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Daylight Savings Time springs clocks ahead, but do kitties care?

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Daylight Savings Time springs clocks ahead, but do kitties care
Kitty Lenny isn’t tune into this DST change like humans are.

While most of us set our clocks ahead one hour last night (spring ahead), our kitties most likely didn’t reset their internal clocks.

If you took an extra hour and didn’t get up at the appointed time, chances are, your kitties were not happy at not getting their breakfast at the appointed hour. That time change did nothing for their tummies. They expected their breakfast at 7 or 8 am as always.

Today, we share the many other cats and other pets that are participating in this Sunday’s Selfie Blog Hop kindly hosted by The Cat on My Head. We wonder what other felines, pups, rabbits, and their humans are thinking as we struggle with one hour less of time, something all of us have to little of. Please stop by the Sunday Selfie Blog Hop and meet some wonderful friends who, like us, have now entered the world of DST.

Sunday Selfie Blog Hop
This Sunday Selfies Blog Hop is hosted by Cat on My Head

Cats are not wired into time

Unlike humans who become slaves to clocks, cats are not wired into time. They are creatures of habit, and they know when their stomach says it’s time for breakfast. They know when they hear the shower going that you are going to be bribing them with treats so not to play Houdini cat when going out the door.

Daylight Savings Time springs clocks ahead, but do kitties care
Kitty Lenny is content soaking up some sunshine, not caring about what time it is.
Daylight Savings Time springs clocks ahead, but do kitties care?
Little Yellow ponders about why we observe Daylight Saving Time.

At Paws for Reflection, we pondered about this whole time change thing, not that the cats care; however, the humans were a bit curious about this custom. Turns out springing ahead to summer time is what they call Daylight Saving (not plural) Time. It adds one hour to standard time, making use of daylight to conserve energy. If you don’t have to turn the lights on until 8 pm, rather than 7pm, it saves energy, which does make sense. Additionally, it shifts light from early morning, when most people and kitties are snoozing away, to later in the day when people are bustling with activity.

Canada was first to formally use DST

Canada was the first to formally use Daylight Saving Time.  Port Arthur which today is known as Thunder Bay in Ontario, Canada introduced the practice in 1908. Other Canadian towns and cities followed.

World War I brought DST to most of Europe. Germany became the first country to introduce DST when clocks moved an hour ahead on April 30, 1916 to minimize the use of artificial lighting to save fuel for the war effort. Other European countries quickly followed, including the United Kingdom and France. However, the practice was discontinued after the war.

DST designed to support World War I

In 1918, U.S. President Woodrow Wilson signed DST into law to support the war effort during World War I. Robert Garland, a Pittsburgh industrialist who had encountered the idea in the United Kingdom, is credited with this, and today he is referred to as the “Father of Daylight Saving.

Seven months later the seasonal time change was repealed. However, some cities, including Pittsburgh, Boston, and New York, continued to use it until President Franklin D. Roosevelt instituted year-round DST in the United States in 1942. This year-round DST, called War Time, was in effect for much of World War II from February 9, 1942, to September 30, 1945. Canada did the same. The United Kingdom  applied “Double Summer Time” during World War II by setting the clocks two hours ahead of GMT during the summer and one hour ahead of GMT during the winter.

While controversial, the practice has continued

From 1945 to 1966 there were no uniform rules for DST in the United States causing transportation scheduling nightmares. Because of this, Congress established the Uniform Time Act of 1966 stating DST would begin on the last Sunday of April and end on the last Sunday of October. It still gave states the ability to opt out by passing state laws.

During the oil embargoes and energy crisis, the US Congress extended DST to a period of ten months in 1974 and eight months in 1975, to save energy. The trial period showed that DST saved about 10,000 barrels of oil each day.

Since 1976, the DST schedule in the US has been revised several times. From 1987 to 2006, the country was under DST for about seven months. The current schedule, adopted in 2007, extends DST about one month. Today, DST starts on the second Sunday in March and ends on the first Sunday in November.

DST observed in 70 countries

DST is now observed in over 70 countries; however, the beginning and end dates vary from one country to another. In 1996, the European Union (EU) standardized an EU-wide DST schedule, which runs from the last Sunday in March to the last Sunday in October.

While we may be saving energy through DST, one thing is for sure – our cats don’t really care about time. They know when it’s daylight. They know when it’s breakfast time. They know when they think you should get up to feed them.

If only we humans could learn to not be slaves to time, but it doesn’t really work for us, as we have to report to jobs on time, go to meetings when they are scheduled, and attend events like weddings and birthday parties when scheduled.

