Cat owners - desperate advise needed!

Could she be hungry? Mine used to do this if I didn't leave enough food down to last him through the night.

So you could try that but... she probably just wants a bit of company! Even now, at 18 months old, he'll still paw at the door because he wants a cuddle! You'll probably find that, as she gets older, she'll happily sleep in your room without wanting to play. Alternatively you'll have to shut her somewhere where you can't hear her mioawing!

Earplugs.

It's a learned behaviour - at 4.30am she can come to you and get attention. Ignore her (easier said than done!) and she'll learn that her crying is to no avail. She's not actually sobbing, she's being a little madam throwing a tantrum - it's all 'I want' with cats! So long as she gets plenty of fuss when YOU want, she'll be fine.

This is how my Mum dealt with one of her cats.

? One of our cats comes in about 6.30am and bats us in the face, paws my hair and claws at the duvet to get into bed with us. I can't shut him out of the room coz the wailing and clawing at the door drives me mad.

Hello - my cat went through a phase of this. We had to put up with him doing it and eventually he would settle down. The main thing is DO NOT CAVE!! Occasionally he starts up in the night now but generally is well behaved.

Is she hungry? Could you get one of those automatic feeders so she gets something to eat?

FWIW, I think you're doing the right thing by shutting her out at night. Ours hated it at first and now he knows the bedtime routine - he sleeps on the bed with me, when H finishes in the bathroom his ears prick up as he hears the loo flush, and then when H reappears he jumps off the bed and down the stairs, then we hear nothing from him until the morning. She will grow out of it, it's just unsettling for her especially if she's a foster kitten. Once you have a really good routine she will settle a little. It's hard at first and I was SO tired but it will be ok.

I feel your pain, we went through this. When we got our cat she was two, but still very kittenlike, she would try for attention from about 4am onwards, however by the time I had to get up she'd usually calmed down and would be fast asleep. How you tried playing games with her before bed, I read somewhere cats go through a cycle of hunt, eat, wash, sleep. So if you can do the hunt instinct last thing at night she might go loner through the night.

Can you shut her somewhere so she can't sit outside the room, so there are two doors between you and her?

Our cat never does the waking us at 4am now, she's a year older and is much calmer and 'grown up'. She still doesn't understand the concept of weekends and that we get up later though!

We've also just had to put two doors between us and our cats overnight. Things did improve just by ignoring them, but on the odd occasion they'd still start up (for no apparent reason) in the middle of the night. So now at bedtime they stay downstairs in the living room & dining room (with their food and access to the catflap).

I am another one who feels your pain! We rented for a short time while we were waiting for our house to be built, and there was only one door between our bedroom and the rest of the flat. Scrumpy used to howl at the door, take run up's and fling himself against the door, scratch etc. He would sleep for 30 mins then it would start again. So I really know what you mean!

You need to be so, so firm. Even the slightest noise from you will re-inforce her behaviour. She just wants some attention. 4.30 is prime hunting time for cats, when it starts to become light, so her body clock will be wide awake. Do not respond at all. It wil take a while but she will get the message. If you respond to her even once the cycle will begin again! She is not coming to any harm in the night, as long as she has food, water and her litter tray she is just wanting attention and someone to play with. If you have got up to her before she thinks it is a great idea to get you to play with her. And because she was usedto being in your bedroom to begin with, she has learnt that she is allowed to play with you in the night and is confused at suddenly why she isn't. It is just a case of changing what she 'knows' to be normal.

I agree with the OP about playing with her before bed, tire her out as much as you can. If she is an indoor cat she might not be getting the stimulation she needs during the day-outdoor cats ae far more sleepy when they are inside the house!

Please don't give up on her. I'm so sure that if you keep up the ignoring she will learn. It will take a while but she will get it.

Try with an automatic petfeeder! Set it for 4.30/5am and your cat will be fed and then most likely be going back to sleep after.

We have this one and it is brilliant:

https://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/cats/cat_bowls_feeders/feeders/30310

Oooh that's odd cos Marmite has (for months) woken at 4-4.30 and climbed onto our bed. She has a radiator bed in our bedroom which she loves but for some reason at this precise time most night she switches to our bed instead...right next to me so I'm squished in the middle between her & OH.

Marmite is an indoor cat too, but she isn't allowed in the living room at night. Maybe you can try with the bedroom door open and if she starts pawing you move her away or put a little bed next to yours.