Cats want their food, and they want it now—but food is on a schedule, and there’s nothing one cat-sitter can do.
A video posted to the My Cats YouTube channel is so painfully relatable to anyone who’s got a hangry cat at home, or anyone who’s ever watched a friend or family member’s cat for an extended period of time.
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“So I’m taking care of this cat,” the cat-sitter in the video says, pausing to give the cat time and space to let out the longest, most confused meow you’ve ever heard.
“Mhmm,” the woman recording the cat says to the meow, “that’s a really good point.”
She then explains that the cat’s parents have an automatic feeder set up, but the cat has arrived for the food too early and is now completely confused as to what is going on! The cat knows the schedule.
Perhaps this is a crime of daylight savings time, which, of course, cats don’t have any conscious understanding of. They just know it’s food time, and there is no food yet!
“She got here early, and she’s so mad that it’s not dropping,” the woman in the video says. “I know, it’s gonna drop soon, I don’t know how to speed it up, but it’ll happen.”
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The cat goes so far as to swat at her, because the woman finds this very funny and, of course, the cat does not!
“She asked nicely. Then she begged. Then she chose violence,” one commenter says.
“’I do not know how to speed it up.’ Cat: ‘then you better figure it out!'” writes another.
“Cats don’t like being kept waiting and they reeeeeealllly don’t like being laughed at,” one more commenter adds, and don’t we know it!
Of course, the food does eventually come, and we’re hopeful that kitty was delighted to finally eat.
Why Is It Important to Feed Cats on a Schedule?
If the cat is hungry now, why not just feed it early? It turns out that meal schedules are incredibly important for cats, just as they are for humans.
A set meal schedule helps with weight management and prevents over-eating due to boredom or unquenched hunger. Schedules also make it easier to spot silent health issues, such as a decrease in appetite, which might go unnoticed if your cat were allowed to graze all day.
Planned meal times also help lower stress and anxiety, because your cat always knows when it will be fed—unless daylight savings time messes with the schedule suddenly, of course.
Automatic feeders are so helpful, especially when you’re traveling without your cat, but this is just one way things can go adorably wrong. We feel for you, hangry cat! We hope you enjoyed your dinner in the end.
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This story was originally published by PawNation on Mar 24, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add PawNation as a Preferred Source by clicking here.