“Why does my cat wait outside my bedroom door?”, you mumble to yourself as you scoop the sleepy kitty off the floor and carry her back to her bed. And, you know she needs a little while to get to know you and get to know your routine. But, you can’t shake off that little voice that says “Why does she do that?”
Oh, you would love to snuggle with her at night on your bed (that happens to be on the other side of the bedroom door). But, you don’t know how that would work when you’re not the only one on the bed. One human and one fluffy friend don’t seem to take up that much space, but two humans?
God, you can already see the predicament you and your four-legged friend would have to go through on the off chance that you decided to share the bed with another human. One human and her crusty companion seem to work purrfectly fine. But, two humans and an anxiety-ridden, rebellious rascal?
Trust me, there would be headlines galore the next week about how an “aggressive moggy from Memphis attacked her parents while they were sleeping!” Kidding aside, you can only assume your furry friend’s been waiting for you outside your bedroom doors because she wants to sleep with you. But, does she?
Why does my cat follow me everywhere I go?
Oh, you’re starting to think your fluffy friend’s attached to your hip because she’s right behind you wherever you go, aren’t you? And, the whole “waiting outside the bedroom door” thing makes more sense when you remember she does the same thing with every other room of the house.
Why does she do that? “Why does my cat wait outside my bedroom door?” doesn’t seem far-fetched. But, why does she wait outside other doors?
God, every morning when you make your way down to the bathroom, she produces her melodious meows as she wraps her paws around your feet and follows you around.
Off to the bathroom she goes as she watches you brush your teeth and go number… two! Oh, and there she goes with the pitter patter taps of her paws right behind you as you make your way to the kitchen for a cup of coffee! “Mrs. McFluffer, would you want one, too?”, you can’t help but chuckle at her attempts to get your attention.
Oh, and you have nothing to worry about! More times than not, cats follow you around and wait outside your bedroom door because they love you. They enjoy your company, need attention, and they know where you go every time you walk out of your bedroom. And they’re thrilled about that!
“But, why does my cat wait outside my bedroom door even though she knows she doesn’t need to?” Cats are curious creatures, and we’re bringing you the answers you’re looking for to make your four-legged friend a little less curious.
Why does my cat wait outside my bedroom door?
1. “She protec, but she doesn’t attac!”
Oh, here we go with the oldest meme references like the millennials that we are!
“Why does my cat wait outside my bedroom door?”, maybe because she’s protecting you from something or someone? Before you head off to contact the vet, the police, and the Ghostbusters, you might want to consider the suggestion that the rumors about cats and their standoffish tendencies might not be true.
But, we’re here to remind you that cats can be as affectionate and adorable as dogs (they simply don’t go around announcing that to everyone). As a matter of fact, cats protect humans because that’s a part of who they are.
Cats protect themselves from predators by protecting the human who seems to be bigger and stronger than the predator. “Wait, she’s using me for my muscles!?”
2. Maybe your bedroom door meets the criteria for the perfect napping spot?
As a pet parent, chances are you must’ve noticed that your precious purrincess doesn’t care about your house rules at all. “Oh, you bought the softest, the most luxurious, and the most expensive cat bed you could find at the store? Not my problem, honey, because I’m sleeping outside your bedroom door!”
And, on the off chance that you don’t believe that, try putting a cardboard box next to your feline friend’s bed and see where she goes to sleep.
We’re putting out bets on the box, and we know we’re right! As for the “why does my cat wait outside my bedroom door” thing, we’re pretty sure she’s doing that because she likes to nap right there.
3. She can’t sleep without you
How heart-wrenching does that sound?! Maybe you’ve gotten your kitten only recently and she hasn’t had the time to adapt to her room, her bed, and whatever sleeping arrangements you decided on. Maybe she’s scared of sleeping alone and she can’t fathom the fact that you want her to sleep without you.
Oh and, maybe she keeps sticking her paws under your bedroom door trying to make you feel guilty for banishing her from the room.
But, don’t worry, kittens adapt to situations pretty easily once they figure out the dos and don’ts, the whys and hows, and everything else that’s a requisite for a happy sleeping arrangement.
But, while your kitten’s getting to know you and your rules, don’t shy away from letting her sleep with you. While you are encouraging bad behavior (which can be pretty damaging), you’re making sure your kitten feels safe and secure.
4. She knows your morning routine TO A TEE
“Why does my cat wait outside my bedroom door? She knows exactly when I wake up, and she starts pawing under the door trying to get my attention. The moment that I walk out of the door, she starts following me around, meowing and purring from (what seems to be) happiness. Why’s that?”
Oh, maybe you’re one of the lucky ones because your fluffy friend knows everything about you! As a matter of fact, cats are notorious for employing “mental maps” to keep track of different things. And, your cat might want to keep track of what you’re doing every morning when you wake up.
