A Night Camera Revealed What Kept Waking Him Up At 4 A.M.

Like many of us, one young couple adopted a pet to welcome into their family. Daniel Hawkins and his wife expected some challenges, but things went relatively smoothly after adopting a cat. But then something weird started happening. Every day at 4 A.M., he was startled awake, only to find nothing was wrong. He decided to set-up a night camera in the couple's bedroom to get to the bottom of it.

Every Cat Has Their Quirks

Quirky cats
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Unsplash/Mikhail Vasilyev

Part of the fun of adopting a pet is getting to know its personality. Just like people, cats have different personalities. Some are playful and feisty, while others are calm and sweet.

Coming into a new home, adopted pets don't often fully reveal themselves until they've taken the time to get comfortable in their new surroundings. This was the same with the cat they adopted. It took a while before they discovered one odd trait their new cat had.

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They Didn't Have A Specific Cat In Mind

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When they visited their local animal shelter, the couple wasn't set on a specific breed of cat, or even age. Daniel and his wife went to the shelter to see the cats looking for a good home, and see if any of them felt like a good fit for their family, including their two young kids.

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Once they came across one cat in particular, the couple knew they would be a good choice for a cat to adopt and bring home.

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They Named Him Muffins

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The couple chose a brown cat that they named Muffins. He was a sweet, calm older cat that Daniel and his wife thought would make good company.

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The cat loved to cuddle with the family members and purred while they petted him. It seemed as though Muffins was getting comfortable in the new space and was fitting in well with the family. Daniel did notice that the cat had some strange behaviors though.

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Muffins Wouldn't Sleep In His Bed

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Muffins the cat
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Wanting their new family member to feel right at home, Daniel and his wife bought the cat a cozy bed, along with his food dishes and toys. But Muffins didn't seem interested in sleeping in the bed.

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Encouragement and moving the bed to new locations didn't seem to convince Muffins that he should lay down. Not only that, but while the rest of the family slept through the night, Muffins stayed awake.

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They Left The Bedroom Door Open

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Thinking that the cat was concerned about being left alone in the living room, Daniel and his wife decided to leave their bedroom door open. They thought that if the cat was lonely, maybe it would help if they let him sleep in their bed.

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So they left the bedroom door open, expecting the cat to jump into their bed. But he didn't. The cat's behavior continued to get stranger.

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The Cat Watched The Couple While They Slept

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After they started leaving their bedroom door open for the cat to come in and sleep with them, they noticed something weird. Not only did Muffins refuse to sleep in his bed, and stay awake throughout the night, he had a weird habit of watching the couple while they slept.

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Whenever Daniel or his wife woke up in the middle of the night, there was Muffins, sitting in the doorway of their bedroom, watching them sleep.

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The Cat's Behavior Was Concerning The Couple

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Muffins the cat
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Daniel and his wife weren't sure what it meant for their cat to watch them sleep every night. They made sure that Muffins was taken care of before they laid down to go to sleep.

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There didn't seem to be any strange noises or reason that the cat would be trying to alert them. It was just odd. They discussed what they thought it could mean but always came up empty-handed.

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The Internet Has Many Theories

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Muffins the cat
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Searching for an answer online got the couple nowhere. When searching online for "why does my cat stare at me while I sleep?" many answers are revealed.

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Possible answers included that the cat was bored, hungry, or anxious. Knowing that Muffins had food, a bed, and received plenty of love and attention from the family throughout the day, the couple wasn't satisfied with these answers. No one could figure out what was causing Muffins' weird behavior.

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Cats Are Known To Be Active At Night

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While most families are awake and active throughout the day, their cats are most active at night. It's common for cat owners to be woken up by their cat running around the house or causing trouble throughout the night.

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But Muffins wasn't running around the house-- he wasn't full of energy. He was just awake, and staring at them. An older cat, Muffins might be worn-out by all of the attention he was getting during the day, so why wasn't he sleeping at night?

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Daniels' Asthma Was Getting Worse

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Along with the cat's weird behavior, Daniel noticed that his asthma was getting worse. A problem he's had since he was 13-years-old, he noticed that his breathing was getting more difficult since adopting the cat.

