Unwelcome alarm calls

[chaps89]

Hi all.
I have a 15 year old(ish) house cat, he's a big cat (7kg) and a complete couch potato so we really have to watch his weight.
Over the last year he has started climbing over pillows/trying to sleep on them/your head if it happens to be in the way which is very disturbing (he used to settle and sleep nicely down by my legs which was fine)
He's also started asking for breakfast from about 4am- either by climbing on you, meowing or purring very very loudly. I don't give in and give him breakfast until a) there's a lull in the nagging and b) it's a reasonable time.
He's had a full panel of bloods done recently which were all normal and he's on the same diet (type and quantity) that he's been on for years.
Any bright ideas on what I can do please as I'm shattered and would just like a full nights sleep!

 

[Theocat]

Lock him out of the bedroom, preferably downstairs and out if earshot? Perhaps don't get up and feed immediately - feed later, perhaps when you're about to leave the house (if you can bear it?)

Cats are a nightmare for training us - my old cat had me trained to get up and let her in six or seven times a night when she "couldn't get through the cat flap". It only took one night of ignoring pathetic mewing and tapping on the catflap before she magically learned how to use it herself...

Does yours ever go outside? Could he? I had a treat ball for mine so that she had to work for her dry food. She loved it, and it was far better exercise for her.

 

[luckyoldme]

our cat is the same, but at least he has the decency to wait till 5.30.
I just get up and get some jobs done. I do like the idea of a treat ball though, mines a garfield cat too!

 

[Supertrooper]

You could try a automatic feeder so hopefully he'll bug that and not you. Does he settle once he's eaten. Mine is the same although he's much better than he was, he will generally wait till after 5am now and normally can go till 6am. We can't shut ours out as we are in a terraced house and he's very loud!!

 

[Juniper Jack]

My 18-year-old started doing this sort of thing when she was about 15-16. Never an affectionate cat, she started creeping up to my head in the wee hours and nuzzling me awake or licking my elbow or just tickling me with her whiskers. This year she has started to want more lap time and just to lie beside me and cuddle.

Maybe it is an age thing.

Not that helps with a solution! I would never shut her out of the room or put her downstairs. She is an old kitty now so maybe just more needy.

But my cats have dry food out 24/7.