How do you create a routine for a cat?

[Puppylucky]

Particularly one who doesn't seem to want one! Marvie continues to settle in well but I'm slightly concerned with how bossy he's getting. Not aggressive but very assertive about getting what he wants. His attitude would be cute if he wasn't so strong and athletic - when he smacks you with a paw it hurts!
Talking about him to a more experienced cat owner she suggested that part of the issue might be a lack of a clear routine. Basically he doesn't understand what he's expected to do when - like eat / sleep etc. It makes sense due to his relative lack of socialization - he's used to doing what he wants when he wants, so we are trying to create more set points during the day but it's proving very difficult. For example, closing blinds/ shutters / doors at night to signal it's time to wind down doesn't work with a cat who can just open them again! Similarly keeping to a regular feeding schedule is very difficult if some days he's been up half the night and doesn't emerge for breakfast until lunchtime! Playtime also moves around based on how many other things he gets distracted by during the day. Our wand toy can't compete with a pigeon outside the window.
Does anyone have any tips to try and get him into more of a routine or are we trying to herd cats - literally! Cat tax attached of the boy still in his pit at lunchtime!

Cat routine? I guess mine are on one as they suddenly appear at meal time. They are also confined downstairs (door from there to stairs) overnight so can’t demand breakfast at 5am.
Fortunately cats are small so you can pick them up and remove them from whatever. I guess if you have a scratching cat that’s annoying, but they don’t like being ignored so if they lash out remove yourself or them.

Control

Cat.

🤣😂🤣😂🤣

Had anyone said it yet?

Dogs have owners.

Cats have slaves.

No you’re not mad!!! We adopted an undersocialised ginger floof from RSPCA, an ex stray with no experience of being in a home, food anxiety and absolutely no manners, but he would bite, no swipe. The first night we had him he yelled several times a minute until 5am… the concept that the humans sleep was obviously a new one 😂

We did;

1. Food at the same time every day, religiously.
2. Food in a timed feeder, not from us, so he didn’t bother us for food for hours ( he did attack the feeder a few times!)
3. Playtime before bed, loads of interaction and activity to tire him out. We play at other times too, but this one is a set time.
4. Shut in the kitchen every night, until he learnt to sleep when we did 😂

He soon got it, cats LOVE routine and he now comes and shouts at us if we do anything in the wrong order. He also knows exactly when dinner is because he is much politer when he’s campaigning for an earlier dinner rather than when we’re actually late! He no longer needs shutting in a room overnight and when DCat 2 arrived a few years later we did the same thing. He clearly used to want to play all morning (when we work) so getting him in the routine has shifted him to playing at 5pm when we finish work!

We’ve now got them sleeping when we’re sleeping/working and give plenty of attention and play in the evening. With an indoor cat it’s necessary IMO as they can’t just wander out when they fancy and burn off some energy, they’re dependent on you for interaction. Tbf, having a second cat helps as it means they have a play mate that’s not us! Sometimes they’re up before breakfast chasing each other round the house!

Cats can routine driven but they’re most active at dawn and dusk. If you live in a residential area they figure out a routine with other cats as to when it’s their time slot on the street.

Get a cat flap and let your cat figure out what’a best for them.

Cat flap, leave food and water out and routine doesn't matter. Ive heard it all now, a routine for cats omg.

And yes, the routine reduces anxiety. Both mine were strays who’d been in survival mode for months on the streets, always hunting for their next meal but never expecting one. Food anxiety when they come home is common and can be aggressive. It also makes them livelier- they are expecting to need to “hunt” their next meal so are programmed to be active before a meal and rest afterwards, which is why feeding to a routine helps them- it alleviates stress and anxiety because they become confident where the next meal is coming from. It also made DCat2 a flight risk when he first came home, I didn’t trust him around the door (health condition dictates indoors). You can also use the play, eat, sleep thing to know when you’ll get good play from them to tire them out.

And don’t be embarrassed about the name Marvin, it’s fab…. The ginger floof who came home first is Flynn (very classy name IMO)…. The scrappy half Bengal that joined him later is Ian 😂. Both now sleep belly up living the lift of pampurred house cats and woke me up for breakfast by smooshing my face lovingly at 7.30am!

