Every dog I've ever had has done the exact same thing.
My current kitties also get upset if I wake up too early.
Then again a lot of things upset them, including spending too much time with my wife, skipping home workouts (they get petted in between sets), and standing up too often to stretch (one of them spends ~50% of the day sitting on my lap while I code).
Otherwise they are pretty chill.
You got to be more assertive with your cats, your literally 10-20 times their size, give them food and protection and they know it. One good technique I've found that doesn't escalate things is to blow air in their face (with your mouth). They tend to go away, but they also don't get pissed off. Don't want them somewhere, physically move them , without emotion. Find them annoying, blow in their face or move them (gently) away. You can escalate with water spraying.
Ours is upset we don't watch more TV [1] - amazingly good cuddle time for her and I'm not sure she isn't also watching.
[1] TV watched when we should be playing with cat results in frustrated and distracting cat.
I wasn't ready for this - my kitten started doing this lately (or I have to seal off the room I'm working on, ignore her pleas and let her go sleep in a kids bed).