On the brains of cats
My cat's normal feeding routine is this. When I get up and go downstairs in the morning, she gets wet food. More wet food is given last thing at night. Dry food gets filled up as and when. When I come home from work, she gets some cat milk. She does appear to have quite a good sense of time when it comes to the cat milk, at least, since if it's a weekend and I'm in all day, she rouses herself from sleep and goes to stand by her milk bowl at my usual home time, and is seldom more than 10 minutes out.
This morning I got up at 4. Clearly it was time for breakfast. "Meow! Meow! Starving! It's hoooouuuuurs since I last ate!" shouted the cat. I ignored her, and went out for May morning dancing.
At 7.30, I got back in again. Since it was now more or less her usual breakfast time, I gave her some breakfast. Nope, said the cat. Not interested. So I made myself a cup of tea and went upstairs. She followed me, wailing. "Why? Why? Why are you treating me so cruelly?" she shouted. I told her that I'd given her food. I took her downstairs and showed it to her, but still the wailing went on. Finally, I realised that in Honeycat world, I had just got in - clearly from work - so it was time for cat milk. I gave her some, and all was well in her world. She drank it happily, and went to bed. She still didn't eat her breakfast, though.
I went back to bed, and got up at 11. "Waaah!" wailed the cat. "Breakfast! You've just got up! Give me breakfast! Why aren't you giving me breakfast?" "Um, because I've already given it to you?" I suggested. "Because it's right there in front of you?." "Nope, I see no breakfast," said the cat, so I picked up the bowl, put it on the working surface, waited a few seconds, and put it down again. "Oh, thank you! Thank you!" she shouted. "You've given me breakfast!" and happily ate it.
Cats!
This morning I got up at 4. Clearly it was time for breakfast. "Meow! Meow! Starving! It's hoooouuuuurs since I last ate!" shouted the cat. I ignored her, and went out for May morning dancing.
At 7.30, I got back in again. Since it was now more or less her usual breakfast time, I gave her some breakfast. Nope, said the cat. Not interested. So I made myself a cup of tea and went upstairs. She followed me, wailing. "Why? Why? Why are you treating me so cruelly?" she shouted. I told her that I'd given her food. I took her downstairs and showed it to her, but still the wailing went on. Finally, I realised that in Honeycat world, I had just got in - clearly from work - so it was time for cat milk. I gave her some, and all was well in her world. She drank it happily, and went to bed. She still didn't eat her breakfast, though.
I went back to bed, and got up at 11. "Waaah!" wailed the cat. "Breakfast! You've just got up! Give me breakfast! Why aren't you giving me breakfast?" "Um, because I've already given it to you?" I suggested. "Because it's right there in front of you?." "Nope, I see no breakfast," said the cat, so I picked up the bowl, put it on the working surface, waited a few seconds, and put it down again. "Oh, thank you! Thank you!" she shouted. "You've given me breakfast!" and happily ate it.
Cats!