If your cat keeps waking up early, in the morning, this post will show you why and what you can do about it.
So, why does my cat wake up early in the morning? Likely reasons why your cat wakes up early in the morning are that it is hungry, there is an issue with the room it sleeps in, it is expecting to be fed at a certain time, separation anxiety, injury or illness, or wanting to go outside.
Your cat might wake up early for a number of different reasons and it might be due to a combination of them. However, there are a number of things you can consider to help figure out the main cause and there are a number of things you can do about it.
Why does my cat wake up early in the morning?
Below are likely causes and what would make each of them more likely.
Hunger
The cause is likely to be that it is hungry and it wants to let you know that it is hungry. This would be more likely if your cat wakes up at around the same time you normally feed it, it meows before you feed it, in the morning, and it stops meowing after you feed it. If you don’t feed it in the morning, it could help to try feeding it in the morning instead.
An issue with the room it sleeps in
It could also be the case that there is an issue with the room it sleeps in that causes it to wake up early in the morning. The cause could be that the litter box is not in the room it sleeps in and it needs to pee in the morning or the room might be too loud or bright.
A change in its morning schedule
If you usually wake up at a certain time, but you have started waking up at different times, the cause could be that it is used to waking up at a certain time. Cats generally like having a routine and it can cause them to behave abnormally when their routine is disrupted. This would also likely be the cause if your cat wakes up early on weekends when you get up later than usual.
Separation anxiety
The reason could also be that it has some separation anxiety. This is where it does not like being left alone and the prospect of being left alone causes it to become anxious. This would be more likely if it starts showing signs of becoming anxious when you are about to leave it at night.
It wants to go outside
Another possible reason why it wakes up early and is noisy, in the morning, is that it wants to go outside. This would be more likely to be the reason if your cat meows while standing by the door that leads outside.
Injury or illness
Another possible cause is that it has gotten an injury or illness. This would be more likely if your cat has started doing it suddenly and if it has been showing signs of having an injury or illness such as moving around unusually. In this case, the best option would be to take it to a vet.
Things to consider about your cat waking up early in the morning
Below are a number of things to consider when figuring out the main reason why your cat has been doing it.
What else happened when your cat first started waking up early in the morning
If your cat did not always wake up early in the morning, it would help to consider what else happened when it first started doing it.
If your cat started doing it suddenly, it would be more likely to be due to things such as you waking up at a different time than normal, illness, injury, or if it had to start sleeping in a different room.
What is different when your cat does not wake up early in the morning
If your cat does not always wake up early in the morning, it would also help to consider what is different when it does not wake up early. For example, if it only wakes up early on weekends, the cause would be more likely that it is expecting to get up at the same time that it does during the week.
What to do about your cat waking up early in the morning
Below are some things you can do when dealing with the behavior.
Make sure it has access to the litter box
If your cat does not currently have access to the litter box, in the morning, it would help to make sure that it does since it might be waking up and moving around because it wants access to the litter box.
Get help
If your cat has started doing it suddenly and it has been showing signs of being ill, the best option would be to get help from a vet. By doing so, you should be able to get expert advice tailored towards your particular cat and to deal with illness as a potential cause.
Give it a regular routine
It could also help to try to wake up at around the same time daily so that it knows when it can expect to get fed.