Since moving out of my childhood home, Tommy and Ricky no longer have a garden to relax and play in. I think it is clear that both my cats miss the garden, but it seems to be Ricky who has become especially bored since her indoor life in an apartment in Eastern Europe. Even though the cats have access to a patio with screened open windows (when the weather is nice), it just is not the same.
As a result, Ricky has become far more dependent on me. To the point where she basically controls my life in a way – she will come to me when she’s bored and will do whatever she can to grab my attention.
During day time, this is fairly manageable. Although I’m often busy, I try to make a lot of time free to spend with her. It’s the nights that are an issue. Since moving, she wakes me up every single night. Sometimes even up to four times per night! And not just for ‘a pet’ – she wants specific dedication for a specific duration at a specific location. That means I have to get out of bed, follow her to her favorite spot of the moment (such as a box in the living room, or a bed in another room) and pet her the way she likes it. When I get woken up at 2 am, 4 am, 6 am, I’m not too motivated to spend 10 minutes interacting with her- I’m almost falling asleep.
This has devastated me in the beginning. It has been a long journey of figuring how to deal with this and ultimately coming to terms with it that this is how things are now.
Luckily, I’ve figured out some ways to limit the amount of time I get out of bed for her, with most nights just getting woken up once or twice. It’s okay, I do need to pee anyway…
No, I do understand. It’s boring if I’m sleeping. When I’m awake, we do things. There’s activity. Something for her to watch and do. A routine of sorts. It’s just too bad the mornings start so early for her… I’m not good at routine, but I try my best.
Anyway, as for “stuff to do”, I can guarantee you that I have been trying my best to entertain her.
Provide Entertainment for Your Cat
I’ve been looking through countless guides and people’s personal experiences with cats waking them up at night, wondering how to deal with this. The most common advice I’ve seen was: provide entertainment for your cat. Alright. Easy enough.
Scratch post
I’ve bought a scratch post for them. And although initially, only Ricky used the scratch post, they have now finally after a year, both started using it.
Entertainment value: ★★★★★
Colorful springs
I’ve researched a ton of items that could be used for the cats to be entertained without needing me. One of the items recommended, were colorful springs. I’ll be honest, though, I didn’t think that the cats would like the springs much… and I was right.
Entertainment value: ★☆☆☆☆
Window hammock
Cats love having a view out of the window. It just happens to be so that we lack a proper window sill like we had back in the Netherlands, and in the living room, a balcony obstructs their view. To try and deal with this, I bought a scratch post that would be tall enough to allow them to look outside better, over the balcony. But I also needed something for the patio, so I decided to get a window hammock for cats. And let me tell you: it’s a success! Even though Tommy doesn’t use it, Ricky certainly does, almost every day! Especially when the sun is shining, she’ll be lying comfortably in her window hammock in the morning.
Entertainment value: ★★★★★
Automatic laser
We all know that cats love to chase after that red dot, and Ricky and Tommy are no exceptions! Except, it requires me to get up and move the red dot for them. I don’t always have time for that. So, I invested in an automatic cat laser, an interactive cat toy. I had high hopes for this cat toy! But ultimately… it turned out to be “meh”. In fact, Tommy is most entertained by it, but it is especially Ricky that needs something to do. I think the laser toy just doesn’t move the red dot quite in the same manner as I do, even though it has different settings. It’s been several months since I bough the automatic cat laser and I turn it on when the cats seem especially restless in the evening. Tommy still loves it – Ricky plays with it occasionally as well. Overall, I would recommend this cat toy.
Entertainment value: ★★★★☆
Cat tunnel
We had one back in the Netherlands, but we couldn’t bring it, so I bought a new one: a cat tunnel. A simple cat toy, although it is not always used. The cat tunnel becomes especially interesting when I place it elsewhere. Tommy has never entered it, sadly. Ricky uses it almost daily, but not for ”hours of entertainment”. It’s a cheap and fun cat toy, though. I would always recommend getting at least one for your cat(s). In fact, I think it would become more successful if I bought more cat tunnels, and connected them to make a long tunnel for the cats to explore. I might do that some time!
Entertainment value: ★★★☆☆
Is Entertainment the Solution?
Despite all of these toys + some more I didn’t mention, Ricky still wakes me up every night. But as I’ve mentioned before, I’ve pretty much come to terms with life being like that for now, and perhaps things will change in the future.
Most importantly, it is recommended that your cat is entertained during day time so that he or she will sleep more during night time. In Ricky’s case, unfortunately she doesn’t play around with the stuff by herself that much.
I’m not giving up though. My situation has significantly improved compared to how it was, and luckily, Ricky and Tommy play around together almost every evening and morning for a little bit. Plus, there are a few more toys I want to get for them. One toy I’m especially interested in, is the cat wheel. But that’s quite a pricey item, and I’m really not so sure if either of the cats would like it, so I’m going to have to think about that for now.
And – I’m allowed to dream, also on behalf of my cats – I’m hopeful that one day I can live in a home with a garden again, so that I could build my cats a catio and once again call them my Backyard Cats again. I know they would love that, and I would love to see them happy with the sun and wind directly on their little faces.
Watch the Video!