Can you imagine being tune into the moment like a cat? If you were, what would you do differently? Or if they had to be like us and be so conscious of time, what do you think they would make their top priority? We know they wouldn’t like to give up an hour of sleep time, but please weigh in and share your thoughts.

Please visit all of these wonderful friends participating in the Sunday Selfie Blog Hop (a fav of the Paws gang), kindly hosted by the Cat on My Head.

23 responses to “Daylight Savings Time springs clocks ahead, but do kitties care?”

  1. Linda Arthur Tejera Avatar
    Linda Arthur Tejera

    Love the photos! The only times my kitties are tuned into are breakfast, snacks and dinner!

    1. BJ Avatar
      BJ

      It’s funny how food rules. Naps come next.

  2. Henry Avatar
    Henry

    Awww! What a cutie! Very adorable photos 🙂

    Henry

    1. BJ Avatar
      BJ

      Kitties are just the best. They take the best photos, too.

  3. Basil Avatar
    Basil

    We’ve still got 2 more weeks before the clocks shift and the P.A. starts moaning about having an hour less sleep a night! MOL

    Happy St Patrick’s Day!

    Bestest purrs

    Basil & Co xox

    1. BJ Avatar
      BJ

      Lucky you. It always takes a few weeks for the human to get used to the change. Have a great weekend

  4. Little Binky and Granny Avatar
    Little Binky and Granny

    I’m Granny’s wake up…call…MOL…I’m 7 AM sharp, no matter if it is Summer or Wintertime, I think I live with the rising of the Sun…or belly 😀 Very cute Selfies btw. Pawkisses for a Happy Thursday 🙂 <3

    1. BJ Avatar
      BJ

      The belly says it all after napping in the sun.

  5. Dash Kitten Crew Avatar
    Dash Kitten Crew

    Our cats just sleep longer into the day, the love a sunny nap!

  6. Jean Dion Avatar
    Jean Dion

    Fergus is my little timekeeper, but you’re right. He doesn’t seem to use a formal clock. When he sees a bright sky, he knows it’s time for food! I am worried about what will happen later this summer when the sun starts coming up at 5am. No more sleeping in!

    Jean from Welcome to the Menagerie

    1. BJ Bangs Avatar
      BJ Bangs

      The kitties indeed use the sun as their clock. Can you imagine how much sleep we’d get in December if we humans could do that? Dreamin…

  7. ERin the Cat (Princess) Avatar
    ERin the Cat (Princess)

    My peep tries to ignore the clock changes and carries on as normal, so I get fed at the same time. It is as much a state of mind as anything it seems. Maybe more peeps should try it and then maybe life would be less stressful?

    1. BJ Bangs Avatar
      BJ Bangs

      Great idea! If only the outside world would go by the same rules, it would be great.

  8. Melissa & Mudpie Avatar
    Melissa & Mudpie

    I rebelled. I had no where to be today so I got up at my usual time and then changed the clocks! Mudpie was happy to sleep in with me too, thankfully 🙂

    1. BJ Bangs Avatar
      BJ Bangs

      Sounds like a great plan. Think I’ll try that next time. Kitties won’t care.

  9. Mary McNeil Avatar
    Mary McNeil

    My cats seem a tad confused about getting fed an hour earlier than usual. But what really irks them is when it’s an hour late in November !

    1. BJ Bangs Avatar
      BJ Bangs

      You are absolutely right. Early ok, but late, no way!

  10. Beau Beau and Angie Avatar
    Beau Beau and Angie

    Thank you for the DST lesson! Lots of people do not like DST but I can see why it might be a good idea to keep it. I bet most cats kept their humans on the old schedule anyway. I know Beau Beau would always jump on us at the normal time no matter about DST or not 🙂

    1. BJ Bangs Avatar
      BJ Bangs

      Kitties definitely stayed on the old time and wanted their breakfast on time.

  11. Ellen Pilch Avatar
    Ellen Pilch

    Great selfies. I prefer the fall back time change.

  12. Flynn Avatar
    Flynn

    We get our time change in 2 weeks. I don’t like it when my meals come at the wrong time.

  13. Summer Avatar
    Summer

    My human was an hour late feeding us this morning!

  14. The Canadian Cats Avatar
    The Canadian Cats

    Lenny, you’re right. I don’t care about time. It’s a human concept not for us kitties. We go by gut instinct. Hungry, that’s food time.

    You and Little Yellow look fantabulous my friends.

    Mom loved the info on DST.

    Kitty Kisses,

    Kali

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