When living with cats, especially during the first weeks, it is difficult to sleep soundly. They sleep all day and run at night and explore home. This is a behavior that, while we may not like it too much, it is natural in themThey are, after all, nocturnal predators.
When they move to live with human beings, little by little they adapt to our schedules, but if they are going to need us to give them a hand in something, it is to rest when the family does. But it is important to get it right, so let's explain how to help cats sleep at night.
The cat, a nocturnal predator
First of all, it is necessary to know a little about the animal that we have at home. As we mentioned at the beginning, it is a furry that hunts especially at night. Your body is perfectly prepared for it: he has a much better night vision than ours (while we do not see anything in situations of total darkness, he can distinguish details), a sense of hearing that allows him to hear the sound of the mouse from 7 meters away, and a muscular amazing (if we had equally developed muscles, we would be able to jump several meters high).
In addition, it has claws and teeth strong enough to be able to hunt and eat small prey, like rodents and small birds. He is an excellent hunter, and he is even more so because as a puppy he perfects his hunting skills through play. When we throw a ball at him, for example, he can strengthen his leg muscles so that tomorrow, if necessary, he can go after his prey and catch it. Even if he never goes out of the house, he has the blood of a predator, of cats, and that means that at night he will be active.
He may not hunt any animals, but he will "hunt" ropes or cords, balls, stuffed animals, ... everything that is within his reach and that is the right size for him to move and / or catch. And of course, doing so can make noise. So how do you get him to sleep at night?
How to make the cat sleep at night?
The cat spends many hours sleeping, between 16 and 18, and can reach 20 when it is a kitten. If we want them to sleep at night, we have to bear in mind that we do not have to reduce their sleep hours, much less take their nap times, but rather tire you out during the day so that at night you feel like resting more than playing. And how is that done? With time, patience and perseverance, in addition to some toys 🙂.
When he is awake, what we must do is spend time with him, but not being with him on the sofa doing nothing, but we must move. We have to play with him, make him exercise. In pet stores we will find a great variety of cat toys, but surely at home we have ropes or cords that we no longer use, or small balls (at least, they must be the size of a golf ball), or cardboard boxes large enough to be able to make a hole through which you can Go in and go out. And if not, we can always make a ball out of a piece of aluminum foil.
With these simple toys, both he and we can have a great time. In addition, it is a perfect excuse to keep you in shape, thus keeping you at your ideal weight.
And how to help the kitten sleep?
If we have a kitten that cannot sleep, we will first have to know if you have any health problems. If you have been picked up from the street, or if you are the child of a stray cat, it is very likely that you have intestinal parasites, which in addition to making you eat more than normal can cause stomach pain. Also, if it is a baby kitten and meows desperately still and having eaten, it may be that still have not learned to relieve themselves and that, therefore, the accumulation of urine and / or excrement is causing damage or causing colic.
In the event that we suspect something is wrong with you, we have to take him to the vet as soon as possible, otherwise your life could be in serious danger. The kitten is an animal that, until it grows up, will be weak. He needs a series of special care to be able to reach adulthood, such as a quality diet (without cereals) for kittens, a comfortable bed, and a lot of love, otherwise not only will he not be happy, but it is possible that his hope life is greatly reduced.
If the vet tells us that he is in good health, it is likely that what he needs is that: pay more attention. If we have to leave him alone at some point, we can put him a piece of clothing that we have brought, or we can use Feliway to keep you calmer.
Thus, following these tips, our dear four-legged friend will surely be able to sleep well at night 🙂.
I picked up 2 2-week-old cats the first days they didn't cry but now they just crying, it makes me sad not knowing what to do, I give them milk to prepare for them and they keep crying, there is one that eats desperately but does not sleep like that and the other eats more moderate, when I barely brought them they adapted to retirement but now they drink and they bite a lot, they are already 3 weeks old, it makes me sick not knowing what to do, and the urination and defecation if they do it daily helps them, but I worry about not knowing what more to do, they are together always and if each other cries too, I wanted to pamper them but they scold me very ugly, they despair too much, as if discouraged, I cannot caress them because they cry and cry for everything 🙁
Hello Gina Alejandra.
Could it be that they feel cold? So baby kittens must be kept protected from low temperatures, with blankets for example, or even with bottles full of hot water wrapped with a cloth (so they do not burn).
If they are already warm, it occurs to me that they may have parasites. At those ages it is quite common, and more if they have been picked up from the street. Your vet will be able to recommend a syrup to give them.
One thing, what kind of milk do you give it? The most recommended is the one made for kittens, which are sold in pet stores and veterinary clinics. The cow can hurt them. Here you have more information about it.
Regards!