In the wild, cats, big and small, do their hunting at night. Pet cats, attuned to human habits, will hunt during the day and at night. But there can be another reason for your cat’s restlessness at night.
If your cat is ill, s/he may be unable to sleep due to pain or discomfort. Besides regular checkups, if your cat’s behavior is unusual, s/he should be seen by your veterinarian.
Your cat could be bored or looking for attention. If the cat is alone during the day, s/he probably sleeps most of the time. This leaves the cat with lots of energy to play when you’re ready to sleep. Consider leaving lots of toys around the house, puzzles with treats in them, a couple of scratching posts in different areas, when you’re away to interest your cat. When you come home and are ready to relax, set aside extra long playtime to help tire your cat.
If your cat is still active in the middle of the night and you’ve ruled out any physical reason, try ignoring the behavior. If you don’t respond to the cat’s antics, s/he hopefully will give in and go to sleep. If you encourage nighttime activity, it will only continue.
Never punish your cat for the behavior – it doesn’t work and it will harm your relationship.
