When we turn back our clocks, we enjoy that extra hour we gain. Our cats, however, don’t understand why we’re suddenly not adhering to an agreed-upon schedule.

The major frustration centers around meal time. If you feed your cat on a schedule, then daylight savings means kitty has to wait a whole extra hour for her meal.

Since as humans, we have the advantage of knowing when it’s coming, there are things we can do to help a cat adjust. Here’s the key: do a gradual transition so daylight savings sneaks into your cat’s schedule rather than comes all at once. Start early. Feed your cat 15 minutes later than usual. The next day, feed him 15 minutes later than that. Continue this in 15-minute increments, so that the transition takes four days.

Morning can be especially rough during daylight savings time since kitty expects you to rise and shine according to the schedule he’s used to. Prepare the night before by doing an interactive play session right before bed, then offering her a little late-night treat or snack.

Another way to ease your cat through the transition is to set out puzzle feeders before dinner. The Play-n-Treat balls are great. You fill the ball halfway with food, and then as the cat rolls it around, kibble randomly drops out of the hole. This can help keep your cat satisfied as she waits for dinner.

If your cat still seems impatient during the transition, distract her with a little interactive play session. Toys such as the Cat Dancer or Da Bird are great distraction tools. Another distraction method is to use one of the cat DVDs on the market, such as Video Catnip.

For more information refer to the book Starting from Scratch.

© 2009 Cat Behavior Associates, LLC