Kitten sleeping in separate room can be a result of two things: either you want to relegate your feline friend to another room, as a result of funny things kittens do while you’re sleeping—licking your face, bitting you, or jumping on you, or your kitten suddenly refused to sleep in the same room with you—we will cover both sceneries in this post.
I work in a very demanding environment where I get to write codes for hours. When I return home, upon the fact that I am mentally stressed—I still take out time to play with my dog and cat, ensuring they get enough exercise. I still help my daughter with her school work: revising and briefly working her through her assignments and what she learned for the day.
The nature of my work requires that I retire early to bed, so I could wake early, refreshed and ready to solve problems. When I newly brought my kitten home, she was two weeks old. I had to bottle-feed her and provide all the care and love her mum would have given her.
I was determined to make her adapt to the world seamlessly, but she made it hell for me; waking me up by 2 AM (this gives me migrants). At different times, she’ll jump on me at odd hours, lick my eyes or even bite me at odd hours, I wouldn’t have been bothered if not for my mentally demanding job which I need to attend to the following morning—after all, I know she wants attention.
This is when I underwent my first research on a kitten sleeping in separate room. This is not the easiest thing to think of actualizing, because it comes with a lot of heart-piercing cries from my lovely feline friend, however, I was able to achieve this, and will be sharing with you the exact way I got to get my kitten to sleep in another room.
Table of Contents
- Can I leave my kitten to sleep in another room?
- Is it okay to leave a kitten alone in a room at night?
- How long should a kitten be in a separate room?
- Should you ignore a crying kitten at night?
- My kitten refused to sleep in the same room with me
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Kitten Sleeping In Separate Room: Final Thoughts
Can I leave my kitten to sleep in another room?
Yes, you can leave your kitten to sleep in another room. However, letting your cat sleep in a separate room is a process that requires you to prepare yourself, your cat, and the room. You will need to accustom the cat to its new living conditions. This will take a few days or weeks of constant meowing throughout the night(sometimes), but it’ll eventually fade out.
A kitten sleeping in separate rooms can be a whole lot of stress for both you and your cat, this is why you have to manage the situation as professionally as possible. Stress could lead to anxiety and behavioral problems—that is why we have crafted this article to help you maneuver the pitfalls.
If you don’t have enough heart to go along with this plan, or you can’t stand how much meow your kitten will let out, or you are thinking of alternative ways to solve these issues without putting your cat through so much stress, you can consider getting another kitten, your kittens will be able to snuggle up to each other, reducing the need to disturb you at night.
Another great advantage of adding another kitten is: that you’ll be socializing your kitten with other kittens, making it easy for you to add another cat or dog in the future without having to worry about using Feliway or vanilla extract to stop constant fights between cats.
Criteria for leaving your kitten alone in a separate room at night
Do you know that it is recommended that you confine a kitten or a foster cat or a feral cat to a room—for the first week of their stay in your house? This will eliminate any threat of your cat escaping the house or running away entirely, and you could have a kitten who will destroy things if they don’t see you around. The purpose of this confinement is to get the cat used to its new abode.
Before Confining a cat to a room at night for the first week, there are basic things you need to do that will enable the cat to get along without creating further issues like separation anxiety, stress, or having a cat that doesn’t like you.
The following steps will ensure your cat doesn’t get bored or traumatized for being left alone:
Provide necessities
Litter box: Part of the beauty of kittens is their bathroom ability, they could pass feces and urine without messing the whole place just like puppies do. Provide them with a litter box, so they could help themselves throughout the night.
Leave some water: I am assuming you had fed them earlier in the evening, otherwise, you can leave a treat dispenser that could toss little healthy pumpkin treats.
However, if you are confining the kitten to a room for the first week, you should leave the auto feeder in their room(check for feeders that could dish out wet foods also. The advantage of using auto feeders is that: they don’t leave food hanging around all day(this could make your cat obese) and they don’t attract bugs and cockroaches that bring the risk of parasites.
Leave a dim light on
Bright lights affect the quality of a cat’s sleep, which means you should not leave very bright lights on. You can use dim light to aid the cat get around without any accidents. As simple as opening the curtains, or getting a light source with which you have control over its brightness levels. You may have learned that cats have excellent vision—this good quality doesn’t mean they see in complete darkness which is why they need little light to get around.
Provide entertainment
I have a friend who locks his cat in the bathroom with toys and his litter box, although sad, it helps in pacifying the cat. I don’t recommend locking or caging adult cats—adult cats usually get used to the routine used in training them, and they somehow stick to it.
To provide entertainment for your kitten, you may want to invest in an automatic mouse and some other toys your cat loves. Catnip doesn’t start working on kittens until they reach a certain age. A scratching post or a climbing tree could just be perfect. They’ll keep the cat entertained and provide an outlet to let out their destructive and disturbing tendencies. Creating entertainment will make it easy for a kitten to sleep in a separate room.
Provide Cat bed
If you can afford it, get a pod for your feline friend. Add some blankets and cushions where they could sleep away their sorrows for the first few sad nights. Add a shirt you have worn, this will provide your smell on the bed, making the cat more comfortable.
To save cost on your cat’s bed, you could easily use a laundry basket or a cardboard box—just stock them up with blankets—then you’ve created a homemade bed for your feline friend.
Prepare your cat
The following days will not be easy for your kitten sleeping in separate room. Show your feline friend enough love before it’s bedtime, play with them, and give them rubs of love and support, this will reassure them of your love, it may not directly help, but it’ll help in the long run.
