Cat owners frequently complain as their cat pets draw them into sleep depravation every night. They get very frustrated and use different options to cope with this problem – they shut the bedroom door or get armed with squirt bottles or guns. Some of them even warn that if it doesn’t stop soon they will have to make a very difficult decision to choose between their family and their pet.
It is absolutely no surprising why cats are so active at night when we remember what are their relatives. Their wild cousins are bobcat and the puma and just like them, cats are active early in the morning and late at night, the time when prey is available. Females are better hunters so your home will be prowled by them for anything that moves; spiders, beetles ants, or rodents.
From the moment when the prey instinct is activated, from the early evening till the morning, you can feel your cat racing across your chest while you are sleeping, bouncing on your pillows, running up and down your curtains or drapes, or sitting at the end of the bed and hollering at you to come to play with him together. Cats can hear bugs in your wall or mice in the basement and attic or just cats outside tempt them to follow their natural instincts. Cats have, the ability to see in the dark and super-sensitive hearing so they are not with you to drive you mad, they are just cats.
When cats play they follow these steps: stalk at first, then run and pounce, catch everything that moves, kill it and finally eat it! So it is good to give your cat 2 or 3 tablespoons of a high protein meat snack but no onions added after the playtime for the full cycle of play. This will allow your cat to shift into its cat life routine like sleeping and grooming.
So if you want to sleep at night prepare your cat before bedtime naturally and you will sleep well during the night. Be consistent and don’t give upeven if you do not see the results you want to have because your cat may need ten days or longer to reset its body clock to the new “time zone”.
One of the best prey toys and highly recommended by veterinarians is the ‘cat teaser.’Some call it “da Bird” because it imitates a bird in flight. Use da Bird late at night and your cat will enjoy the interactive play because it sets her into a higher prey mode. Soon your cat will begin to sleep during the night and there will not be stress in the household any more.
Also there is another option- this is so called Play-n-Squeak which is a cat toy with subtle squeak of a mouse . Use different interactive toys to keep your hands away from the teeth and claws of your pet and your cat will be physically and mentally engaged because toys replicate the natural movements of mice, birds or lizards which are cat’s prey and all of you can sleep in uninterrupted comfort. What else would be better?
source: http://www.petscomfortadvisor.com/cats_and_night_crazies.html