Question about Behaviour in a 5 year old female shorthair

[UWF97Nole]

my cat has not been allowed to come in our room at night now for 3-4 years, yet every morning she still paws at the door and meows and always wakes me up. I hate it, because I put her out since she is known to wake us in the night. it's either in the am or at night, and I cannot win. Any advice for a cat who will not let us rest?

[Phoebe's human]

You could try giving your cat quite a bit of exercise during the day, especially shortly before your bedtime. This might tire him out to the point where he'll sleep through the night and stop being your alarm clock.

I've always heard that cats are basically nocturnal animals, and cats I've known have wanted to party after the sun goes down (or before it comes up).

They can be gradually eased into changing night and day around, though--so they have their active time in the daytime and aren't restless at night.

Is your cat's usual feeding time just after you get up in the morning? If so, he may be telling you to bring on the chow, and you could adjust his feeding schedule so he doesn't expect to be fed at that time.

Or leave out some dry food overnight (if he eats dry food) so he won't be hungry at unacceptable times.