We have all been feeling it. The Winter Season is hard. It is getting darker A LOT earlier. We are all getting into hibernation mode. All of this deeply affects not only our daily routines, but our mood as well. What you may not realize is that this time of year affects our cats even more. We need to pay attention to how they are adjusting to not only the time change, but also the shift in their daily routines due to the time change. Knowing how the winter season affects your cats will help to keep them happy and healthy over the next few months.
Time Change/Daily Routines
Whenever we have to do time changes, it messes with me. I, especially, hate the “fall back” one. While I appreciate the “extra” hour of sleep the first couple of days (until my body adjusts to the new wake up time), I definitely don’t appreciate the whole getting darker at 5pm!! The time changes can really mess with my cats. To them, they are getting fed a whole hour later than normal and that is totally unacceptable. Their routine is completely different, and they are not appreciative about it at all.
Sloopy, subtly, reminding me it’s time to eat.
The first morning of this time change, the one that I “should have” been able to get an extra hour of sleep, was tough. I got an extra 20 minutes, if that. My cats were very concerned that I had completely forgotten about them and our designated breakfast time. They proceeded to step on my bladder numerous times in an effort to wake me up. At one point, Cactus started licking my face. I am not sure if she was trying to wake me up or test to see if I was dead and ready to become her next meal. Either way, I decided it was probably safer to just get up and feed them breakfast.
Hibernation Mode
I actually love winter. The holiday season. Christmas movies. Gathering with friends and family. I even love the colder temperatures. One of the best things is to snuggle under a blanket with my cats and watch Christmas movies. Sometimes, snuggling under a blanket is all that I want to do. Colder temperatures and shorter days are meant for snuggling and cuddling. Hibernation mode kicks in. The cats love it. Especially my lap cats.
Gone are the warm days on the screen porch.
The same goes for our cats. Colder temperatures and shorter days may have them going into hibernation mode as well. You may notice them sleeping curled up with their noses tucked in. This is their way of staying warm. You should always play with your cats daily, but especially during the winter season. During the warmer months, my cats have access to our screen porch which gives them enrichment and stimulation. Once it gets too cold for them to go outside, I start to provide them with extra enrichment and stimulation to help keep them happy and healthy through the winter months.
Winter Blues
The winter season can be difficult for us and our cats. Seasonal depression can affect all of us. As much as we just would like to stay huddled together on the couch and not do anything but stay warm, we need to ensure that our cats are not falling prey to seasonal depression or stress. With the time change combined with the colder, darker days, our cats can get stressed if their routine is changed too much. If you notice that your cat might be sleeping too much, they may be stressed or depressed. Keeping a watch on how the winter season affects your cats will help keep them happy and healthy.
Cactus snoozing soundly.
“You can not look at a sleeping cat andfeel tense.” – Jane Pauley
Lora Lee 
