How Seasonal Changes Affect Your Cat’s Behavior: Olga’s Routine Modifications

Hi, I’m Christopher! Read my introduction to learn more about me and my silly Russian Blue cat, Olga.

When the temperature and humidity increase in the late spring, I notice that Olga’s routine and habits change. Her increased shedding is a biological change that prepares her for the summer, but she also acts differently than she does in the winter. It’s not as profound as a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde transformation, and you wouldn’t see the difference unless you lived with her.

Olga isn’t a clingy cat, even though she likes to be nearby when I’m working, resting, or cooking. In the winter, she’s a part-time lap cat, but when it gets warmer, she becomes more antisocial. A warm lap isn’t as appealing, and she prefers napping by my feet.

A Change of Venue

Her napping spots also change. Instead of sleeping on the chair or bed in my office, she naps on the floor behind my chair, which is beneath the air conditioner vent. She sleeps more on the windowsill but not for very long. In the summer, there are more birds and squirrels near the bird feeder, and the large population of Anoles and Skinks often causes her to strike the windowpanes in frustration.

Birdwatching and Hunting

Although the mild winters in my area don’t drive away all of the animals, Olga’s more entertained in the summer when the rabbits, songbirds, and reptiles appear. She doesn’t seem to gain or lose weight in the summer, but she’s more active. The garden, fruit trees, and evergreens attract more insects and arachnids, and they unfortunately invade my home occasionally.

I’ve never allowed Olga to hunt a bird, reptile, or rodent, but I can’t let her hunting instincts go to waste. Her paw-to-eye coordination is exceptional; she can instantly knock a housefly to the ground after spotting it and pin a spider down so I can trap it and throw it outside.

Olga’s Bird Dog Skills

One of her most helpful hunting traits is her pointing. Like an English Setter alerting a bird hunter, she stands up and points her head toward an unreachable insect. Once, when I was almost asleep, she jumped up, whined, and pointed to a stink bug on the ceiling.

She also alerted me when a tree frog was relaxing on a curtain rod. I think “pointing” may be unusual for a feline, but my Siamese cat possessed the same gift. He kept screaming and pointing to the dryer when a colony of yellow jackets made a home in the exhaust vent.

Warm weather encourages more people and animals to spend time outside, and the sights and sounds of my neighborhood are more interesting to Olga. She would probably prefer to live in a foreign country with fewer ex-pats on July 4th because of her fear of pyrotechnics, but she generally seems happier in the summer.

She gets to greet more visitors and friends and investigate their footwear. If you come to my house wearing hiking boots, she'll be your best friend. I don’t know why, but she is fascinated by men and women who wear boots and will fall asleep on their feet if they allow it. Olga is a freak year-round, but she’s even stranger when the temperature rises.