Cats and Their Calls

By Alexandra Cochran
Blog Content Contributor

It’s 7 AM and you’re wondering why your furry friend won’t stop begging you to get up and feed them. Jumping on your chest, licking you until you’re at your most uncomfortable. Your thoughts may sound a bit like: “How did this animal train you to wake up at the same time every morning? Can they read time? Should I throw away my alarm clock?” Every morning, these same questions run through my mind. I swear my cat must be gifted of some sort; maybe he’s worth more than what I got him for.

I adopted my pet, Finn, from a local shelter four years ago when I lived in Miami. Since living with me, he’s always been a really vocal cat; he lets me know when he’s hungry, wants to be pet, go outside and even responds when I call his name. While it’s healthy to be on a routine with your meals, who knew all cats were so punctual too. When Finn began to wake me up at the same time every morning, seven days of the week, I wanted to know if he was the only feline who’s on a food schedule. In one of my last articles, I mentioned Bethany Cosentino and her cat, Snacks (fitting name). Cosentino has lately been posting morning videos of Snacks begging for his breakfast and then it clicked, Finn wasn’t so peculiar after all!

Your cat is a creature of routine. Even just after a few days of sharing space with your furry friend, they will get to know your schedules as well as you do. With me, Finn wakes up when the birds begin to chirp. Birds begin to chirp in the morning as soon as dawn makes it way around which means, yes, 7 AM wake up calls. Sometimes this schedule gets draining and irritating if it’s a morning I have off or the weekend. Your cat could also tell when you’re waking up, which on some mornings is a blessing – as soon as you pick up your phone or yawn, Finn knows you’re not asleep and therefore, it’s time to eat. I did some more research and found out that, though seems lazy on my part, automatic food machines helps your cat stop begging you for food and rely more on the machine thus keeping you from awakening at the crack of dawn.

Although this could seem like practice for children in the future, I do not think I am ready for anything beyond the responsibility of caring for Finn. The bright side of all this is that I have been able to rely on my cat as a wake up call instead of a digital alarm clock. If you have trouble with your cat waking you up at inappropriate hours that seem to be unhealthy for your sleep routine, visit this page for some tips! Until then, Finn has me wrapped around his finger.

Featured image by Alexandra Cochran.