Pets’ schedules also impacted by end of daylight time: animal care workers

From animals' view, everything in their routine will be an hour later than usual when clocks fall back an hour, said Toronto-based veterinary behaviorist Karen Van Haaften.

In past autumns, when Jocelyn Rutgers tried to enjoy the extra hour of sleep offered by the end of daylight time, her cat would hold firm to his daily regimen and demand to be fed as usual.

“My cat in particular is extremely routine-based and likes to be fed at his preferred times,” said Rutgers, a registered veterinary technician based at the Ontario SPCA Midland Animal Centre.

“He tends to get quite loud and meow at me when he knows it’s breakfast or dinner time. Any changes from those times and he lets me know about it.”

While seasonal time changes have been associated with health complications like headaches and heart problems for humans, Rutgers says many owners of finicky pets may find them extra ornery when daylight time ends in the wee hours of Sunday morning.

That’s because, like us, pets have natural circadian rhythms and internal biological clocks tuned to cycles of light and dark. But their feeding, exercise and medication schedules are also closely linked to their owners’ daily routines, she said.

From the animals’ perspective, everything in their routine will be delivered an hour later than usual when clocks fall back an hour, said Toronto-based veterinary behaviorist Karen Van Haaften.

“If you get up and walk your dog every day at 7 a.m., then that dog is behaviourally and physiologically ready to walk at 7. They’re going to be excited, their bladder is going to be full, they expect to go outside at that time,” said Van Haaften.

“If you think you can sleep in an hour later that day, they might not have the same opinion.”