A day at Mumcat: 30 cats, from 8 a.m. to 1 a.m.

People often ask us what a normal day at Mumcat looks like. So Dalia wrote one down, live, on her phone, between feeds. We only fixed the typos the cats caused.

30 cats in total: the ones at home, plus the street colony we feed every evening.

8:00 a.m. The good-morning round

I wake up and go around the house greeting everyone with the silly voice. They expect it. Meanwhile, I check for disasters to fix or clean later. There is always at least one.

8:20 a.m. Breakfast, in shifts

I prepare sets of wet food for the upstairs crew, usually five to eight cats. Malu gets her medicine and the first session with her inhaler.

Another group eats around the kitchen. Biko gets his special dish. Bagheera gets some of her favourite food, and the first drops in her eye. I'll come back later for more drops.

Nera eats first. Ten minutes later I come back with the syringes already prepared, with Felimazole for her thyroid. In a separate one I mix potassium and gabapentin with a generous dose of Churu. Nobody refuses Churu.

Then Iluva, Maya, Viviana, Norit and Mitsouko each get something on their own, because they won't mix with anyone. Table for one, every day.

Evita would have come to ask by now. :)

Around 9 a.m. The human eats

Breakfast for me. Usually.

10 a.m. Dishes

I wash the dishes, clean the kitchen, plus whatever else got messed up overnight.

11 a.m. Bonding time

If there's no vet visit, I spend some time with small groups of cats who naturally get along. If the upstairs cats are napping, I clean their beds and the big sandbox. Then sweet-voice and purring time with a few of them.

12 noon. The fridge check

Is there enough real meat in the fridge? Are groceries needed? If yes, I go shopping.

1 p.m. Deals hunting

If the cats are napping, I scroll the web for deals on supplements and big wholesale orders. I try to post something somewhere, and think about what to write.

2 to 5 p.m. The "quiet" hours

A little low time, usually used for:

• Vet visits. One or two a week in general, usually with two cats each time.
• Bulk shopping. Sand, kibble and large cans of wet food, plus the special diets. Some orders and subscriptions need paying. They take two or three days to arrive and last about 19 days.
• Laundry. Quilts, cushions, beds, blankets and mum's cloths, then I change all the little beds and nap spots for the freshly washed ones, if time allows.
• Research. The best deals, any supplement or useful thing for cats' behaviour, and so on.

5 to 6 p.m. Back home

Back from wherever, to greet the crowd. Then I prepare the chicken, turkey or veal for both the indoor cats and the colony cats.

7 p.m. The street colony

After a tour of the house, I fill the bag and go to pay a visit to the cats outdoors. I sit with a couple of them while I hand out food, call a few others, and fill dishes in two or three places. Then I finish with the last one, overall about an hour and a half.

Back home: the last meal

Usually very appreciated. So, a bit of hissing.

9:30 p.m. The human eats (again)

I sit and play a bit.

10 p.m. Litter boxes

Cleaning the litter boxes and sweeping the floor.

11 p.m. Some mingling and playing

Midnight

While they nap again, I finish cleaning the kitchen and whatever else needs it. Then I watch a series, do more research, or write.

1 a.m. Last round

Last meds for Nera, same as the morning minus the potassium. Last drops for Bagheera. A tour to check that every dish has a bit of kibble.

When all is done: bed time.

---

The short version

For phones, and for anyone who wants the 30-second edit:

Tomorrow, she does it all again

Everything in this day is paid for by people like you: the meds, the special diets, the sand by the 20-kilo sack, the vet visits twice a week. You'll find the real costs on our Help page.

• Become a patron on Patreon
• Meet the cats