Are you sure he's getting enough to eat and is satisfied? Sounds like he trying to get your attention, and it may be because he's hungry.

My cat, who weighs 10 lbs., eats only canned and she gets at least 4 cans (3 oz cans) a day and is fed 1 can about every 4 hours. Recommended feeding is 1 can per 2-3 pounds of body weight.....over a 24 hr period.
If you aren't able to feed him canned food thru the day, then leave out a bowl of his favorite dry food and feed him canned when you're home. Also, try to find at least 2 flavors he loves, then alternate them when he gets picky.

Will your GM be keeping him permanently?

One way to keep him out of the bedroom: close the door.

Because of his weight, the vet recommended only canned food - 3/4 can twice a day.

He gets that with dry food sprinkled on top -- if he doesn't get his "crunchies" he will bug you.

My mother will watch him for 10 days while we are on vacation at her condo. We have done this many times before. He has gotten her foot good once when she was making her bed.

I wish I could lock him out of my room but he will scratch and meow and the door and wake us up.

I'd like to hear others views on this, but I think 1 1/2 cans of food is not enough.....if you're feeding the typical small cans. Weight loss takes months so it's important to monitor your cat and make sure he's not losing too fast.....or not at all.
Check out the link below for more info on cats and the safe way for them to lose weight.
In case you miss it, here is the link (found on the site) for figuring out calories in the brand you feed. http://www.catinfo.org/docs/FoodChartPublic9-22-12.pdf

You should find the section 'how much to feed' helpful in getting your kitty to lose weight and stay happy.
I still think your cat is frustrated from hunger and feeding several small meals a day, vs 2x/day, will put him in a better frame of mind. :)

Here is a link that might be useful: Cats and food

It sounds like he also might be bored. Do you play with him at all? Maybe try getting one of those toys on a fishing line and get him tuckered out a couple of times a day. He needs to get some of that "hunting energy" worked out, so he's not taking it out on your feet! That would also help with weight loss.

My cat weighs 15 lbs. He gets 1/2 can (3 oz.) twice a day and free feeds on dry food. He eats maybe a cup of that a day.

He has been fed this for years and his weight has been stable for years.

He's a big boy.

Uh oh - you didnt really get out of bed to chase him down did you? Bad move. Nothing more fun to a bored cat than a game of Chase Me. Cats who live together play that game all the time - one pokes at the other to get him to chase. Now he's going to keep at it, and if you try to ignore him he'll try 10 times harder to get your attention because you gave in to him that one time. You've already said the squirt bottle doesn't affect him, so ditch that idea. Your cat reminds me of my cat Figgy - you just need to play him hard in the evening - and in the morning. Clear space in your house so he has room to run. Find out whether he's a cat who specializes in stalking/chasing things on the ground or likes to catch flying things in the air, or both. Ping pong balls, super balls, crumpled up tin foil, feather toys on a string, etc. - whatever it takes.

4 or 5 a.m. is an active hour for cats because in nature that's when they'd be hunting, sun up and sun down. The food thing may indeed be part of it - if he's hungry that would explain why he's working so hard at it. With Figgy, who tends to binge eat and get too overweight if I leave food out, I had to remove carbs esp. grains from his diet because that did make him noticeably more aggressive and obnoxious to me and to my other cat Orange. Corn and other carbs can be as addictive a food for cats as tortilla corn chips are to some of us humans (myself included). Is he losing weight? I think you can feed him a little bit more canned without worrying too much about weight gain, as long as it doesnt have carbs in it. Or, feed him strips of chicken you keep in the fridge. My cats get a combination of Into the Wild dry food (no grains) and canned and they are doing nicely. Figgy still loves his food and still a bit on the chunky side but not obese.

"My mother will watch him for 10 days while we are on vacation at her condo. "

since he will only be there for a short time I'd take him off his diet while you are away, he can always lose the weight when you come back. But I agree with annz that it sounds like he is hungry. But it doesn't take long to slim down a small animal like a cat and sometimes even a small reduction in food is enough to get his diet right, and also with kibble it's better to feed a quality brand that is high protein (and avoid high carb foods as kashka mentioned). IMO when cats act up like this they are trying to tell you something and they're just not very subtle about getting their message across.

my cat acts up if she is hungry or she needs to use her litter tray and it's soiled (she is very fussy about having a clean tray) but once she's happy with things and her needs are met she completely calms down

This post was edited by trancegemini_wa on Thu, Jun 6, 13 at 12:16

How annoying this is! It's so great to have someone take care of your cat, but your dear mother has to come ahead of the cat, right? How does she feel about keeping the cat? Scratches to the feet for a senior are no joke. Can she keep the cat out of her own bedroom, or is that difficult?

I wonder if kitty wants to play. Do you have a fishing pole toy? Little balls for chasing or other toys?

Does the kitty react to noise? I know some dogs don't like the noise of a can with rocks or coins inside, shaken. (That should be popular at 5:30 a.m. ha ha.)

Does your dear mother have any high-top boots? (Just kidding.)