Keep your cat busy, engaged during the day
CHENNAI: I read that it is best and safest to keep pet cats indoors at night. I’d like to keep my cat Moby in, but every time I try, he gets upset and keeps us up all night, scratching and yowling at the door. What do I do?
Allowing your cat to roam outdoors freely, especially during the nights, can be fun for your cat, especially given the nocturnal instinct that cats have retained from their wild ancestors. Cats generally enjoy hunting at night, and prefer to sleep during the day.
Their distinctive ability to see in the dark is an added incentive. However, interesting and easy as it may sound, it is not recommended to leave your cat to roam freely outdoors. Your cat will have the risks of being hit by vehicles or stolen by strangers or sometimes even attacked by other humans or dogs outdoors. If he is young, you can easily train him to stay indoors. This can be a lot more challenging with an older cat, but nonetheless, worth the effort.
The most important thing to do is to not give in to his tantrums and ignore him when he behaves badly. If you give in and let him out, you would only be encouraging this behaviour. Do not respond to his scratching and yowling — ignore it completely. Instead, work on changing his schedule.
You might wonder as to why your domesticated, well-fed cat needs to be awake and active all night, especially when he has no actual need to hunt. This is because in most cases, pet owners are away at work or busy during the day, resulting in a dearth of activity and exercise. He then spends the whole day sleeping in your absence, and his day actually begins in the evening and naturally extends into the night as well. So the first thing to do is keep him engaged and active during the day. Being busy and awake all day will ensure that he is sleepy at night.
Maximise your interactive playtime with him in the evenings once you are back, just before bedtime. Choose games that will exhaust him physically. Games that mimic hunting using laser lights or chasing a toy mouse are most effective. Then feed your cat his biggest meal of the day, just before you retire to bed making him content, calm and sleepy. Gradually you will succeed in changing his schedule and keeping him indoors during nights.