Cat Meows at night and early morning

Question
we just recently took my sister's cat to live with me and my girlfriend in our new apartment.  He meows in the middle of the night, but stops after a while.  But at the crack of dawn, he carries on like a broken record until we eventually get up.  If we close the door, he just meows louder and paws at it repeadedly.  How can we get him to adjust to his new settings and to stop bothering us while we are sleeping?

Answer
Hello.  Depending on how recently this change has been made, he may just be lonely and anxious at night, and this will just take some time to resolve.

But cats are nocturnal.  They're most active during the night and twilight hours.  If your sister catered to him and gave him attention when he cried, she reinforced his behavior, and it will take time to correct it.

If you have a spare room, laundry room, or bathroom you could keep him in with food, litter, and water overnight, do that.  He will certainly be upset at first.  However, it does work to train most cats.  After a couple months, they change their sleeping habits to coincide with their owners'.

I always recommend that cats be kept with other cats, too, if feasible.  They'll keep each other company throughout the night.  I have one cat who cries all night long if she's not with another cat.  We put one of the other cats out of the bedroom with her (because she sucks on my neck at night!), and she's fine.

If the behavior continues, you may want to consult a vet or animal behaviorist about separation anxiety.  There may be exercises you can do to help stop this behavior.  Last of all, an anti-anxiety medication might benefit him.  This can usually be discontinued after a few months, once the behavior has been controlled.