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Aware that Muffins' hair could cause a problem for Daniel, the couple kept their home clean and Muffins didn't sleep in their bed. Although there wasn't cat hair visible around the house, Daniel's breathing still got worse.

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This Time Was Different Though

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Daniel had been diagnosed with asthma when he was 13-years-old. It was easy for him to recognize at that age, since he was physically active throughout the day.

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Once Daniel over-exerted himself, his asthma would signal for him to stop, and he would reach for his inhaler. But now, his asthma felt different. It wasn't a physical activity that was triggering his asthma attacks. In fact, they were happening while he was sleeping.

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The Asthma Attacks Were Happening Early In The Morning

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Daniel's asthma, likely caused by Muffins' cat hair around the house, didn't bother him that much during the day. But the tightening of his lungs and difficulty breathing would intensify by the early morning hours.

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He found himself constantly waking up at 4 A.M., reaching for his inhaler. He knew that going into adopting a cat that his asthma might flare-up. Now, Daniel figured, he had to live with his decision.

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He Always Woke Up At The Same Time

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Every time that Daniel woke up coughing, he would roll over and look at the clock on the nightstand. It would always read 4:03 A.M. It felt that it was weird that every morning he would wake up coughing at exactly the same time.

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He thought it was strange, but brushed off the idea that it could mean anything weird. Sometimes our bodies fall into habits that are difficult to break, especially if they are as subconscious as waking up at a certain time.

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His Routine

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Whenever Daniel would wake up coughing, he would see that the clock read 4:03 A.M. Then, he would use his inhaler from the nightstand drawer.

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Woken up at this point, Daniel would usually sleepily walk down the hall to the kitchen to get a glass of water before going back to bed. Every time, he would notice Muffins nearby, staring at him intently. Every time Daniel went to get a glass of water, there was Muffins.

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He Got A Strange Feeling

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Exhausted from the consecutive nights of terrible sleep and asthma attacks, Daniel once again staggered to the kitchen at four in the morning to pour a glass of water. As usual, Muffins was close by. This time, something felt strange.

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Daniel looked at the cat, questioning Muffins were so fixated on him. But whenever he offered Muffins something, he refused it. The cat didn't seem to want something from Daniel, but rather was trying to tell him something.

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What Was The Cat Seeing?

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Daniel began to think that Muffins was seeing something that Daniel was missing. Now that he was comfortable around the house and welcomed into the family, he felt that Muffins wasn't concerned or afraid by anything that he was doing, but maybe something else was going on that he was missing.

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Maybe Muffins was seeing something and trying to capture Daniel's attention, to alert him to whatever it was that was going on.

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The Witching Hour

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Legend has it that the hour between 3 A.M. and 4 A.M. has a higher likelihood of strange things happening. In Western Christian folklore, this time of day sees a spike in supernatural activity, more than any other hour of the late-night or early morning.

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People question this folklore belief but it does make people wonder. Even those who don't believe in ghosts might open their mind to the possibility when strange things begin happening around their home during the witching hour.

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Cats And Witches Are Part Of The Same Story

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Another odd coincidence is that this strange string of asthma attacks started happening at this time only after adopting the cat. Sitting in the dark kitchen alone with the cat at 4 A.M. every morning became a strange ritual that Daniel no longer wanted in his life.

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Even weirder, cats have kept a connection with witches since the 15th century. It was believed that witches could shapeshift into cats, disguising themselves as they went about their witchcraft.

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Daniel Went Back to Bed

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As he usually did, Daniel finished his glass of water and retreated back to bed. There, he laid awake as his breathing returned to normal and he could get a couple more hours of sleep before starting his day.

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But thoughts were racing through his mind, and he knew that he wanted an answer to this situation that was straight-forward. He needed to figure out what was causing his asthma attacks, and he needed evidence.

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He Began Feeling Weird About The Cat

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Muffins
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The next morning, Daniel watched as his two young daughters played with Muffins. The cat lovingly nuzzled the girls' hands. and let them pick him up.

