Back in the days before all these boys showed up, Piper and I didn’t really have a set routine. Actually we didn’t have a routine at all. Piper is the kind of cat that we could always just free feed. I’d fill up her little diva bowls with food and water and let her have at it. She’s never been overweight because she understands the concept of eat when you’re hungry, stop when you’re full. Or maybe she’s just always been watching her feline figure. In any case, she was pretty low maintenance. She needed her water refilled daily and her food refilled when it got low. Of course there’s also the scooping of the litter box, but that’s easy compared to the joys I now know about picking up dog poop.
I was in school when I first got her and then eventually just working but my schedule always varied. And then one day I got a new job with a set schedule. We moved into the condo and then started collecting boys.
I quickly discovered how high maintenance it was having a puppy when Ares came along. Ares had to be on a schedule so he would learn when he could and could not do different things. When Chaos moved in he went on the same schedule as Ares and it helped a lot because Ares was a little older and could show him the ropes. Then Little O came and everybody had to get with the program, including Miss Piper, who was less than thrilled.
Piper was used to going about her day as she pleased. Eating when she wanted to, sleeping when and wherever she wanted to and doing her business at her discretion. All of that is a lot harder to do when there are 3 furry brothers involved. She’s begrudgingly adapted but she maintains that she is queen of the castle.
Dogs thrive on routine and structure so we do try to keep the day to day stuff the same during the week. The weekends are a little different but not completely. Dogs are pretty adaptable but it’s probably good that they don’t get too used to an extremely rigid schedule in case one day it has to change a little. Then they won’t be thrown all out of wack.
Cats are a little more sensitive to change and can get very upset if something that was the same is suddenly different, even something small. We’d rather not have pee in places outside the litter box or ripped up curtains, so we try to find the balance with a structured routine that’s not military style but also not too casual.
On weekday mornings everybody eats breakfast between 5:30-6:30 am. It’s between 7:30-8:30 am on the weekends so we can all sleep in a little. Daily walks are 5-6pm and then dinner is between 6-7pm. Saturday we walk right after breakfast and Sunday we take the day off. Weekend dinner is between 7-8pm. Week day bedtime is between 9:30-10:30pm and weekends it’s between 11-midnight. The daily walk is earlier in the evening because it’s been winter so temperatures are higher earlier and it’s still mostly light out. Eventually the walk will be later when the sun starts going down, it’s cooler and the days are longer so it’s still light out.
Piper has conceded to be fed twice a day at these times because we showed her that if it’s left out, it will be eaten by a hungry boy. She can still lounge and sleep where she pleases during the day but she can no longer roam in and out of the bedroom at night. She has to pick if she wants to be in or out because the door shuts at bedtime and it doesn’t open back up until morning. This is because Little O likes to makes nests in mommy’s hair and/or try to play with/walk on anything and everything that makes noise. This also means if she opts to stay in the bedroom at night, she can’t use the litter box until morning.
Sometimes the routine is a pain but it’s necessary to keep some semblance of order amongst the rest of the chaos. So far our routine has worked out pretty well for us. Do other people have weekly routines?
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