Set up a roomba to start vacuuming every morning at 4

Not bad but this will make much more noise than cats. But yeah, it would scary away them at least for the time of cleaning :)

Honestly I started feeding my cats at 10am and 10pm so that they aren’t hungry in the middle of the night. It’s the only thing that shuts them up haha.

A modified baby gate at the foot of the stairs?

Can they be relegated to the basement?

Play with them til they’re tired, then feed them, go to bed. Solid night sleep. Making it more complicated than it has to be.

>g my cats at 10am and 10pm so that they aren’t hun

Interesting idea. We might try that but I think it's not hunger. It's the young blood. They are 1.5 years old so they just bored and want to have fun. I don't blame them

I understand. I have 4 cats total, 2 of them Covid kittens (now 2.5 years old lol) and they do cause a racket sometimes. They usually play hard right before food time and I encourage that by throwing toys for them to fetch. Then they pass out once their bellies are full.

These guys can jump very high. This would need to be a big gate.

One of the reasons I want to "scare" them is because I believe that after few weeks they will just learn to avoid being over there when we sleep. I will keep doing that with a hairdryer as this seems to work but I was hopping building a more elegant solution and since I like tinkering I thought this could be a fun project.

Right now I am thinking a small fan with a piece thin plastic mounted so blades will be hittting it making extra noise. Plus blue/red spinning light?

I am a real man. It has to be complicated and has a high chance of failure. But it will be fun and I will be very proud of myself if it works.

oh well in that case carry on good sir

Is a scatmat out of the question?

How about a motion sensor that turns on a strobe light? Random things can look like they are moving and scary.

There should be some way to rig a toy that has is motion activated. The baby songs can be replaced with airplane noises, or truck noises from other toys?

You could also download sound affects, and play them with an old phone or Bluetooth maybe get Alexa involved... Alexa play a vacuum noise at 2am every night at low volume.

Lol I'm having fun with this cat scaring project

Alright so what you need is a fog machine and a scary cat mask. Just Google that term and choose the most uncanny one. Get some smart lightbulbs throughout the house and a smart outlet to plug the fog machine into. Program a routine through your smart speaker so that when you trigger it the fog machines will switch on and begin fogging the hallways outside your bedroom door. Three minutes later you want all the light ls to come on while set to blood red and the smart speakers are blasting Crazy Train by Ozzy Osborne at full volume. You open the bedroom door wearing the cat mask and walking on all fours. Then lunge and chase the cats away from the bedroom.

You should only need to do this exactly one time.

Your cats may never interact with you again though.

[removed]

>he baby songs can be replaced with airplane noises, or truck noises from other toys?

This is exactly my kind of thinking. Was trying to think of some sort of toy with lights and stuff. Alexa also crossed my mind. I can play on alexa sounds triggered by motion and stuff so it's definitely on my list of potential tools for this task.

damn, the Crazy Train intro would scare the crap out of my cats and all of my family members if played at 4 am lol. But I like they way you think lol

It's really not a good idea to scare your cats.

Cats are territorial animals and your house is their territory where they need to feel safe because they are stuck with it.

An unsafe territory can lead to worse behavioural problems. Plus it's not good for the cats seeing the above.

Put yourself in their (very small) cat shoes. Would you like being scared in your home, the one place that is supposed to be your sanctuary and safe spot?

I know this is not the manly man solution you are looking for, but I would look into rather buying or making programmable cat toys that would divert their attention away from the area where you don't want them to be at night. That would keep them entertained and happy and it would solve your problem too. Moving feathers or toys, lasers, catnip etc...

Restricting access to that area can also be achieved by placing a sticky tape or aluminium foil mat in their way, they won't like to walk over it and will go play somewhere else of their own accord.

Use your force for good, OP, you got this!

Your submission has been removed for one or more of the following reason(s):

• You are asking how to "get started" on a project.
• You are asking for a review of your overall plan for a project.
• You are asking what is the best method or approach to a project.
• You are asking whether or not you should do a project.
• You are asking for advice on what project you should make ("what can I make within my budget?")
• If you have a project in mind, please do some basic research on the matter, come up with your plan, then you can ask about a specific aspect of the project.

We want you to get the help you're looking for. If you have any of these questions, some places to get help are:

• The Getting Started thread at the top of the subreddit.

• Ask your question in our Discord server in the appropriate channel.
• You may also try other subreddits - /r/homeimprovement, /r/woodworking, /r/electronics or /r/findareddit to help you find a subreddit applicable to your question.

Please read our Full Sub Rules before resubmitting.

If you believe this was a mistake, please message the moderators.

###Do not respond to this comment - you will not receive a response.

Don’t scare your cats! Invite them to something they love (and that benefits you at the same time).

My solution for getting good nights’ sleep;

I got a 10 W electric heat pad (rugged version specific for pets) that is hidden in a corner of the bed under the covers. It’s not hot, but it’s warm enough (lukewarm) so cats love to sleep, lounge, hang in that spot. I turn it on in late September and it’s on 24/7 until sometime in late April/early May. Best $20 investment ever.