LOL! Fortunately he gives up when I leave the kitchen area! And I've trained him not to nag me when I'm sleeping (see footnote for details below). Anyway, given that I'm not IN the kitchen the furby gives up and takes a nap. Just so long as I'm out of eyeshot of his bowl.

Footnote:

How to train your cat to stop trying to wake you up.

Tools need: 1 vacuum clean with a long cord. 1 door that closes between you and your cat when you sleep. 1 cat with a healthy fear of the vacuum cleaner.

Step 1) The night before training commenses park the vacuum outside your bedroom door, running the cable under the door and next to a plug where you can plug it in without getting out of bed. Turn on the vacuum cleaner, but leave it unplugged.

Step 2) Sleep. ZzzzZZzzzZ.

Step 3) Cat makes a fuss outside the door and wakes you up. Groggily reach for the plug and stick it in the socket for a bit. When you're convinced the cat got the message, unplug.

Step 4) Even if you're now wide-awake DO NOT go out the door for at least 10 minutes, otherwise you're training your cat to endure the noise because you'll get up.

Repeat this training for a couple of days. Later on you might need an occassional reinforcement but usually just the sight of Mr. Growly is enough of a warning.

If you have an especially tough case you might need to move the vacuum cleaner to just inside your door. So he won't come to the understanding that if he can't see the vacuum cleaner it can't wake up and growl. Fortunately my cat isn't that bright.