Cats and Morning Routines

Slate magazine writer Michael Agger asked readers how they manage their morning routines. Among others, he heard from cat owners:

Cats were another big theme. Our feline friends help us get out of bed with a considered choice of sitting location, but after that service has been rendered, they can require a lot of work. One reader must sing a song to her cat—"He's a Bad Cat," to the tune of "Our House" by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young—every morning while getting the paper.

You can find the rest of the article here .

I know that my two spoiled brats are a huge part of my routine, which usually goes as follows:
4:30 AM - Annabelle wakes up, stretches her legs, and proceeds to meow and walk all over our heads. I ignore her.
4:35 - Joe wakes up and puts Annabelle in the "naughty room" (our den, which is equipped with a water bowl and a litter box - more on why we can't just throw her out in another post).
4:35 - 5:30 - Annabelle howls and scratches at the door of the naughty room, or tears apart the toilet paper roll in the bathroom adjoining the naughty room.
5:30 AM - I wake up and release Annabelle from her prison. Stubbs wakes up and stretches, and they both follow me to the kitchen.
5:31 - I attempt to get my breakfast started whilst tripping over cats who are STARVING
5:35 - Pull cat food out of fridge, add cod liver oil and multivitamin (they are on a homemade diet), place food on floor
5:35 - 5:37 - Follow Annabelle around with food dish while she decides where she would like to eat.
5:37 - Take my (now cold) eggs and toast into the den to eat and read my email
5:38 - 5:40 - Attempt to eat eggs while Annabelle jumps on my desk and also tries to eat my eggs. Finally give up, shove as much food in my mouth as possible and throw plate on the floor for her to lick and sniff.
6:00 - Scoop the litter boxes, change the kitty water, and refill the bird feeder
6:10 - Get in the shower
6:20 - Emerge from the shower to see Annabelle sitting on the toilet, waiting for me to get out of the shower
6:20 - 6:30 - Attempt to get dressed while the cats attempt to keep me home by laying on every article of clothing that I lay out to wear
6:30 - 6:45 - Hair and makeup while Annabelle perches on top of the medicine cabinet, blocking the mirror
6:45 - 7:00 - Attempt to throw my lunch together while the kitties circle around my feet and fight with each other
7:00 - Attempt to leave. Stubbs looks at me with pleading, hungry eyes. Give them both greenies.
7:05 - Hopefully out the door and in the car on my way to work.
7:08 - Answer phone. It's Joe, asking me if I gave the kitties their greenies, because Stubbs is crying for them. Tell him, yes I did.