Morning routine of a cat parent

Morning routine of a cat mum Of late, a query has been weaving through the tapestry of my thoughts, persistent and haunting: What is the first thing other cat parents do when they get up in the morning? And by that, I don't mean the first thing after the shower or the bathroom. I mean really the very first thing. Is it feeding the cats, like it is for me?

Most mornings, I find myself moving like a sleepwalker to the living room, guided by my impatient cat Snow, who has been trying to wake me up since 5 o'clock and probably uttering cat curses in her language. I must admit that I do not necessarily hate the attention bestowed upon me by my otherwise very shy ball of fur. Nonetheless, I cannot help but wonder if this is the best for either of us in the long term.

This is why, I was particularly intrigued by a video I watched on Instagram about feeding cats and dealing with the begging behaviour ⁸. Please feel free to go ahead and watch the video for yourself, it's linked below. The video creator advises reducing predictability, especially temporal predictability when it comes to feeding. In other words, we should not feed our cats always at the same time, nor immediately after waking up. Instead, it's better to engage in a different activity first, like having coffee, and to utilize signals or cues prior to feeding your cat to establish a sense of predictable routine (signaled predictability).

I cannot find studies online which prove the advantage of signaled predictability over temporal predictability specifically in cats. However, there are studies on captive animals ^{1, 2, 3, 4} which suggest that unpredictable schedules increase species typical behaviour, whereas predictability reduces stress. Other research on cats also indicates that a predictable environment helps with stress but foraging enrichment (mentally stimulating activities, such as food puzzles, to mimic natural hunting and scavenging behaviours) is also important ^{5, 6}.

You can refer to this and this guide, if you are looking for a free and complete behavioural guide for your cat.

I will surely read more about different types of predictability and maybe, just maybe, one day Snow will stop galloping on me or making biscuits on my bladder in her attempt to get food earlier in the morning :)

Sources

The Beginner Cat Club

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Morning routine of a cat parent