diff --git a/bot/routes/memory.py b/bot/routes/memory.py
index 83a6ca3..af7e65d 100644
--- a/bot/routes/memory.py
+++ b/bot/routes/memory.py
@@ -1,5 +1,8 @@
 """Cheshire Cat memory management routes."""
 
+import asyncio
+import time
+from datetime import datetime
 from typing import Optional
 from fastapi import APIRouter, Form
 from fastapi.responses import JSONResponse
@@ -88,13 +91,68 @@ async def get_episodic_memories():
 
 @router.post("/memory/consolidate")
 async def trigger_memory_consolidation():
-    """Manually trigger memory consolidation (sleep consolidation process)."""
+    """
+    Trigger memory consolidation as a background task.
+
+    Returns immediately — the Web UI should poll /memory/status
+    to see when consolidation completes and view the result.
+    """
     from utils.cat_client import cat_adapter
-    logger.info("🌙 Manual memory consolidation triggered via API")
-    result = await cat_adapter.trigger_consolidation()
-    if result is None:
-        return JSONResponse(status_code=500, content={"success": False, "error": "Consolidation failed or timed out"})
-    return {"success": True, "result": result}
+    from utils.consolidation_scheduler import get_consolidation_status
+    
+    # Check if already running
+    status = get_consolidation_status()
+    if status.get('is_running'):
+        return {"success": True, "message": "Consolidation is already running", "status": status}
+    
+    logger.info("🌙 Manual memory consolidation triggered via API (background)...")
+    
+    # Launch consolidation as a background task so the API returns immediately.
+    # The result is tracked via consolidation_scheduler's _last_consolidation state.
+    asyncio.create_task(_run_consolidation_background())
+    
+    return {"success": True, "message": "Consolidation started in background. Check status via /memory/status"}
+
+
+async def _run_consolidation_background():
+    """
+    Run consolidation as a background task, updating the scheduler state.
+    This prevents the API from blocking for minutes.
+    """
+    from utils.cat_client import cat_adapter
+    from utils.consolidation_scheduler import _last_consolidation
+    
+    _last_consolidation['is_running'] = True
+    _last_consolidation['last_run'] = datetime.now().isoformat()
+    _last_consolidation['total_runs'] += 1
+    start_time = time.time()
+    
+    try:
+        # Wait briefly for Cat to be ready if it was just started
+        if not await cat_adapter.health_check():
+            _last_consolidation['last_error'] = 'Cat health check failed'
+            _last_consolidation['is_running'] = False
+            return
+        
+        result = await cat_adapter.trigger_consolidation(timeout=600)
+        elapsed = time.time() - start_time
+        
+        if result:
+            logger.info(f"🌙 Manual consolidation completed in {elapsed:.1f}s: {result[:200]}")
+            _last_consolidation['last_result'] = result
+            _last_consolidation['last_error'] = None
+            _last_consolidation['successful_runs'] += 1
+        else:
+            logger.error(f"🌙 Manual consolidation returned no result after {elapsed:.1f}s")
+            _last_consolidation['last_error'] = f'No result returned after {elapsed:.1f}s (timeout or connection error)'
+    
+    except Exception as e:
+        elapsed = time.time() - start_time
+        logger.error(f"🌙 Manual consolidation failed after {elapsed:.1f}s: {e}")
+        _last_consolidation['last_error'] = str(e)
+    
+    finally:
+        _last_consolidation['is_running'] = False
 
 
 @router.post("/memory/delete")
diff --git a/bot/static/js/memories.js b/bot/static/js/memories.js
index 39732c3..0198ba6 100644
--- a/bot/static/js/memories.js
+++ b/bot/static/js/memories.js
@@ -96,18 +96,54 @@ async function triggerConsolidation() {
   btn.disabled = true;
   btn.textContent = '⏳ Running...';
   status.textContent = 'Consolidation in progress (this may take a few minutes)...';
+  status.style.color = '#dcb06f';
   resultDiv.style.display = 'none';
 
   try {
     const data = await apiCall('/memory/consolidate', 'POST');
 
