Creatures of Habit

Aren't we all creatures of habit? There is a certain sense of comfort when we do things the same way, day after day. It requires much less thought to live that way. And if humans are that way, cats are even more so.



Look at our two cats. PC (Presiding Cat) is the gray tabby, Partner is the black and white one. What are they looking for? To explain, I have to tell you about our habits. Every night, just before I go to bed, I prepare the cats' breakfasts. That isn't just a matter of scooping some dry food out of a bag or canned food out of a can. PC is diabetic, and even though he doesn't need shots anymore, he still has to eat prescription food to maintain his blood sugar levels. And each meal has to have some powdered fiber and some canned pumpkin mixed in to keep his system moving. Partner has even more issues and each meal I prepare for him includes two different medicines, just to keep his system moving.

In the morning, John is the first one up and PC meows until John gets their food out of the refrigerator and serves it to them. Often, he begins meowing earlier , before anyone is up, if he is hungry. If I should stir in the bedroom, it doesn't quiet the meowing because he knows I don't serve breakfast.

But the rest of the day, the story is different. I am the source of food coming out of the refrigerator and down onto the floor. So, if the cats are hungry and I move toward the kitchen even slightly, they hurry to meet me there. But John can move around as he pleases because he doesn't feed them later in the day. By the way, they are very spoiled and I put their food down several times each morning, afternoon and evening so they can graze for a few minutes.

All of this is to explain what the cats are looking for in the picture at the top of this blog. Last night I bagged up all the trash and walked out of the front door to take it to the dump. Since both cats had been hoping to see their food put down when I got up to gather the trash, they followed me to the door. John took their picture as they patiently watched and waited. As you can see, they were still there when I returned and opened the door.



They then led me to the kitchen and waited till I pulled their food dishes out of the refrigerator.

Aren't habits funny, though?