Keep Your Cats Asleep With 3 Steps
You beg and you plead, but whether it’s 3 am yowling or 5 am paw pokes to the face, your cat just won't let you snooze! Thankfully, there is usually a very simple solution: adjust their circadian rhythm.
But what the heck is a circadian rhythm and how do I adjust it?!
Circadian Rhythm
To put it simply, the circadian rhythm is our brain’s 24-hour cycle of sleepiness and alertness, and its something that all living things share.
Before humans came along, a cat would have been typically more active at night, but over many generations, domestic cats have become more active during the day to coincide with our schedules. Regardless, they still have some nocturnal tendencies, namely the tendency to annoy the crap out of me when it’s Sunday morning and I’m trying to sleep off this hangover from staying up too late eating popcorn and watching The Great British Bakeoff!
So how do we finish the job that generations of evolution haven’t? In three simple steps!
Establish a feeding schedule (no more free feeding!)
Tire them out
Respond calmly, then ignore them
Step 1: Establish a Feeding Schedule
I know it’s not easy to commit to feeding your cats multiple times a day. You have a life! You have a job! You have to watch GBBO and forget about all the BS you put up with today!
Why a schedule?
Cats tend to sleep after a big meal. Feeding on a schedule allows you to give them their largest meal right before your bedtime, encouraging a natural sleepiness.
Circadian rhythms thrive on consistency. A feeding schedule trains their mind and body to expect downtime, while free-feeding creates chaos that keeps those dang yowls and paw pokes coming.
Pro Tips:
Feed your cats a diet of 100% wet food if possible. Cats are designed to get most of their moisture from prey, so dry diets can leave them mildly dehydrated, stressing their kidneys and liver.
Start slow: If you’re free-feeding dry food, begin reducing how much you leave out while adding scheduled meals. To transition to wet food, give them some of it right next to their current food, increasing the ratio over time.
Feed at least 3 times a day—morning, midday, and before bed. Ideally, feed them 4 to 5 times a day for an even more natural schedule, ensuring they don’t go without food for more than 5-6 hours if possible.
Example Schedule:
6:00 am: Breakfast
11:00 am: Lunch
5:00 pm: Dinner
11:00 pm: Evening snack
1-2:00 am: Optional night-time auto-feeder snack
Feeding my five darlings on this schedule keeps them satisfied and snoozy, and they are friendlier too!
Step 2: Tire Them Out
Let’s face it, our cats have it easy. Gone are the days when they had to find, catch, and kill their food every day, now they just sit there and stare at you with those hungry eyes, meowing at you to hurry up and grabbing your ankles if you show any signs of slowing. This is because regardless of their domestication, our cuties still crave the hunt, and it’s up to us to simulate that experience the best we can!
Malcolm is almost tired enough, but not quite!
Play with your cats whenever they are feeling active throughout the day, but right before their mealtimes is ideal. Most importantly, you should schedule a play session for no earlier than 1.5 hours before you go to bed, followed by their final feeding
Use interactive toys that your darling can physically catch and “kill.” Here are a few of my favorites!
Go Cat Da Bird - This is the best toy I've found, it spins and really gets them excited. It’s intuitive and even fun to use! As with any wand toy, make sure not to leave it out afterward because feathers and strings can be dangerous to unsupervised cats. Instead of buying the expensive refills, I prefer to hot-glue my own feathers in to replace the broken ones!
Go Cat Teaser Cat Catcher - This is a ground toy that most cats love, it has a bristly hair body they love to chew on and a thin cable that makes it move realistically while not being too visible
PURRfect Cat Toys Crinkle Bouncer - Cats like to chew on its feathers and crinkly paper-like innards, so it makes a great toy to finish off a play session by letting them "kill" it
Yeowww! Catnip Banana - This company makes great catnip-filled toys. They use very durable fabric, their own brand of powerful catnip, and they are great for solo play! They have lots of designs, but I find the banana is one of the most universally-liked
SmartyKat Hot Pursuit - This electronic toy is the most durable and fun that I've found and is a good way to distract your cat for a few minutes if you don't have time to play right when they need it. Cats are quick to learn the patterns of most electronic toys, so don’t expect the fun to last forever
Keep in mind that your cats will get bored with toys pretty quickly if they use the same ones all the time, but if you rotate them by putting one or more away for a week or two, they will hold your cat’s interest longer
During your play session, aim to tire your cuties to the point of exhaustion several times. This means playing until they stop and lie down, giving them a few moments to rest, playing some more until they are once again tired, giving a few more moments to rest, and then playing one more time. Cats are built for short bursts of energy, not endurance, so this is the ideal way to wear them out. Make sure you get those cuties running and jumping as much as possible!
Step 3: Respond Calmly, Then Ignore Them
You’ve set a schedule. You’ve played with them until they’re practically snoozing mid-pounce. Yet they still wake you at 5 am, meowing for that morning snack! Here’s the hardest part: you have to respond calmly, then ignore them.
Why?
Cats often meow because they’re seeking attention. Acknowledging their request with a calm response like, “No, it’s not time yet,” helps them feel heard without reinforcing the behavior. Afterward, ignore them entirely.
What to do:
Stay calm and consistent. Acknowledge them briefly, then stop engaging.
Avoid yelling, scolding, or pleading for more sleep. Cats can find this frustrating or even exciting.
The Timeline
This isn’t an overnight fix. It takes about 1-2 weeks for cats to fully adjust to a new routine. Stick with it, and you’ll finally reclaim your uninterrupted beauty sleep.
Still struggling? Contact me or schedule an appointment!
Have a story you’d like to share, questions about this article, or a completely different behavioral issue that I haven’t addressed? Please let me know in the comments!
