Lora Lee What does a day in the life of The Dedicated Feline Enthusiast look like? Well, it is a long and busy day, especially on the days that I have school. Below is what a normal work weekday looks like. Some days I get some help from my husband on the afternoon feedings because he gets home earlier than I do. Most days, the care of the 19 cats is done by me. So, here is a typical day in the life of me.
6:30am
Wake up. This is usually achieved by the cats before the alarm. Don’t even try to hit the snooze button. They know what the alarm sound means and will not give you that extra 5 minutes.
6:40am
Begin food and supplement preparation. Half of my inside cats have been transitioned to a species appropriate raw food diet. The other half are still transitioning. All the cats receive daily supplements. (More on raw food diets and supplements to come).
This is a very tricky process. Emmet is usually on the kitchen island, giving me head bumps every time I am close to him. Prudence is meowing as she makes laps around the kitchen island. Always have to watch where I walk so I don’t step on or kick her.
6:55am
Distribute food. I currently have 6 cats upstairs and 6 cats downstairs. Emmet eats on the kitchen island. He was getting special food due to a potential health condition and now that is where he eats. Some mornings, Emmet must take medicine. Prudence has recently moved upstairs and is not fully transitioned to raw, so she eats in a crate. The other 4 get their raw breakfast slightly separated so everyone can eat their meal without concern. I then take breakfast to the downstairs cats. Refresh their water and scoop their litter boxes. Give some snuggles and toss some treats.
7:10am
Back upstairs. Start the coffee pot and my breakfast sandwich maker. Scoop the upstairs litter boxes.
Make coffee and breakfast sandwich (to be eaten on the way to work). Take my probiotics and daily supplements
7:20am
Feed Panda (the outside cat who came with the house that we bought a couple of years ago).
Go out to the Cat House to tend to the colony cats that I moved from my old house 2 years ago. We have coyotes, so I bought a shed and converted it into a Cat House for them to live in and be warm and safe. Feed, refresh water, scoop litter boxes. Open windows and door to their screen porch (weather permitting).
7:35am
Have coffee as I am getting myself ready for the day. (A whole 30ish minutes to myself. Heavy on the -ish).
8:10am
Wash out breakfast bowls and get them ready for afternoon feeding. Crumble freeze dried raw for cats to eat during the day. Release Prudence for the day.
8:20am
Out the door for school. (After sayings byes, love you, and explaining where I’m going to my kitties).
4:00pm
Afternoon feeding of inside cats. This is usually completed by my husband. Unless he works late.
5:00pm
I arrive home from school. Most of the inside cats have been feed except for Emmet. He will not come out to eat until I get home, so I will feed Emmet his raw afternoon meal.
If this is a late workday for my husband, I will feed all 12 of the inside cats when I get home (repeat from morning routine).
5:20pm
Go out to the Cat House. I usually spend more time with them in the afternoons. I tidy up their house. Snuggle and play with them. Scoop their litter boxes. Find their toys that have been swatted into corners and under cabinets. Feed them and give some treats. Tuck them all in for the night.
6:00pm
Feed Panda. I have come a long way with Panda. The 1st year, he would hiss and run from me. Now, he walks around with me and always goes to the Cat House to visit his friends while I am out there. (Panda’s story)
6:15pm
Get myself ready for the next day. Set the coffee pot, get clothes ready, prep lunch. Routine is the key to my success. If one thing is off, then it all comes crumbling down.
6:30pm
Finally, a little time to myself. Check social media. Have some coffee.
6:45pm
Start dinner. We get a weekly meal box subscription, and this has been a life saver! Eliminates the never-ending debate of what to have for dinner. I usually do the prep and my husband finishes the cooking.
7:00pm
Final nighttime feeding of inside cats. This time I spend more time with the downstairs cats. Refresh their water. Scoop their litter boxes. Snuggle and play with them.
7:30pm
Back upstairs to eat dinner. Nom and clean up.
7:30pm – 9:00pm
This 90-minute block of time varies from day to day. Some nights I am playing with cats or chilling on the couch with cats. Some nights I am watching lives from some of my favorite accounts or diving down a new rabbit hole on a new topic of interest. It all depends on my mood and what my cats need or want.
9:00pm
Start the bedtime process. It is never just a get up and go to bed. There is a process. Scoop litter boxes for the night. Take up dinner bowls and wash. Crumble freeze dried for nighttime snack. Give supplements and treats. After completing the cat’s nighttime routine, I complete mine.
10:00pm
In bed to watch, maybe, 10 minutes of whatever I am currently watching before falling asleep.
And that is what a typical day looks like for me.
“Time spent with cats is never wasted”
– Sigmund Freud
