Winter routine

Here is Daisy's routine in the Winter when she isn't outside as much.

She wakes me up usually between 5 am and 6 am to be let outside.  She scratches on the bed mattress to wake me up.

She goes outside to see what's going on outside.  I go back to bed.

I try to wake back up 5 to 15 minutes later to let her back in the house.  I fall asleep easily so often I have to wake up.  When it is cold I make an effort not to fall back asleep.

Daisy comes back in the house to eat her breakfast. I go back to sleep.

If it is not too cold outside, 5 to 10 minutes later she wakes me back up by scratching on the bed mattress.

I let her back outside.  I go back to sleep.  This time I usually sleep one dream cycle and wake up an hour to 90 minutes later.

I call for Daisy and she comes back inside.  She runs to my bed and jumps on it.  I go back to sleep.  Before I fall asleep Daisy kneads the blankets against my legs.  Then she will curl up behind my knees, halfway laying on me as she insists on laying right against me.

Hours later I wake up.  Daisy wakes up.

Both Daisy and I go outside.  I toss the wood stove ash from yesterday out in the hayfield.  Daisy follows in my footsteps through the snow.  She looks and listens for "da mousies" under the snow.  When it is time walk back to the house Daisy crouches down in one of my footprints then jumps up, spins around and runs back to the house.

Daisy follows me to go fill the cattle's water through.  Once the trough is full she drinks some water.  Yesterday I filled the trough right to the very top.  Daisy's tail got soaked as she sat right on top of the trough.

On the day between the large hay bales I toss several small hay bales for the cattle.  Daisy follows me to the barn and checks the rest of the bales out for "da mousies" while I give hay to the cattle.  When I am done and ready to close the barn door Daisy comes and then we go back to the house.

Daisy eats breakfast while I clean the ashes from the wood stove.  She then will go and watch the birds at the bird feeder, else run around the house checking everything out.  If I have the radio on too loud she will either go into the spare bedroom, the basement or back outside if it is not too cold.

I eat breakfast.  If outside, Daisy comes back inside.

At noon I watch the noon news and weather.  As I sit on the couch Daisy comes over.  Now that she got a blankie from Donna for Christmas I have to put her blankie on my lap so Daisy can knead on it.  Then she lays on her blankie and me for a little petting,then she goes to sleep.  Often I have to remember to bring something over to read after news and weather is over so I have something to do until she wakes up.

Eventually Daisy will move over to lay on her other blanket on the loveseat and I can get up.

When Tammy lived here Daisy did not want to lay on people's lap.  Daisy lays on my lap now.  The difference is that Tammy was cold when the house temperature was lower than 77 degrees.  I seldom have the house temperature over 70 degrees now.  When Tammy was here Daisy would lay on the tile floor in the bathroom or in the entryway sink, never near the wood stove.  Now Daisy lays near the wood stove or on my lap.  Sometimes when the stove is really putting out heat Daisy will alternate between the wood stove and on my computer table to cool down.

Daisy sleeps the afternoon.

Late afternoon / early evening Daisy wakes up to go outside.  Depending on the time and the weather she may go in and out a few times.

Once I start my supper, if Daisy is outside she scratches at the door to come inside.  She then asks for her "special treat" (wet food from a can) cat food.  I try to wait to give it to her until when my food is ready, but on the days where it takes a while for my food to cook she gets insistent on having her food now and I get an earful until I give it to her.  Of course once my food is ready later she comes back and tries to con me into giving her another helping of her "special treat" cat food.

A few times I gave her a large helping of her special treat food and she left a few pieces.  I would gather it on my finger for her to lick off and finish before I washed her dish.  Well.... now I am finding she always leaves one piece in her dish even if I give her a small amount.

After a little bit of grooming Daisy asks to go outside.  The temperature determines how long she stays outside.  When I am by the computer or in the living room Daisy knows to come to the other door to scratch and let me know she is ready to come inside.

Once inside she walks and rubs against the furniture and me as I kneel to pet her.  Often she does a few somersaults .  Then after a bite to eat she goes and lays down by the stove.

Later in the evening when the wood stove does down and I am watching a movie she will come join me on the loveseat.  Sometimes she will lay on my lap, usually she lays next to me.  When I go to bed she stays on the loveseat.  Sometimes when I later get up during the night I will find her on the back of the couch.

That's the Winter routine for a generally happy cat.