Why your cat goes wild at night (and what helps)

It’s three o’clock in the morning and your cat is sprinting down the hallway like a thing possessed, miaowing at nothing and launching itself onto your duvet. Sound familiar? You’re not the only one. The night-time madness has a logical explanation, and thankfully a solution too.

Your cat is a twilight hunter

Cats are naturally most active at dusk and dawn, the times when their prey moves. A house cat that mostly sleeps during the day simply has energy left over in the evening and at night. It has to go somewhere, and so it becomes the infamous night-time racetrack.

Boredom is the biggest culprit

A cat that has nothing to do during the day sleeps all day and is wide awake at night. Provide stimulation: a treat puzzle during your working day, a piece of cat furniture by the window and a few balls around the house make the daily programme a lot more interesting.

The golden routine: play, eat, sleep

Plan a solid play session with a cat teaser every evening; a quarter of an hour is enough. Let your cat really hunt, run and jump. Finish with the evening meal: hunt, catch, eat and then wash and sleep is the natural rhythm of a cat. There’s a good chance your cat will then sleep through the night.

What you’re better off not doing

Don’t respond to night-time miaowing with attention, food or play. Every response is a reward, and cats learn incredibly fast. Ignoring it is hard but it works: after a week or two your cat will know that the night is not playtime.

With more stimulation during the day and a fixed evening ritual, things will naturally calm down at night. Sleep well, and your cat too.