The word "predictable" is often used somewhat negatively in our daily lives, but as far as our domesticated cats are concerned, "predictability" may be one of the keys to successful cat ownership.

Cats are creatures of habits. Either good or bad, they develop certain daily rituals (habits) through repetition of behaviors. Their human owners' involvements in their habit forming -- conscious or unconscious -- has a big impact.

If you want to create more comfortable living environments for your cats, you have to start with yourself. Your behaviors should be predictable (in a positive way, of course) to your cats. In order to do this, you might want to check your daily schedule and establish daily routine -- when you leave for and come back from work, when you groom them, when you play with them, and so on. Be careful about constantly changing their environment (such as traveling with your cats, changing the locations of cat litter and cat food bowls, different people visiting you every day, and so on). These things can put your cats under stress, and they may not feel safe with such unpredictable conditions.

My husband and I watch DVDs at certain time every evening. The moment the story ends and the end credits start (music included), our cat dashes into the living room begging for food. The cat knows it is dinner time for him. It's cute to see, and this behavior reminds me about how cats keep an eye on our daily routines.