The cats have a good internal clock. They know when they’re hungry. Our three original strays gathered outside the front door to let us know.
Clockwise from top: Dusty, Chloe, Rusty
Their internal clocks haven’t been adjusted for the end of daylight savings time.
Great pic of your three original strays.
Actually this is the mother, Chloe and her two babies, Dusty and Rusty.
Leah: I’m not sure it’s hunger all the time rather than simple habit. Our indoor cats, well fed and with access to unlimited dry kibble, start to bother us at the same time each morning and evening whether they’re hungry or not. They’re really a pain in the neck in the morning–and especially on “sleep in” weekends.
Scott — I know what you mean about habit. When we came home from the grocery store tonight at about 8:30 the three of them greeted us in the driveway, like they were expecting to be fed. And I did give them some treats. They used to have access to food 24 hours a day, so I guess they got used to eating off and on all day. We stopped putting food out all day when the foxes started eating it. It looks like we won’t have that trouble now.
Zoe is staying outside now, after 8 years of sleeping inside. When he was an indoor cat, he woke us up every morning meowing for his food, plus making a mess from his litter box. Now he seems to want to go outside. Chloe is starting to sleep on our bed, now that the nights are getting longer. She will start butting me in the head and purring pretty early.