19-05-2025
Mom Teaches Cat to Wake Up Daughter for School, Gets the Job Done
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content.
Getting your child out of bed in the morning can be challenging, but one Boston mom has discovered an unexpected solution, her family cat.
In a post shared on TikTok in March under the username @ the tabby cat, Suki, can be seen jumping on her sister's bed, attempting to wake her up for the day, and refusing to leave until she is fully awake.
"Taught my cat to wake my child up for school because she doesn't get an argument. She won't stop until she actually gets out of bed," reads layover text in the clip. "Was tired of the '5 more minutes' fight everyday," the caption says.
The poster, 27-year-old Katie McDonald, told Newsweek that her daughter would always throw tantrums when she tried to wake her up in the morning, asking for five more minutes, so after sensing her frustration, Suki decided to take matters into her paws.
A screenshot of the viral clip shows Suki waking up her sister for school.
A screenshot of the viral clip shows Suki waking up her sister for school.
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Now every morning at 7:30 a.m., the cat walks into her sister's bedroom, jumps on her bed, and starts nudging her until she is up on her feet getting ready.
"It was the greatest thing that could've happened because since then we haven't had a single argument about having to get up for school," McDonald said.
"Honestly don't even know how she started it. I think she could tell my frustration with waking my daughter up for school. [She] never needed treats or anything she just started to do it on her own."
Suki takes her job so seriously that she doesn't even stop to cuddle with her sister once she's awake, giving her space to get ready.
Training a cat may not be as easy or as common as training a dog, but it is certainly achievable with patience and lots of yummy treats.
In an adapted extract from her book, Purr: The Science of Making Your Cat Happy, published by the British Psychological Society, animal behavior expert Zazie Todd explains that training your cat is a gradual process that revolves around rewarding their desired behaviors with the snacks they like most.
You should never punish your cat when things don't go as planned, because not only does it not work, but it can make your cat stressed, and cause them to associate the punishment with you, negatively affecting your relationship.
The video quickly went viral on TikTok and it has so far received over 1.2 million views and 256,800 likes on the platform.
One user, Mightynight, commented: "Sooo which one of you taught my cat to attack my toes at 5 a.m. exactly every morning."
Sarah Hughes said: "Awww that's the happiest lil alarm clock I've ever seen."
JoJo added: "I got a paw in the eye this morning as one leaped of the headboard to chase her sister around the room."
Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures of your pet you want to share? Send them to life@ with some details about your best friend and they could appear in our Pet of the Week lineup.