You don’t create routines for cats, they create routines for you.

I think your cat will learn your routine, and they will build their own routine around that. You can honestly set your watch by ours.

Our cat will get up and stretch and pad around at 5:58 each weekday. By the time the alarm goes off at 6, she will be sitting expectantly on the bathroom mat. But at the weekend she will stay asleep much longer, and then she’ll go and sit on DH bedside table at 8:30 because she knows he’s the one who will get up to give her breakfast.

I leave the back door open for her every morning after breakfast until I leave for work at 8 - she will stroll back in between 7:40 and 7:55 and head for her favourite cushion on days when I wfh and her favourite windowsill on days when DH wfh.

In the evening she will chill on the sofa until around 10pm, then she will get up and stretch and head for her bed.

And woe betide you if you try and get her in from outside before she’s ready or sit on her bit of the sofa, or if you don’t get up then she expects you to. The reproachfulness can last for days, literally.

There is a very big difference between taking a traumatised cat and giving it security with a routine and taking a confident cat and trying to impose a routine on it.

Does your friend have cats? She sounds more like a dog person!
Our cats know when dh comes home every evening and then they pester him for wet food (I only give them kibble for this reason). That’s about the only routine they follow.
Cats feel secure when they know you provide food.
Cats sleep for around 18 hrs per day. Their routine is eat, sleep, play/socialise with us - repeat.

I agree with cats feeling secure when you provide them with food. My cat is adopted from neighbours and came into my garden over lockdown when I fed her Dreamies and Lick E Lix. She then progressed to moving closer to the house and next thing you know she’d moved in. Her old owners didn’t mind as they’d got a dog which forced her and her cat duu it after to move out. She’s now double the size she was as she was underfed before.

I am awaiting the post from the cat's POV.

"My owner shows none of the respect I deserve and thinks I am a dog"

This is what I'm talking about @user1471548941 ! And what we are failing to do. We tried shutting him in the kitchen overnight in the early days but he managed to prise the door open after eating all the treats so now he sleeps with us. To be fair he's got better at sleeping when we sleep for most of the night, but once he's up he's up - shouting pooing and patrolling. Feeding him at set times feels pointless and wasteful if some days he's not getting up at until 2pm.
I work from home and he decides when I stop by sitting on my laptop keyboard and smacking me if I try and move him. I'm getting more comfortable with just shoving him off but it can be a battle of wills. I would love a cat who loves routine but clearly I'm just not capable of enforcing it unfortunately.

Now that is interesting - thank you @Imdunfer . Despite his dubious start Marvin didn't actually spend long on the streets. He was rescued at a few months old and has spent his life in a secure but boring environment where his primary contact has been with other cats. I think maybe he's just used to dancing to his own tune ( they had freedom about when to eat and sleep) and doesn't see why he should change

Picture of Marvin resisting change - that's not his stroller by the way

That cat oozes attitude!

You don’t get a routine for a cat. They train you to their own routine 😉

My cat has always been very good at training me up to fit in his or her routine. They keep me right.

My cat is very food oriented and I have to be very regimented with meal and snack times, or she would try her luck asking for food all day! If she gets something off-schedule one day at say, 16.50, she'll be demanding snacks the next day from 16.50 on! We have to be strict.
I think a set routine around his meals (just put it down at breakfast time if he isn't there) and his snacks might help him be calmer and not demanding food.
Otherwise, just let him do as he wishes! My cat does have routines, she knows for example that after 'supper' snack the lights go off and she gets shut downstairs, but beyond that there's not much you can do!

Cats will also come to know the household routine and enjoy the familiarity of that.

That's another piece of the jigsaw @Leavesandthings . Despite his size Marvin is not very food motivated. He is fussy about what / when he eats and frankly is capable of serving himself by ripping pouches open if we are not quick enough when he is finally hungry 😕 so trying to establish a food based routine is proving very difficult. I think this thread has really helped clarify a few things for me about Marvin and how we need to get along together so thank you all!

He looks like Gizmo

Oh no @TheBroonOneAndTheWhiteOne please don't say that! I have watched Gizmo's antics with awe and fear from a distance for a while and certainly couldn't handle his twin.

As handsome as Gizmo is obviously!