Autumn arrived Saturday to Sunday night and we must back time. We are all very happy to win an hour of sleep. Unfortunately, your cat is not aware of the change and will wake you up an hour early. Even though some will wake up by themselves one hour before because of their internal clock. That’s what happens with your cat when you wake up an hour earlier: its internal clock drives him to wake up to its usual time. This is what is called the circadian rhythm.
You probably noticed that your cat always take a nap at the same places every time of the day. This routine is one of the main characteristics of the cat. Like humans, the cat is a usual beast. In fact, the routine of the cat is probably more accurate than ours. Did your cat ever wake you up a few minutes before your alarm? But how does he do? Cats are very sensitive to the degree of brightness during the day, they follow their internal clock. It will also rely on their owner routine. A majority of cats will even change their natural circadian rhythm to adopt ours. Normally, the cat is a nocturnal animal that is active and hunt at night. Many cats sleep at night to take advantage of their caresses in the day. This show the importance how the routine of the owner can have on a cat.
In fact, for many cats, significant changes in their routine will increase their level of anxiety that can cause behavioral problems. It is not uncommon for cats who live with owners that works on various shifts, such as nurses, police officers and students to have those kind of problems. They are simply unable to create a stable routine. This increases the anxiety that create behavior problems as; do there needs out of the litter, may develop obsessive and compulsive problems (like biting wire or licked). It is important to know that these problems may have other causes.
Note that cats should be readily adaptable to minors or means change. But unfortunately, many cats are separated too early from their mother. They have not learned to control their emotions and their anxiety. A cat should stay 14 weeks with her mother. Often they are separate after only 8 weeks. It is precisely between the 5th and 14th week that the cat learns to control his emotions and create his own routine when is mother is away.
That’s why, with cat, major changes must occur with gentleness and always be done with a lot of positive reinforcement. When there’s new member in the family, they should always give a lot of treats the first days. A cat in a new home should discover the home room by room by finding treats everywhere. When you find the needs to change the type of litter your have to do it gradually during a week or two.
Even if you wish to have a stable routine, that doesn’t mean it has to be boring. Small weekly changes in the kinds of games and in the environment can be very beneficial for your cat.
So next time we change time, be patient. Your cat will take about 3 days to understand that the routine has changed. Good sleep everyone!
