Reset incompatible feeding expectations by keeping mealtimes the same time each and every single day and for each feeding. This is key to stress reduction. Research shows cats thrive on schedules. Begin now to alter changed or erratic schedules through a span of 15 minute adjustment periods over the course of a week. For example, with this month’s autumn daylight savings change all activities were set back one hour including cat feeding times which meant that a cat fed at 7AM was now being fed a full hour later. Allow for adapting to the change by feeding 45 minutes earlier for the first two days, then 30 minutes earlier for the third and fourth day and 15 minutes earlier for the fifth and sixth day to recalibrate timing. (You can change the increments to shorter time spans than 15 minutes just know that doing so will call for a longer span of days to fit the adjustment period into.)
Offset the stresses of schedule changes and add to your human-cat relationship by providing for interactive play time in the evenings. A minimum of three minutes of play with a fishing wand toy (experiment to determine preference and remember to draw objects away from and across your cat’s line of vision) will give your cat some predatory fun time. And just as with feeding times, keeping playtime on schedule and doing it, can help to give your cat that elusive sense of control domestic cats are looking for.
Domestic cats are descended from the African wild cat. This species is more territorial compared to the Scottish or European wild cats which made the African wild cat the more likely candidate for domestication. Francis Galton, writing about domestication in 1865, noted that the domestic cat was not necessarily gregarious or easy to take care of but “retained by its extraordinary adhesion of the house in which it is reared.” This extreme attachment to place comes with attachment to what occurs in that place. The cat’s welfare is directly and forcefully impacted by routine and environmental events. A ground breaking study done in 2011 found that disruption to routine resulted in sickness behaviors in healthy cats and that providing an enriched environment to sick cats resulted in a significant decrease in the number of sickness behaviors and/or symptoms exhibited. The study found that keeping the time the same every single day for each feeding was paramount to stress reduction. Other factors were providing for the same caregiver, playing classical music (no rap or heavy metal please) offering playtime including the interactive kind, keeping clean litter boxes in the same locations and avoiding manual restraint.
Putting together a recipe for cat contentedness includes providing an enriched environment for your feline companion with consistency and routine. To get there make sure your home offers cat perches like window seats or cat towers, enough cat scratchers, classical music, puzzle feeders, toys to play with and human interaction—make time for cat play and petting time.. And pay attention to what time kitty gets to eat, to make everyone in the family happy.
References:
Stella, J.L., Lord, L.K., Buffington, C.A.T. (2011). Sickness behaviors in response to unusual external events in healthy cats and cats with feline interstitial cystitis. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, 238, 1, 67-73
Piccione, G., Marafioti, S., Giannetto, Panzera, M., Fazio, F. (2013) Daily rhythm of total activity patterns in domestic cats (Felis silvestris catus) maintained in two different housing conditions. Journal of Veterinary Behavior: Clinical Applications and Research. Published online January 7, 2013.
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