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Daniel had a strange feeling about the cat, even if he didn't have a solid answer to why he felt that way. All he knew is that the cat was now apart of the family, and he needed to find a way to feel comfortable about it.

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He Had An Idea

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Daniel decided that he wasn't going to spend another sleepless night wondering what was going on with the cat and waking up every day at 4 A.M. That morning, he came up with a plan.

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After everyone in the family was ready for the day and had eaten breakfast, Daniel grabbed his keys and wallet and headed out the door. He had a plan for solving this mystery that had been bugging him for far too long.

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He Bought A Night Vision Camera

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Daniel decided that he was going to install a camera in his home in order to help figure out what was going on that was causing him to wake up at 4 A.M. every morning. Not just any camera-- Daniel was going to purchase a camera that has night vision, and install it in the couple's bedroom.

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Hopefully, he would be able to capture whatever seemed to be going on, on film, and he would have an answer once and for all.

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He Installed The Camera Before Bedtime

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That day, Daniel installed the night vision camera in the couple's bedroom. His wife went ahead with the idea, hoping that it would put Daniel's mind at ease and capture anything on film.

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After putting his daughters to sleep that night, Daniel made sure that the video system was in place and working. Everything was running properly. That night, he hoped would be the last sleepless night. Soon, he'd have the answer. As he went off to bed, he saw Muffins lingering in the hallway nearby.

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The Same Thing Happened

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As usual, Daniel woke up and used his inhaler before returning back to bed. He was able to sleep better knowing that he would be able to watch the footage in a few hours.

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After waking up for the day, Daniel pulled the video up on his computer. There he could watch the footage and figure out if anything strange happened that night. He wasn't sure what he was expecting to find.

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What The Video Revealed

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Daniel watched the video. Most of it continued on without anything out of the ordinary. Set-up on his side of the bed, Daniel watched as the footage showed him sleeping in bed.

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He fast-forwarded to the time of the early morning when he would wake up. That's when he saw Muffins appear in the doorway of the bedroom. Then, he started walking to the end of the bed, and jumped up. Daniel stared intently at the video as he watched Muffins perch at the end of the bed.

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Muffins Lays On Top Of Daniel

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Although the couple tried to get Muffins to sleep with them in the bed many nights, he always refused to jump up on the bed and lay down.

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While the cat was friendly with Brian and snuggled on the couch with him, he never wanted to lay with him in the bed-- or so he thought! In the video, Muffins walks all the way over to Brian and lays down on his chest.

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His Body Covers His Nose And Mouth

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Initially, Muffins lays down on Daniel's chest. But as the cat gets more comfortable, he settles into sleeping on Daniel's neck, mouth, and nose!

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No wonder it was so difficult for Daniel to breathe! He had a cat laying on him! In the video, he could see that for several minutes, the cat laid on his chest and mouth, likely spreading his fur around and making it harder for Daniel to breathe in general.

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Then He Would Leave

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After sneaking a snuggle from his adoptive owner, Muffins would slyly hop off the bed and return to the hallway, staring at his owners as Brian always awoke to him doing.

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It appeared as though Muffins would get bored at the end of the night and would want to show his owner affection before they woke up. Maybe he was still shy. Daniel was much happier knowing it might just be an issue of being shy!

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He Shared His Findings With His Family

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Muffins
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Although his wife wasn't quite sure what to think of Daniel's idea of setting up the video camera, she didn't think that he would get an answer so quickly, either!

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Daniel found his wife to tell her what he found. As it turns out, their sweet cat was just trying to show him affection. And Muffins had no idea that laying on his chest and face would trigger his asthma!

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He Probably Just Wanted Company

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Maybe Muffins knew what he was doing after all-- and just wanted to get Daniel's attention when he was the most bored at 4 A.M.

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After it worked night after night, the cat probably thought it was their special hangout time. He wasn't catching onto the fact that his owner was completely freaked out! While paranormal activity might still be out there, more often than not, if you have a cat in the home, it's probably a lot more innocent than you may think.