Are Cats Creature Of Habit?

[DeannaF]

I'm wondering...

My handsome guy is 12 months old and I've noticed he's started to wake me up really early in the morning on the weekends. What's weird is, it's NOT to eat (we feed him wet food at 6pm and dry during the day). He just wants me to sit with him on the couch!

Mon-Friday my husband and I are both up at 5am for work. Saturday and Sundays we like to sleep in a little (it's never past 7am) but I can't. My little guy will meow and meow non stop and I frantically think he's hurt or locked in a room or something but nope, he's standing there outside the opening of our room and looking at me purring.

Do they get to know your schedule? Maybe he's just used to us being up so early 5 days of the week? He does sleep right beside me during the night which I love. We've had him for 4 months now and we love him to pieces..still figuring him out.

 

[Animal Freak]

Absolutely. Animals in general seem to have an internal clock. It doesn't take long for them to figure out when it's time to get up or time to eat which is impressive since I can't keep track of time even with a clock. Cats, especially, like they're routines. It's often part of what makes transitions so difficult for them. They don't like a change in their routine. It can be something as small as a change in their litter or something as big as a move; cats don't like it. So yes, I would say your cat is just trying to stick to the routine, especially if he tries to wake you up at the same time you would normally wake up.

 

[PushPurrCatPaws]

The best thing about this is that if you keep up the routine of 5 days with wake-up at 5 am, and then two days with wake-up at 7 am, week after week, repeat and rinse, as they say... over time the smart cat will learn that there are broader weekly routines as well! That daily routines are part of weekly routines, and some humans even have monthly and yearly routines. It takes time, though, and a very habitual human. lol

Good luck sleeping in! He's only a year old, so he is still on Daily Routine Time.

 

[susanm9006]

Yes, yes, yes, they so are creatures of habit and routine. So we need to be very very careful not to set up routines that we don't want to continue. For example, if you give a cat some water from the tuna as you open the can, you will forever have at cat at your feet every time you open the can. Instead save the water and give it to them at their designated treat time. I used to buy the cats canned treats whenever I went to the grocery store and would give it to them right away when I got home until I realized I was getting mobbed while trying to get groceries put away because they wanted their treat.

Another routine some fall into is petting or playing with the cat in the bed, so the cat starts to think that all they need to do when they are bored or want to play is wake you up. If instead when you are in bed you ignore the cat they find other things to occupy themselves, hopefully off in another room.