Cat Keeps Knocking Things Over at Night – 7 Reasons

Cats are fun and silly creatures. Raising a cat can be a very amusing experience, but you have to be careful. Cats mostly follow their own instincts, so sometimes, it can be a bit challenging to pet them.

A common activity of cats is that they knock things off your table at night while you are sleeping peacefully, just to wake you up. Today, we will look into the reasons why your cat knocks things over and the remedies for this behavior.

7 Reasons Why Cats Keep Knocking Things Over at Night

There may be different types of reasons why your cat may be knocking things over at night. Sometimes you may even feel like your cat is being naughty and mischievous, but the possible reasons are about to tell you that your cat is doing nothing other than being a cat.

Figure: Cat knocking off a bottle.

Now, let’s look into the possible reasons why your cat keeps knocking things over at night:

1. Instinctual Hunting

Big or small, all cats are naturally born hunters. Following their ancestors, they have hunting instincts. It should also be visible from their sharp fangs and claws.

This hunting and predatory instinct could very well be the reason why your cat knocks things over at night, as cats naturally like to roam around and catch prey during the dark hours. Your cat's paws are sensitive. So, they want to use their paws to know if the object is prey or something else.

Figure: Cat’s hunting instincts.

So, in this process of trying to find out, they often end up knocking things over from your table, showcase, wardrobe, etc. So you know that your cat is not being naughty, it is just their hunting instincts kicking in at night.

2. Seeking Attention

This is one of the most common reasons why your cat keeps knocking things over at night. Here’s how it works:

Imagine you are sleeping at 3 am and you hear a noise of something falling on the ground or even breaking. You wake up, only to find your cat sitting on your table and your glass/flower vase broken on the ground.

At that moment, your pov is that you are annoyed with your cat. But for your cat, mission accomplished! Why? The sole purpose of your cat knocking over the glass/vase was to get your attention.

They just feel like you haven’t acknowledged them for a while when you’ve been sleeping. Whatever the reason, they might just want to be noticed. So they go on to push and knock things off.

Figure: Cat seeking attention

3. Boredom and Lack of Stimulation

Cats are interesting creatures, and a lack of stimulation in their environment can lead to boredom. This may lead to mischievous behavior like knocking things off tables. Boredom is a common issue for house cats.

Figure: Bored cat.

Usually, outside, cats are constantly active as there are a lot of things to see and hear. But, inside the walls of a human home, there isn’t the same amount of stimulation. As a result, your cat gets bored and starts to show this type of behavior. They are just trying to entertain themselves.

Bored cats tend to knock things over just to see what happens afterwards. So, make sure that you are playing with your cat regularly or giving them a fun and interesting toy to play with, for times like when you are sleeping. Otherwise, this destructive behavior continues.

4. Hunger or Thirst

Another common issue is that cats want to be fed at ungodly hours. Take midnight, for example, when they come up to you while you’re sleeping or simply knock things over.

This is a behavior that may also come from not being fed enough. Or even if they ate, their food or water bowl is empty. In case your cat cannot get attention from you easily while you are sleeping, it gets on your table and starts knocking things over.

Figure: Hungry cat.

To prevent this, make sure you are feeding your cat enough and that it is drinking enough water regularly, especially before going to sleep, as your cat is more likely to embrace its predatory side at night.

5. Playfulness: Cat Finds It Fun

As a human, you like to do things that you find fun or things that entertain you. The same goes for your cat. Your cat may knock things down from your table to entertain itself.

Figure: Playful cat.

Cats are naturally playful creatures. If your cat is looking for something to play with, it may test objects with its paws to see if they’re light enough to become a potential toy. If the object falls on the ground and rolls on its side, that becomes more exciting for the cat. It could also be the sound of the object hitting the floor that inspires this playful behavior in your cat.

For example, your cat may think that a pen on your table looks fun. It might knock the pen off the table with its paws and then chase after it to toss it around for a while. This usually happens when your cat doesn’t have an interesting toy to play with, so it turns your belongings into toys. If your cat is just having fun, it may or may not be knocking things over on purpose.

6. Stress or Anxiety

Your cat may tend to knock things over at night due to nighttime anxiety. This may come from past experience and trauma.

Figure: Anxious cat.

For example, maybe your cat might have been bullied by dogs before at night, when there was no one around, because people were all asleep and could do nothing to stop them. If your cat is adopted, it could also be the fact that its previous owners did not treat it very well.

To overcome this problem, you need to make sure that your cat feels safe with you and more at home. You can also try exhausting your cat by playing with it for 20-30 minutes before going to sleep, so your cat falls into a deep sleep quickly and doesn’t get up at night.

