other ideas that did not work or only worked for a few days. If you run into a problem others on this forum can give you ideas.
We have the Sscat that uses a heat detector to shoot a puff of air. Because of my severe back issues, we had to stop letting the cats sleep with us last year. It was torture for about five months, but the Sscat outside our door plus ensuring comfy warm beds have worked. But, there are times that Marcus wants to be stubborn, and will set off the Sscat several times in the hour just after we go to bed.
 

Yoda mom

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Apr 23, 2012
Messages
26,190
Points
653
@Tgillmeister , welcoming you and adorable Opal to the lair family... she is precious.
big hugs for your diabetic pup getting angel wings. I share in the immeasurable hurt. My diabetic pup got his angel wings (not from diabetes) not too long ago. may our babies be running free together sharing stories of all the love known in this world. Remember the love, soo much love.

my kitties were helpers everyday with his diabetes, test, feed inject routine, head butting and loving. took them several weeks to adjust. I also use a warm blanket from the dryer.
 

Toa and Ross

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Joined
Jan 23, 2015
Messages
32,390
Points
643
Sorry for the loss of your dog.
With losing the dog (and that routine that came with the dog), seeing things getting packed and feeling that her humans are "different" then normal I think it's indeed the routine. Once you give in on getting up and downstairs she will demand this as the new way (I know all too well cause my boy Ross wakes me up at 5.30 and demands food, I gave in and now I'm doomed;-)). Try to get her to a new routine that lets you sleep. A heated bed, a toy or anything that she loves so you can sleep!
 

Tgillmeister

Lairian
Joined
May 31, 2022
Messages
9
Points
14
We had the same issues and we ended up putting the cats on our sleep schedule, here are my notes:


The cats have their own room that has water and a litter box.

As soon as we go to bed they go into the room with the door closed and they don't come out until we wake up, we give them a treat to get them into the room at night. Now when we tell them it is sleep time they run into the sleep room for the treat. We also have the cat wheel in that room and things they can climb so they can play if they want, but they just usually sleep. Make sure the room is warm, if cold they will be extra active (winter time).

I get up super early before my wife so I make sure not to make too much noise or the cats will scratch at the door.

If I know I need to be up and will be making noise then I plan ahead and put a white noise machine on so the cats can't hear me getting ready.

At first the cats just kept scratching at the door. I have a engineering background so I made a motion detector that will trigger a water squirt gun which trained them not to keep knocking at the door. Today you can just buy a cat device that shoots a puff of air which is what I will do in the future once we get our new kitten.

I have a baby web cam in the room to make sure everything is okay. After a few minutes the cats just go to sleep in their spot. It would be ideal to have a cat spot that has a pet heating pad.

For the longest while we tried to have the cats sleep with the humans, but cats are night hunters and we found that they would initially go to sleep with us but eventually wake us up stalk around the house. The humans could not earn their keep with meetings and such.

The room also acts a cat safe place, when new humans enter our house one of the cats head there right away. Keep a kitty carrier in that room with the door wired open. If we humans have an important online meeting with their boss or higher ups at the work place, the cats go their so humans can earn their keep.

Make sure to have play time in the cat room so it does not become associated with a cat time out but more of a cat gym.

The room should have a window to the outside that has lots of things going on, so a window that faces another building is not the greatest. A window that gets direct sun is also good.

It took me years to figure this out and I have other ideas that did not work or only worked for a few days. If you run into a problem others on this forum can give you ideas.
Thank you for all the information! This sounds similar to how we acclimated her as a kitten before she had full run of the house. She has been better but still mischievous here and there. We are moving in 2 weeks so we’re going to see how she adjusts and we may decide to do something like this so everyone can get a good nights sleep!
 

Tgillmeister

Lairian
Joined
May 31, 2022
Messages
9
Points
14
Sorry for the loss of your dog.
With losing the dog (and that routine that came with the dog), seeing things getting packed and feeling that her humans are "different" then normal I think it's indeed the routine. Once you give in on getting up and downstairs she will demand this as the new way (I know all too well cause my boy Ross wakes me up at 5.30 and demands food, I gave in and now I'm doomed;-)). Try to get her to a new routine that lets you sleep. A heated bed, a toy or anything that she loves so you can sleep!
Thank you for your kind words! We have found she has a fleece blanket she really loves so we try to entice her with that. We’re hoping to nail down a more consistent (and not so early!) routine in our new house when we move in 2 weeks. She’s been better but she’s definitely still trying to be the boss when she’s feeling very persistent!
 

Tgillmeister

Lairian
Joined
May 31, 2022
Messages
9
Points
14
We have the Sscat that uses a heat detector to shoot a puff of air. Because of my severe back issues, we had to stop letting the cats sleep with us last year. It was torture for about five months, but the Sscat outside our door plus ensuring comfy warm beds have worked. But, there are times that Marcus wants to be stubborn, and will set off the Sscat several times in the hour just after we go to bed.
Interesting!! I didn’t know the Sscat existed, we will have to keep that in mind!
 

Tgillmeister

Lairian
Joined
May 31, 2022
Messages
9
Points
14
@Tgillmeister , welcoming you and adorable Opal to the lair family... she is precious.
big hugs for your diabetic pup getting angel wings. I share in the immeasurable hurt. My diabetic pup got his angel wings (not from diabetes) not too long ago. may our babies be running free together sharing stories of all the love known in this world. Remember the love, soo much love.

my kitties were helpers everyday with his diabetes, test, feed inject routine, head butting and loving. took them several weeks to adjust. I also use a warm blanket from the dryer.
Thank you so much for those sweet words. We all miss his big presence in the house, they are such sweet companions. I take comfort knowing our diabetic buddies are running around together on the rainbow bridge!

We have found a fleece blanket she really loves, I never even thought to put it in the dryer!! We will definitely start doing that. We found an old blanket of the dogs too and I think she enjoys it for his scent.
 
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