I need some advice. My downstairs neighbor has been complaining about Chaos and Mayhem running around during the night and early morning (5:30 am, when I get up) while she’s trying to sleep. I can’t blame her – they’re loud: “thundering paws” comes to mind. But I also can’t think of any great solutions, either. I know that while I was on medical leave, my schedule was very messed up (um, I might’ve unthinkingly played fetch with Mayhem after 11:30 pm on more than one occasion) and I think that was the final straw for my downstairs neighbor.
About all I can think of to do is to shut them out of the bedroom overnight and in the morning. Anyone else have ideas on how to tame the thundering paws of my extremely active kitties?? ETA: Some additional information – I have carpet. Chaos is around 16 or 17 pounds, so when he runs, you definitely notice. May is 10 pounds.
Ok, onto some random stuff. Congrats to Marina and La, who were the winners of my Superpower Blogiversary Contest!
I stopped at my quirky neighborhood liquor store Monday evening (if you’ve ever wondered where all the body mod people work? Yup – that’s the place) and mentioned my annotated beer case. She just rolled her eyes and said that “the boys in the back room” got a little bored sometimes…
Seems like it’s cats two, Christmas trees zero so far…
Some of you may be aware that I have extremely eclectic musical tastes. 🙂 In fact, if it’s by a top 40 artist from the past 10 years? I probably haven’t heard it. Anyway, there’s some pretty interesting holiday music out there, especially if the traditional songs are already getting on your nerves. Here are just a few – please note that this is all listen at your own risk!
Aquarium Drunkard has a nice playlist, including songs like Mae West’s “Put the Loot in the Boot, Santa” and Big John Greer’s “We Wanna See Santa Do the Mambo.”
Big Rock Candy Junk Shop Christmas will be available for a few more days. There’s some overlap with the playlist up at Aquarium Drunkard, but that’s because Aquarium Drunkard’s songs came from Big Rock Candy Mountain! Check daily for more fun songs, too – yesterday’s songs were from Billy Childish & the Musicians of the British Empire (“Christmas Hell” and “Christmas Lights”).
Everybody Cares, Everybody Understands has a free and legal Christmas mix up, which includes songs from Bright Eyes, Sufjan Stevens, and Death Cab for Cutie.
Suburban Sprawl has its annual Christmas compilation up. Some of the songs include Love Axe’s “Happy New Year,” and Jon Cendrowski’s “Dick in a Box.” You can also download their previous compilations.
Snow, snow, snow. We had more yesterday. Some pictures from work before I spent an hour driving 8 miles.
Generally, the world continues on a little further…
“Do I look as if I could possibly be noisy?! It has to be the big kitty.” -Mayhem
Yeah….unless they really thunder back and forth for more than half an hour at a time, she really needs to appreciate the fact that they’re not playing really loud music. 😛 (Of course, it might be *nice* if you didn’t play fetch with a thumpy cat late at night, or worse to me, early in the morning…)
Thanks for the music links!
You have carpet or rugs? if it’s a rug, you could get a rug pad. If you have carpet, maybe an additional rug on top? Other than that, I have two solutions that aren’t very appealing or comforting. 1) she moves and someone who’s a deeper sleeper moves in. 2) she waits until the cats get older and sleep through the night on a regular basis (i think my babies started doing that around 8 yo or so).
sorry, May, I’m not buying your innocence.
Kashka (who’s probalby all of about 7 pounds) sounded like a herd of elephants while running on the main floor (and we were in the basement listening). I’ve no doubt your kitties are noisy.
no advice. though I wonder, if they were separated would they meow at each other all night? I think that’d be worse (for both you & the neighbor) then the thunder paws of doom
Even with carpet she thinks they’re loud? I think the idea of an additional rug is good, other then that she might want ear plugs. I’m thinking she must be a really light sleeper.
Um, that picture of the snow and your description of the driving is not very inviting. However, I have an interview in Menominee WI next Friday. I’ll arrive Thursday night, interview Friday day and night, and could leave on Saturday; however, I’m wondering if you are available to get together? I won’t have a car, but they will arrange for a shuttle for me to get to the airport, to you could get me from the Minneapolis/St. Paul airport–or they can bring me there late Friday night and I could crash at your place and leave Saturday? Basically, I have to buy my tickets today and if I can catch up with you I can change my dates/plans. I’ll send an email with my NEW CELL PHONE number (if you don’t already have it from my recent number). At this very moment I am sitting in a canceled conference session in the OC. So, I have about 45 minutes in which I may try to touch base with you–although I can’t open my outlook to get my information. But, I shall try.
I do not envy your snow at.all. But I do envy the being snowed in with cats and knitting part.
I’m not clear from your post, but are your apartments’ floor plans laid out in such a way that your bedroom is over her bedroom, and that’s where the cats are making the noise? I definitely wouldn’t lock them out, unless you make a point of saying to her “Hi Ms. Neighbor, tonight I’m going to try an experiment and lock them out and see if that helps you.” And then you lock them out and they make so much racket that the next day when you see her in the parking lot, she says, “thank you but why don’t we just go back to your earlier routine?”
Why are the cats making noise — to get you up for food or just to play? Maybe put the toys away at night — I know you probably don’t want to leave food out at night if you don’t already.
The Feliway is helping Rainy be calm in terms of fear, but I don’t know if it makes active cats less active. You could get some spray and try it — couldn’t hurt but I’m not sure how much it would help either.
Buy the bitch some ear plugs? Sheesh, of all the things in the world to complain about, she complains about kitty tromping. That’s music to my ears!
I know. Next time you’re away from home all night, leave your stereo or TV on REALLY, REALLY loud, and then when you get home start yelling. Then she’ll be thankful it’s only a couple of kitties running from then on
She may be having trouble sleeping anyway, and that’s why she hears the kitties. I do not believe they actually wake her up. While I sympathize with her, it’s really her problem not yours. Lots of people who live in close quarters with other people and animals use ear plugs in order to get a good night’s sleep.
Hey, those look like Vikings socks.
Maybe you could get your neighbor a cat of her own to keep her awake so she won’t notice Chaos and May :o)
PS that whole Sufjan Stevens Christmas CD is excellent and worth purchasing. It was my favorite last year.
Play with them for 30 minutes or so at around 7:30 or 8 at night. They’ll tire out and sleep at night instead of being so nocturnal. Also, don’t leave lights on at night and put curtains up in especially light rooms. They won’t feel so much like staying awake.
Tricky one, hope you manage to sort it 😉
Though it does seem the problem lies with the neighbour sleeping really lightly. In my first place there were kids upstairs which was awful at the weekends. You can’t ask kids not to play can you (like cats really…….) so I just got earplugs for the weekends.
Had another neighbour someone else that used to complain non stop at our decorating when we moved in. Came to a head when he came round one evening when DH was only using a screwdriver to put a lock on our bedroom door as we had my stepson staying. I’d had enough and told him what to do with himself. They moved after and we only then realised how bad the noise through the adjoining wall was when the new neighbours from hell arrived. We moved and never will I get a house that has adjoining chimneys! The lack of soundproofing is unbelievable…..