If your cat won’t leave you alone, at night, this post will show you a number of possible reasons why and what you can do about them.
So, why won’t my cat leave me alone at night? Likely reasons why your cat won’t leave you alone at night are that it is naturally more energetic at night, separation anxiety, an issue with the room it sleeps in or being hungry.
There are a number of possible reasons why your cat won’t leave you alone at night and it might be due to a combination of reasons. However, there are some things you can consider when figuring out the main cause and there are a number of things you can do about it.
Reasons why your cat won’t leave you alone at night
Below are a number of possible reasons why your cat has been doing it and what would make each of them more likely.
Nature
The most likely reason why your cat does it is that it is common for cats to be more lively in the late evening and early morning. If your cat bothers you up to around midnight, it would be likely that it has been doing it naturally. This would be more likely if it has not started suddenly and it has not been behaving unusually in other ways as well.
In this case, it could help to give it things to wear itself out before bedtime and to get it to stay in a different room to the one you sleep in.
Separation anxiety
The reason why it has been doing it might be due to having some separation anxiety. This would be more likely if you do not let it sleep with you, if it has started bothering you since you stopped letting it sleep with you or if it starts getting anxious when you are about to go to bed.
An issue with the room it stays in
The cause could also be that there is an issue with the room that it has to sleep in. It might be too hot, too loud, too bright, too noisy or there might not be enough space for it to lay down comfortably. It might also be the case that there is another pet in there that it does not like.
Diet issue
It might also be the case that there is an issue with the food that it has been eating. It might be eating things that it should not be or it might not be getting the right nutrients in its diet. This would be more likely if it tends to meow when it has eaten certain food or if it has started doing it since a change in its diet.
It could also be the case that it is hungry. This would be more likely if it does not bother you when it is able to eat in the evening and if it does it when it has not been able to eat for a long time.
Things to consider
Below are some things to consider when figuring out the main reason why your cat has been doing it.
If your cat has never left you alone at night
If your cat did used to leave you alone at night, it would help to consider what else happened when your cat first started bothering you at night. If it started doing it suddenly, it could be due to things such as injury, allergies, illness, a change in its sleeping environment, or a change in its diet.
What is different when your cat does leave you alone at night
If your cat does not bother you on every night, it would also help to consider what is different when it does not bother you. For example, if it does not do it when it can sleep with you, the cause could be separation anxiety.
What to do about your cat not leaving you alone at night
Below are some options you have when dealing with the behavior.
Ensure the room it stays in is ideal
It would help to make sure that the room it stays in, at night, is not too hot, bright, loud, and that there is a safe space for it to lie down on.
Ensure its diet is right
It would also help to ensure that your cat has been getting the right diet, it has been eating the right amount of calories and that no one else has been feeding it things it shouldn’t be eating.
Wear it out during the day
Another option would be to wear it out during the day by playing with it, giving it toys to use and things such as a scratch pad.
Get help
If you cannot figure out why your cat has been doing it or it has been showing signs of injury, the best option would be to take it for a checkup. By doing so, you should be able to get expert advice tailored towards your particular cat and to rule out injury as a cause.