7. Sleep Disruption

If your cat is deprived of sleep, it may show various behavioral changes like aggression, hyperactivity, or depression. They may also become more vocal or develop a reluctance to human interaction. Over time, sleep deprivation can lead to more severe health problems.

Figure: Sleep-deprived cat.

Cats are not designed to sleep in the same way as humans do. So there are chances that your cat may wake up at 3 am and start knocking things over to get your attention. But there may also be other problems like insomnia, hypersomnia, sleep apnoea, etc., in case your cat is unable to sleep at night.

It is important to see a vet in case this happens because a lack of sleep can weaken your cat’s immune system, leading to illness and infections.

FAQ

In case you have further enquiries about your cat’s nocturnal behavior, here are some frequently asked questions and their answers to guide you more:

Why does my cat keep knocking stuff over?

The most common reasons your cat keeps knocking things over at night are its hunting instincts, attention-seeking tendencies, boredom, and playfulness. But other than that, there may also be more reasons like curiosity, hunger or thirst, anxiety, or sleep deprivation.

You must remember that if your cat is knocking things over at night, it is not being mischievous. It is just being itself according to its nature.

How do I get my cat to stop knocking things over at night?

Here are a few things to help you make your cat stop knocking things over at night:

• Move Items to a Safer Place: Keep your items in a place where your cat can’t reach them. For example, you can put them on high areas or a place that creates a barrier between your cat and the items, like a cupboard.
• Feeding Regularly: Hunger and thirst may cause your cat to knock things over at night. So you need to make sure that you are feeding your cat properly to avoid this type of behavior.
• Schedule Playtime: As cats are playful by nature, you shall play with your cat regularly during the time you are awake. Otherwise, your cat may wake up at midnight to play with things on your table that are not toys to have its own playtime.

• Reduce Anxiety: Your cat might be losing sleep due to being stressed or anxious. Take proper care of your cat in case this happens to make it feel safe. If necessary, consult a vet.

By following the above solutions, you will be able to stop your cat from knocking things over at night.

Will punishing my cat stop them from knocking things over?

Don’t even think about it. Cats do not respond well to punishment. As a matter of fact, it can cause your cat to get more fearful, anxious, and aggressive, and damage your relationship with your cat.

Instead of punishing, you shall try to find what is causing this type of behavior and prevent it. Specific things you may try are creating a playtime schedule, treating your cat regularly, treating for desired behavior (positive reinforcement), giving enough attention to them, etc.

Under any circumstances, never punish your cat. They do not understand the concept of punishment, and it only causes fear, anxiety, and aggression.

What are the best toys to keep my cat busy at night?

There are various types of toys that can help you keep your cat busy at night. Some of the most effective toys are described below:

• Balls: As cats are playful, they tend to play with balls a lot. They can stay busy with a ball by simply tossing it around in the house and chasing after it.

Figure: Cat playing with a ball.

• Cat Tunnels: As cats have the instinct to explore, cat tunnels can be a great toy for them. It is a toy in which your cat can hide, stalk, and pounce according to its preference.

Figure: Cat tunnel.

• Cat Trees: Cats love climbing. Getting a cat tree can not only reduce your cat’s boredom but also add to their joy. A well-placed cat tree near a window can provide a lot of entertainment for your cat.

Figure: Cat tree.

• Mouse Hunt: This automatic cat toy will satisfy your cat's natural instinct to hunt. The mouse may be a remote control or automatic, which runs around in the house, and your cat chases after it.

Figure: Cat playing with a mouse hunt toy.

• Puzzle: Puzzle toys can channel your cat’s natural skills like stalking, sniffing, and pouncing. Cat puzzle toys can stave off boredom, provide exercise, and prevent problem behaviors like knocking things over. 

Figure: Cat playing puzzle. 

So, the above mentioned toys are the most effective for the times when you are sleeping at night to keep your cat busy.

Conclusion

Cats are naturally born hunters and playful creatures. Your housecat’s ancestors happen to be big hunting cats dwelling in forests and deserts. So if you see that your cat is knocking things over at night, it is just following its instincts. There may also be other reasons, as we said, like boredom, seeking attention, and even medical issues sometimes.

It is important to be gentle to your cat and to entertain and play with it regularly to keep your cat stimulated. Feeding your cat regularly and making it feel safe is important to make sure it sleeps well and does not have any health issues. Follow these, and you will be able to maintain proper sleep for your cat as well as yourself.

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