'I’m really scared he’s going to ask me to give the cat away': Constant meows and sleepless nights push partner to the edge, but this pawrent won't say goodbye to their orange kitten

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Sarah Brown • Writer and Editor
Aug 17, 2025 6:00 PM EDT

This pawrent is facing the classic early-morning cat conundrum: a rescued kitten, now a few months old, has developed a relentless habit of meowing at 5–6 AM every single day. Despite being well-fed, exercised, and surrounded by toys, the tiny furball insists that the entire household rise and shine immediately. Earplugs fail, closed doors do little, and the early-morning chorus shows no mercy. Even brief play sessions don't curb the determined meows.

While the pawrent adores their kitten and has no intention of rehoming him, their partner can't sleep through the meowing, leaving tension creeping into the household. Attempts to temporarily confine the kitten have helped a bit, but the pawrent worries about the fairness and healthiness of these measures.

It's a classic case of "adorable versus exhausting." This tiny meowster might be small, but his determination to orchestrate the household's wake-up schedule is mighty. With patience, consistency, and perhaps some creative training strategies, there's hope that mornings can eventually become a little less chaotic, without sacrificing the love and bond between pawrent and purrfect companion.

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  • 01
    'I love him so much and I don't want to give him away'
    via Yuliya / Canva

    This image is for illustration only, and the subjects are models; the image does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 02
    Hello everyone! I really need your advice. Our cat has been with us for about 2/3 months now (we saved him at 4 weeks), and ever since then he constantly meows at 5-6 AM every single morning. At first I thought it was just an adjustment period as he was a literal baby, but it's still happening every day without exception.
    via Kafkaesque-Spiral
  • 03
    Here's the situation: -He's well fed, has access to food, water, litter, toys, and everything he needs during the night. We play with him a lot before bedtime so he's tired out.
    via Kafkaesque-Spiral
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    Cheezburger Image 10543086336
    via Kafkaesque-Spiral
  • 05
    -He meows so loudly that even earplugs don't help. -As soon as one of us gets up, he stops for a while, but then starts meowing at the door again until everyone is awake. It doesn't matter if I play with him in the morning, he wants everyone in the house to be awake.
    via Kafkaesque-Spiral
  • 06
    My partner is extremely tired from this and I'm really scared he's going to ask me to give the cat away, which I absolutely don't want. In the last few days, I've tried locking him in another room once he starts meowing (just for 2 hours or so until we wake up), and while that helps us sleep, I don't know if this is healthy or fair for him.
    via Kafkaesque-Spiral
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    Cheezburger Image 10543177984
    via LumiNola / Canva

    This image is for illustration only, and the subjects are models; the image does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 08
    Please, I love him so much and I don't want to give him away. Has anyone gone through this? Is there a way to train him out of this behavior, or at least make mornings less exhausting? Thank you so much in advance!!
    via Kafkaesque-Spiral
  • 09
    Striking Tonight150 Our tortie is exactly the same. She will wake me up first and then go and hassle my partner to get up. He is only herding you all together. He wants to start the day with both of you. If my partner needs to sleep
    via Striking Tonight150
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    more I make sure I play with her as much as possible to keep her distracted from the bedroom. He will grow and will settle he is still a baby. By 9-10 months he should be start showing more relaxed signs.
    via Striking Tonight150

  • This little furball is still a baby, so those early-morning meows might just be a phase. With patience, love, and consistency, he’ll likely grow out of it in time!

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    Maleficent-Pie-96... I read somewhere that because cats dont sleep for as long of a time as what humans do - when they see us sleep for as long as we do they start to get concerned about us and thats why they meow to try and wake us because they are worried. I dont know if its true or not but it does sound better than the cat just being a jerk lol
    via Maleficent-Pie-9677
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    Only Takes5minutes You say they have food at night. Mine do too, granules. available all day and night. But they prefer wet food and every morning around 4-5 am they wake me up. Nothing helps, only feeding them wet food. They'll eat, poop and go back to sleep or sit on the window and look outside and I can go back to sleep.
    via OnlyTakes5minutes
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    Try giving him some wet food or some treats. It will not be endorsing bad behaviour, since it's natural for cats to be very active at that time. But you can try and calm them down with food.
    via OnlyTakes5minutes
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    HunterOfArtemis_ My cat likes to do this as well, and scratches at doors if I close him out which is a problem since I'm renting, BUT! I've actually started saying 'time for bed' every time I'm getting ready to go to sleep and he seems to have picked up on the fact that when I say it I will not get up again until the
    via HunterOfArtemis_
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    It is hard to get cats into new routines, but it won't get any better if you flip flop between getting up when he meows or staying in bed. It will probably get worse if he learns to expect you to get up whenever he screams.
    via HunterOfArtemis_
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    the message eventually that you are not responding when it's dark! Same thing goes for if you decide to close the door and lock him in another room for the night.
    via HunterOfArtemis_
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    Your cat is still just a baby so he will get better as he matures, but one thing I can say is you need to make sure you're consistent with whatever you end up doing! If you want to stay in bed and ignore him, now is the time to start! It can take a few weeks but he will get
    via HunterOfArtemis_
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    morning! When he wakes me up at ungodly hours I repeat that phrase a couple of times and after maybe 5 or 10 minutes he settles back down for the rest of the night. It might be worth trying to start something like this for your cat?
    via HunterOfArtemis_

  • Hearing those tiny meows begging to be let in can be heartbreaking, but staying consistent and firm is key to teaching him boundaries. Patience now means better behavior later!

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    truncherface most of my cats have been like this. my current boy is perhaps the worst. he cries, pokes and generally is a bit of a poop. sometimes I lock him out and sometimes I hide under the covers.
    via truncherface
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    What has massively helped is an automatic feeder. it spits crunchy bits out at 6am with no contact from me so I'm not associated with food
    via truncherface

  • An automatic feeder could be a game-changer, letting the kitten eat on schedule so you’re not the early-morning snack distributor. Everyone gets more sleep, and the little one stays happy and full!

  • 21
    LunarFrostfall If you dont have an automatic feeder i really suggest one, that way they dont associate you getting up with food. My cats used to scream at me at 5am for breakfast and I was breaking down but once I switched to a feeder they left me alone, even when they had eachother to bug.
    via LunarFrostfall
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    Also another cat would definitely help so they have someone to play with but if thats not an option, maybe look into cat tunnels or automatic toys that will run away from them that they can hunt and ture themselves out.
    via LunarFrostfall
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    charlie1701 My cat meows around 5am, he's not hungry but wants company. The only thing that works is scooping him into bed and assertively cuddling him. He doesn't like this much and will politely wait a minute or two before leaving the room until I get up for work at 6.
    via charlie1701
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    Kendras-Kitties I recommend getting another kitty the same age as yours. I would say your kitty is obviously lonely. They will entertain each other and are less demanding of their humans. You won't regret it.
    via Kendras-Kitties

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pets kitten advice cat owners feline pawrents Cats sleeping
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