How To Get A Kitten To Sleep On Its First Night At Home

Knowing how to get a kitten to sleep can be difficult on the first night.

The little feline would be scared and overwhelmed by its new environment.

It will meow desperately, which will give you sleepless nights. Setting up a kitten bed and keeping it close to you at night is an excellent way to calm the new kitty.

Enough playtime and calming scents will also help a lot in your kitten’s slumber.

Below, I have discussed more tips on how you can help your kitten sleep in your home, especially when it’s his first night:

How to get a kitten to sleep?

If you’re finding it hard to make your kitten sleep, the following tips may help a lot:

• Tire it out

A tired kitten is a sleepy kitten. Before bedtime, play with your kitty to drain its excess energy. And by the time you’re going to sleep, your kitten will be quietly snoozing on its bed.

Use interactive toys that will encourage your kitten to run, pounce, jump, and move. Lasers, battery-powered toys, and strings are good options.

Keep playing until your cat looks tired. If your kitten starts to lose interest, it might be time to go to bed. Make sure that you keep all toys away to prevent your kitten from being lured back to playtime.

An hour before bed is the best time to wear your kitten out. You should also rotate toys so your kitten won’t get tired of them over the days.

On the first days, your kitten may try to sleep prematurely. Try to wake the kitten up and engage it in safe playtime. Remember that their bodies are small and delicate, so you should be gentle all the time.

• Consider a late meal

Another way to make your kitten sleep quickly is to give it a late meal. For our kitten Watson, his last meal of the day is around 11 pm, which is about 30 minutes before we go to bed.

After playtime, give your kitten a high-protein meal that will fill it up. A few minutes after eating, your kitten will be ready to sleep soundly.

As digestion sets in, your kitten will be sleepy and groggy. This will help you get a good night’s sleep, too.

• Set up a kitten bed

To help your kitten sleep at night, you should set up a comfortable bed. Use a warm blanket to mimic the mother cat’s warmth. This will help a kitten sleep better through the night.

Also, choose a quiet spot, preferably in a separate room, so your kitten can sleep soundly.

It would be best if you chose a small place so your kitten won’t be overwhelmed by a large space. You can also create a small box where your kitten will feel safe.

• Consider spaying/neutering

Kittens that have reached sexual maturity will often vocalize at night in search of a partner. It will also drive your kitten to be hyperactive, which will impact your sleep quality.

It will help if you get the kitten spayed or neutered to reduce its partner-seeking behavior. Kittens that are at least eight to ten weeks old or weigh two pounds can be desexed already.

Aside from that, it would be best if you had the kitten checked for potential health problems that could keep it up at night.

Various pains and aches can cause your kitten to vocalize and wander off at night. Some will even scratch the door of their owner’s bedroom to seek company and comfort.

• Don’t tolerate negative behavior

If your kitten meows loudly or scratches at night, resist the urge to open the door and attend to the feline.

Doing so will only make your cat realize that negative behavior receives a reward, not to mention that it will affect your sleep.

Of course, you should rule out any health problems first with the help of a veterinarian.

• Introduce familiar items

One way to make your kitten sleep at night is to give it some everyday items. Your used shirt is the right choice since it has your scent.

Your kitten will feel secure with the smell, which will help it sleep through the night.

This is an excellent technique if you’re training the kitten to sleep out of your bedroom. You can leave a light on for your kitten at night especially in the beginning to make it feel more comfortable and secure. 

You can also give your kitten its favorite toy that will be its company throughout the night. And since kittens are social beings, it will help to get another kitty of the same age.

This will prevent your kitten from experiencing anxiety.

• Use calming techniques

Lastly, learn how to calm your kitten. Diffusing lavender essential oil will help tone down your kitten’s nerves and help it go to sleep.

Noise also works with some kittens to help them fall asleep. You can leave music playing at a low volume or keep the television on. A kitten massage may also help calm down your kitten so it can go to sleep.

 

Should I let my kitten sleep in my room?

May pet owners wonder if it’s okay to let their kitten sleep in their bedrooms. With our experience with Watson, the first few nights of sleeping in our room helped him adjust.

However, never let the kitten sleep on the same bed as yours. You may end up crushing the kitty, which is tragic and freaky.

Instead, set up the kitten’s bed on the floor beside yours. By keeping the kitty close, it will feel safer, which will help it to sleep.

Also, if you’re caring for a kitten that’s younger than four weeks, you’ll need to feed it in the middle of the night. With this, letting the kitten sleep in your bedroom is more practical and convenient for you.

But as your kitten grows older, slowly transition it to a new room. This will prevent any disturbance in your sleep because cats are nocturnal beings.

Can you crush a kitten in your sleep?

Yes, a small kitten can be smothered to death if you crush it while you sleep. As much as possible, give the kitten a separate bed on the floor to prevent such accidents.

Aside from that, it’s not advisable to let your kitten sleep on your bed, even as it grows as an adult cat.

Cats will compromise the quality of your sleep because they are mostly active at night. Also, you wouldn’t like to be woken up by painful scratches and bites.

Should my kitten sleep in a crate?

For the most part, kittens don’t need crating to sleep. Unlike dogs, kittens thrive in a space where they can move freely. As nocturnal animals, crating your kitten may only do more harm than good.

But if you are still litter training your kitten, crating at night will help. Kittens don’t soil the spot where they sleep, which is why crating helps a lot in teaching a kitty to practice restrain.

Still, it would be best if you didn’t crate your kitten for too long, or it may have accidents inside. Worse, your kitten may suffer from bladder problems.

Keeping kitten out of the bedroom at night

If you’re training your kitten to sleep on its own, keeping it outside of your bedroom is the first step. It’s a process, but it’s possible with enough patience.

Make your room unattractive. Your kitten will stop entering your room if it smells nasty.

One way to do this without harming the kitten is to spritz the door with lemon juice. Aside from keeping your kitten out, you’re also giving your room a pleasant smell.

Also, you can use rewards to encourage your kitten to sleep out of your bedroom. This will help the kitten transition from your bedroom to another room.

Conclusion

Knowing how to get a kitten to sleep can be challenging, but it’s possible with some tricks. Always be patient and give your kitten some time to adjust to its new home. After a few weeks, the kitten will be sleeping soundly with a little effort from your end.

Cats are like children and you have to be gentle when training them for new things. Don’t be hard at them and break the process into smaller steps. 

Proper training is the key to a healthy and beneficial relationship between the owner and the pet. 

I hope this article will help you take better care of your cat and build a stronger and more positive relationship.

Thank you for reading!