     if (data.success) {
-      status.textContent = '✅ Consolidation complete!';
-      status.style.color = '#6fdc6f';
-      resultDiv.textContent = data.result || 'Consolidation finished successfully.';
-      resultDiv.style.display = 'block';
-      showNotification('Memory consolidation complete', 'success');
-      refreshMemoryStats();
+      status.textContent = '⏳ Consolidation started — waiting for completion...';
+      
+      // Poll /memory/status until consolidation finishes
+      const pollInterval = 5000; // 5 seconds
+      const maxPolls = 120; // 10 minutes max
+      
+      for (let i = 0; i < maxPolls; i++) {
+        await new Promise(r => setTimeout(r, pollInterval));
+        
+        const statusData = await apiCall('/memory/status');
+        const cons = statusData.consolidation;
+        
+        if (!cons.is_running) {
+          // Consolidation finished
+          if (cons.last_error) {
+            status.textContent = '❌ ' + cons.last_error;
+            status.style.color = '#ff6b6b';
+            resultDiv.textContent = 'Error: ' + cons.last_error;
+            resultDiv.style.display = 'block';
+            showNotification('Consolidation failed: ' + cons.last_error, 'error');
+          } else {
+            status.textContent = '✅ Consolidation complete!';
+            status.style.color = '#6fdc6f';
+            resultDiv.textContent = cons.last_result || 'Consolidation finished successfully.';
+            resultDiv.style.display = 'block';
+            showNotification('Memory consolidation complete', 'success');
+          }
+          refreshMemoryStats();
+          break;
+        } else {
+          // Still running — update status message
+          status.textContent = `⏳ Consolidation still running... (${Math.round((i + 1) * pollInterval / 1000)}s elapsed)`;
+        }
+      }
+      
+      // If we exited the loop without finishing
+      const finalStatus = await apiCall('/memory/status');
+      if (finalStatus.consolidation?.is_running) {
+        status.textContent = '⏳ Consolidation still running — check back later';
+        status.style.color = '#dcb06f';
+      }
     } else {
       status.textContent = '❌ ' + (data.error || 'Consolidation failed');
       status.style.color = '#ff6b6b';
diff --git a/bot/utils/cat_client.py b/bot/utils/cat_client.py
index b0d297b..2a0d57d 100644
--- a/bot/utils/cat_client.py
+++ b/bot/utils/cat_client.py
@@ -577,46 +577,51 @@ class CatAdapter:
             logger.error(f"Error clearing conversation history: {e}")
             return False
 
-    async def trigger_consolidation(self) -> Optional[str]:
+    async def trigger_consolidation(self, timeout: int = 600) -> Optional[str]:
         """
         Trigger memory consolidation by sending a special message via WebSocket.
-        The memory_consolidation plugin's tool 'consolidate_memories' is
-        triggered when it sees 'consolidate now' in the text.
+        The memory_consolidation plugin's agent_prompt_prefix hook detects
+        'consolidate now' in the text and runs the consolidation synchronously.
         Uses WebSocket with a system user ID for proper context.
+        
+        Args:
+            timeout: Max seconds to wait for the consolidation response.
+                     Default 600 (10 min) as consolidation + LLM call can be slow.
         """
         try:
             ws_base = self._base_url.replace("http://", "ws://").replace("https://", "wss://")
             ws_url = f"{ws_base}/ws/system_consolidation"
 
-            logger.info("🌙 Triggering memory consolidation via WS...")
+            logger.info(f"🌙 Triggering memory consolidation via WS (timeout={timeout}s)...")
 
             async with aiohttp.ClientSession() as session:
                 async with session.ws_connect(
                     ws_url,
-                    timeout=300,  # Consolidation can be very slow
+                    timeout=timeout,
                 ) as ws:
                     await ws.send_json({"text": "consolidate now"})
 
                     # Wait for the final chat response
-                    deadline = asyncio.get_event_loop().time() + 300
+                    deadline = asyncio.get_event_loop().time() + timeout
+                    last_type = ""
 
                     while True:
                         remaining = deadline - asyncio.get_event_loop().time()
                         if remaining <= 0:
-                            logger.error("Consolidation timed out (>300s)")
+                            logger.error(f"🌙 Consolidation timed out (>{timeout}s)")
                             return "Consolidation timed out"
 
                         try:
                             ws_msg = await asyncio.wait_for(
                                 ws.receive(),
-                                timeout=remaining
+                                timeout=max(1.0, remaining)
                             )
                         except asyncio.TimeoutError:
-                            logger.error("Consolidation WS receive timeout")
+                            logger.error("🌙 Consolidation WS receive timeout")
                             return "Consolidation timed out waiting for response"
 
                         if ws_msg.type in (aiohttp.WSMsgType.CLOSE, aiohttp.WSMsgType.CLOSING, aiohttp.WSMsgType.CLOSED):
-                            logger.warning("Consolidation WS closed by server")
+                            logger.warning("🌙 Consolidation WS closed by server")
                             return "Connection closed during consolidation"
                         if ws_msg.type == aiohttp.WSMsgType.ERROR:
                             return f"WebSocket error: {ws.exception()}"
@@ -631,20 +636,24 @@ class CatAdapter:
                         msg_type = msg.get("type", "")
                         if msg_type == "chat":
                             reply = msg.get("content") or msg.get("text", "")
-                            logger.info(f"Consolidation result: {reply[:200]}")
+                            logger.info(f"🌙 Consolidation result: {reply[:200]}")
                             return reply
                         elif msg_type == "error":
                             error_desc = msg.get("description", "Unknown error")
-                            logger.error(f"Consolidation error: {error_desc}")
+                            logger.error(f"🌙 Consolidation error: {error_desc}")
                             return f"Consolidation error: {error_desc}"
                         else:
+                            # Log unexpected message types for debugging
+                            if msg_type != last_type:
+                                logger.debug(f"🌙 Consolidation WS msg type: {msg_type}")
+                                last_type = msg_type
                             continue
 
         except asyncio.TimeoutError:
-            logger.error("Consolidation WS connection timed out")
+            logger.error("🌙 Consolidation WS connection timed out")
             return None
         except Exception as e:
-            logger.error(f"Consolidation error: {e}")
+            logger.error(f"🌙 Consolidation error: {e}", exc_info=True)
             return None
 
     # ====================================================================