Not to mention that cats adore habits! And, your furry might feel like each time she recognizes one of your habits she gets a treat. When she follows you to the kitchen she gets a plate of food. When she follows you to the bathroom she gets to play with toiletries.
5. Poor kitty has separation anxiety
Oh, that’s a pawsibility you haven’t thought about! Everyone’s always raging about dogs being “a man’s best friends”, goofy and friendly, and happy to see you every time you open the door. On the other hand, cats have earned the reputation for being self-sufficient, standoffish, and not attached to a human’s hip.
But, we can’t forget about the fact that our fluffy friends DO have feelings! They simply don’t show them as much. That’s why you can’t overlook the “separation anxiety” aspect of waiting outside your bedroom door.
Oh, your poor little fluff might not be able to sleep without you and she’s waiting for you to wake up and spend the rest of the day with her (over and over again)! Some other signs of separation anxiety are excessive meowing, excessive grooming, destructive behavior, and elimination outside the litterbox.
Go easy on her, she just loves you too much!
6. Because a cat can never have “too much attention”
Who’s surprised with this one? Cats are known as attention-seekers even though they want you to think of them as self-sufficient. Pretty much everything a cat does serves the main purpose – they want to communicate something to you. They want food or your attention.
Meowing, pawing, showing you her butt, knocking things down, purring, walking around and between your legs, biting, begging for food even after eating. More often than not, your fluffy friend does these things to get your attention.
Waiting outside your bedroom door might be one of the cat communication methods you haven’t seen before.
7. Maybe she hates her room?
“Why does my cat wait outside my bedroom door? Does she want food or does she want me to come out and play? She does that every single night and I’m losing my patience!”
Oh, that’s an all-too-familiar scenario every pet parent has experienced at least once! That’s right, your kitten doesn’t like the room you prepared for her.
There’s a pawsibility your little munchkin’s scared of sleeping on her own. Maybe she was weaned off her mother early on or maybe she hasn’t gotten used to being alone.
Whatever the case might be, she’s waiting outside your bedroom door because she wants to sleep with you! Now you have a tough choice to make – sleep together or sleep apart?
8. “Umm, do you have games on your phone?”
Don’t worry, that’s our (millennial) way of saying your fluffy friend might want to play with you! We’ve been over the fact that cats aren’t nocturnal – they’re crepuscular and they’re the most active at dusk and dawn.
And, they don’t shy away from waiting outside your bedroom door at dusk or dawn waiting for you to play with them.
Now, on the off chance that your furry friend was allowed to enter your bedroom, she would probably wake you up when you’re sleeping by playing on your bed, lobbying for food, and forcing you to snuggle with her.
But you’ve made that practically impossible. So, she’s found a way to get your attention by waiting outside your bedroom (and pawing underneath the door).
9. Maybe she wants to munch on something
“Why does my cat wait outside my bedroom door?” Maybe because she’s hungry and she doesn’t have thumbs to help her get to the highest shelf where you keep the “good treats!” Maybe because she wants you to give her a bite of those McDonald’s chicken nuggets you sneaked through the door last night?
Whatever the case might be, there’s a pawsibility you haven’t been feeding your fluffy friend as much as she would appreciate. Maybe you’ve been skipping dinner think that would help with her sudden burst of energy at 3 a.m. Or maybe you’ve been feeding her a couple of hours before bedtime.
Now, try feeding her right before the two of you go to sleep. Chances are she’s going to sleep more than before and she’s going to wake up without that “empty stomach” feeling.
10. Maybe she has a health problem?
Cats can’t communicate how they’re feeling the same way humans do. When they’re feeling under the weather they typically become depressed, lose appetite, lose weight, and start spending more time following you around because they’re hoping you notice.
So, your fluffy friend might be waiting outside your bedroom door because she wants you to figure out she’s out of sorts. Keep an eye out for other symptoms of health problems and contact your vet the moment that you notice something’s off.
And, when you find your fluff outside your bedroom, consider letting her sleep on your bed!
How to stop my cat from waiting outside my bedroom door?
“Why does my cat wait outside my bedroom door? What does she want? And, how do I stop her from waiting when she doesn’t really want anything?”
More times than not, when your furry friend’s waiting outside your bedroom door, she’s trying to communicate something. You’re responsible for figuring out what.
But, there are situations when cats do that for no reason whatsoever. Maybe they’re bored or maybe they’re looking for attention (when they shouldn’t be looking at all!). Maybe they’ve done that when they were kittens and they were encouraged to continue doing that after they grew up.
Whatever the reason might be, when you’re 100% sure your four-legged friend doesn’t need anything, you might want to stop her from displaying damaging behavior. Make sure you feed her before you go to bed, spend some quality time with her, and make her bed appealing and welcoming.
On the off chance that she continues waiting outside your bedroom door, think about scheduling an appointment with an animal behaviorist. Good luck!
Read more: Will My Cat Forget Me Or Will She Think Of Me While I’m Gone?
