You have probably considered crating your cat if they become disruptive to your sleep. Cats can make a racket at night by continuously meowing, running through the hallways, and knocking objects over.
There are some occasions where you would consider crating your cat indoors. However, these are normally specific occasions and don’t last for more than a couple of weeks. Regularly crating your cat overnight to control their night time behaviors may be considered cruel and in some cases may make their bad behaviors worse.
Is it cruel to crate a cat?
Cats can do well in relatively small spaces. We’ve gone over how cats can even be happy being kept inside of a small studio apartment as long as their living space has been adjusted to suit their needs.
However, something as small as a cage or carrier may be a bit too small to regularly spend a large amount of time in. Your cat probably won’t have access to any entertainment or spaces to climb and hide in. This deprives them of some of their natural needs for a long time like their instinct to hunt objects for play and to claim as their personal territory.
Crating your cat for long and regular periods of time is normally considered to be cruel by pet owners. Its normally seen as an unnecessary step that deprives your cat of their natural needs and can normally be avoided.
Crate trained dogs are regularly caged overnight for their safety. It can seem unfair that cat’s don’t get the same treatment. However, although they may seem very similar in some ways, cats and dogs are not the same. They have different needs for their happiness and respond to situations in different ways.
Can I crate my cat overnight to control their behavior?
A lot of indoor cats keep their owners up through the night by running around the house, destroying objects, and obnoxiously meowing. When these behaviors go on for a while its natural for owners to consider keeping them locked in their carrier or crates at night. Unfortunately, its very unlikely that this will help. It may be more likely to make things worse.
Many bad cat behaviors are caused because they are bored and under stimulated in their living environment. Crating them overnight indoors might make these bad behaviors worse during the day. Being confined to a small space with no entertainment or freedom to roam will send them into a spiral of boredom and anxiety. Overly anxious cats may resort to spraying or overgrooming when they are confined.
As cats are normally active in the middle of the night, crating or caging your cat at night will mean that they will be confined when they would naturally feel energetic and the need to play or hunt. Its also quite likely that they will keep you up more by meowing through the night for your attention to be let out of their cage.
If you are looking for ways to manage your cat at night so you can get some sleep and protect your home, the much better option is to focus on giving them entertainment during the day so they sleep through the night. You can also take steps to give your cat interesting things to do at night so they have specific things which will take up their time.
We’ve written a past article about what cats do indoors at night, check it out for more details on how to control your pet while you sleep. If you feel like you have tried everything you can, you could also consider talking to a cat behaviorist to treat your cat’s bad behaviors.
When should I crate my cat?
There are some occasions when you should crate your cat overnight for a short period. These occasions are normally for the benefit of your cat rather than your own sleep schedule or sanity.
If you have unexpectedly re-homed an indoor cat or a stray, you could consider crating them when you aren’t around if you haven’t had an opportunity to cat-proof your house. Some plants or objects can be deadly to a new cat and an emergency trip to the vet is not a good way to be introduced to a new cat.
Some cats with severe injuries may need to have their movement restricted. Your vet will tell you if your cat needs to be confined to a space or room after they are treated and how long they will need to be restricted for.
It may be safer to crate or cage your cat for a couple of hours if you are having guests over that are allergic or scared of cats, or if you need to keep your door open for a while and are worried about your cat escaping. In all of these cases, it is much better if you can keep your cat confined to a separate room. Bathrooms are often a good space to keep a cat out of the way for a day if necessary.
If you do need to crate your cat later in the day for some reason, make sure that they had plenty of exercise and entertainment while they are outside of their crate or cage before they go in. This will make them less likely to find their time in the crate boring.
When shouldn’t I crate my cat?
Some cat owners crate their cats to discipline them when they are misbehaving. It is debated, but most cat behaviorists would say that cat’s don’t understand or change due to punishment. The only beneficial thing that caging a misbehaving cat might do is give them a chance to calm down if they have been too energetic for a while.
Pet owners sometimes crate thinking that it might help with their anxiety. Unfortunately, this may have the opposite affect in some cats. While trained dogs can find comfort in having a safe space to retreat to, cats may find an inescapable space as a new source of anxiety.
Summary
You can crate or cage your cat in some circumstances but the area of a crate will be too small for a cat to feel comfortable to regularly live in. Putting your cat in a cage overnight regularly is a bad idea and can lead to behavioral problems.
There are some cases where you should crate a cat, but your vet will probably tell you when this is actually needed. If you do crate your cat, make sure that they get plenty of stimulation and play before they go in to make their stay easier. Tired cats are generally more accepting of stressful situations.
When shouldn’t I crate my cat?
Some cat owners crate their cats to discipline them when they are misbehaving. It is debated, but most cat behaviorists would say that cat’s don’t understand or change due to punishment. The only beneficial thing that caging a misbehaving cat might do is give them a chance to calm down if they have been too energetic for a while.
Pet owners sometimes crate thinking that it might help with their anxiety. Unfortunately, this may have the opposite affect in some cats. While trained dogs can find comfort in having a safe space to retreat to, cats may find an inescapable space as a new source of anxiety.