Ensure there are no loopholes where the cat could escape, close all windows, and remove destructive objects like wire, knives, and broken or breakable objects. You may be worried about your kitten sleeping in separate room, but you don’t also want to be worried about your kitten injuring himself—which will even deny you a proper night’s sleep.
Prepare yourself
This is going to be a difficult time for you, as your conscience may not let you sleep well, but if the cat is denying you quality sleep and rest—which is necessary to recharge yourself, you need to go through with this.
The kitten will eventually cry and scratch against the door, be rest assured that they will be fine within a few days or weeks, depending on the individual cat. The biggest wrong you will do is to let the kitten out as soon as it starts meowing heavily, you will destroy any progress made and you will struggle to get it right for months—as the kitten discovers that his heavy meowing will bring you to open the door, he will capitalize on that.
If you don’t mind this, you could cage the cat in your room throughout the night, in that way, they won’t feel far from you.
Is it okay to leave a kitten alone in a room at night?
Yes, it is okay to leave your kitten in a room at night. Patience and creativity are all you need to learn how to go about it without stressing the cat out. Most people think it is a cruel thing to leave their kittens in a room for the night, but it’s not.
If you think it’s a cruel thing to confine your pet to a room at night, then you probably don’t experience headaches from being woken up suddenly or from a kitten biting your hair or scratching your face(though they can be trained to stop this, the first bite to the hair, and the first scratch to the face is usually painful).
How long should a kitten be in a separate room?
A kitten 0 – 4 months should not be left in a separate room for more than 4 hours, while a kitten 4 -5 months can endure up to 5 hours in a separate room. From 6 months up, they can spend up to 8 hours alone—in a separate room.
If you are Putting the kitten in separate room through the night you should follow the above guidelines, but we know that is not feasible, this is why you should shower your kitten with as much love as possible, this will ensure they don’t develop separation anxiety.
If your kitten is developing stress or anxiety, consider discontinuing the plan of your kitten sleeping in separate room. They can then stay in your room, but in a cage: this means they will still make some noise, but they won’t physically disturb you.
Should you ignore a crying kitten at night?
When a cat wakes up at night or when you take your kitten to a separate room, your cat will try different things in other to achieve its gains by getting your attention or getting food. If you set up the cat’s room in the way we asked of you, the treats dispenser could distract the cat for a while.
If your cat meows in a way that suggests it is crying, and you go and pacify it, that’s the end for you—fluffy has just discovered how to drag your attention, it isn’t bad to give your cat attention, but the reason for your kitten sleeping in separate room is for you to have a relaxing sleep. If not, just let them stay with you.
However, if an aging cat starts meowing at night, you shouldn’t ignore them, you need to pay attention indirectly: act like you’re just going to fix something else, and take a quick assessment to see if there is anything wrong with the cat, but don’t act as you came for the cat. However, if this continues, you need to speak with your vet.
How long do kittens sleep at night?
Kittens usually sleep for 90% of the day, this will reduce over time, but on average, your kitten will sleep for 16 – 20 hours. Don’t get excited, cats are usually active at dawn and dusk. So expect your kitten to be active—just when you decided to go to sleep. This is why we asked you to show them love and tire them out.
My kitten refused to sleep in the same room with me
If your kitten refuses to sleep in the same room with you, he probably doesn’t like you anymore or you don’t give him attention. Further, your kitten may be feeling challenged—in a case where you brought home another cat.
If these are the cases, what to do is obvious: give your dog more time, love, and attention. If you’re bringing a new kitten home, you can use vanilla extract to introduce the cats, this will quicken how fast they may bond.
Frequently Asked Questions
When should kittens have free roam of the house?
You should let your kitten roam the house as soon as he has learned to use the litter box, and as soon as you feel you’ve made your house kitten-proof. Kitten sleep in separate rooms at night to ensure they don’t freak out and escape from the house.
It is important to ensure your cat trusts you, this will ensure you don’t spend a whole day trying to fish out a cat that is afraid of you. You should also make sure you introduce your feline friend to other pets if any.
How do I get my kitten to sleep and not be up all night?
Tire out your kitten during the day, and provide enough exercise, it’d be so tiring to start awake. Get another kitten, they will serve as playmates—this approach works almost all the time—if you can’t get to exercise or play with your kitten, his new playmate will wear him out.
Should I sleep in the same room as my kitten?
Kittens can be mischievous at night, especially when they haven’t settled in. If you should let your kitten sleep in the same room with you, you should be aware of the consequences: jumping on you in the night, hitting your hair, waking you at odd hours for attention, and many more.
Once the kittens settle in, they can become adorable and a nice bed companion—your only worry will be rolling over your kitten while you sleep.
Can I leave my 8-week-old kitten alone at night?
Yes you can, depending on its circumstance, if it was just withdrawn from its mum, he may be missing her and its siblings—love and care when you’re with him will help. For a cat of 8 weeks(two months) it is advised they don’t stay alone for more than four hours, but you can make it work with the above guide.
Kitten Sleeping In Separate Room: Final Thoughts
Though many people will not agree for you to keep your kitten in a separate room at night, in most cases, your kitten must sleep in separate room at night. We all undertake different movements for the day: for a person who works in a different country, who has to relax his/her mind—it won’t be the best of ideas to sleep in the same room with a new kitten.
Before you bring a pet home, check in with your schedules and decide what’s best for you. You should opt for more independent cat breeds if you don’t have much time to scatter for them or you could just let the cats become outdoor cats.
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