Total Cat Mojo: The Ultimate Guide to Life with Your Cat

by Jackson Galaxy

If you want to know how you can sleep through the night, this ritual is IT. It’s all about getting your cat on the rhythm of your household. The Steps: First, Stop Free Feeding: See “Feeding for Mojo” (page 91). Feed in conjunction with play. If you go to bed at 11:00, feed your last meal at around 9:30. Right before that last meal, engage in HCK. Bring your cat to a boil (see “Boil and Simmer,” page” 88), get him pooped out, then go for that second wind; now it will take less time for him to get completely worn out. Then he eats, grooms, and sleeps, and then you go to sleep. Match Their Energy with Yours: Keep them active when the family is active. Again, it’s all about the Three Rs. The Hard Part: It’s 3:00 a.m., and your cat is waking you up. Your cat should be down for the count, but she is not. This is tough, but you have to IGNORE HER. COMPLETELY. You definitely don’t get up, feed, play, get up and go to the bathroom, etc. But completely means don’t say her name, don’t chuck a pillow—play dead. Yes, it will absolutely suck—but any attention whatsoever, negative or positive, is the payoff for her. If you tell her through your inaction night after night that nothing will happen after that behavior, she WILL stop. It might be tough for ten days to two weeks. But then you’ll be good.