A Day at Floriente Cattery

Seba demands breakfast at 6 a.m. The girls sleep until mom gets up. Then the wood stove, the bone-warming ritual, and the schedule Sima runs with theatrical precision. This is where your Oriental kitten grows up.

Morning — Before the Humans Eat

Sebastian doesn’t negotiate. At 6 a.m., Sasha hears the first reminder. Then the second. By the third, he’s already up.

With the girls, it’s a different picture. Sima and Halva are “Little Sunshines” — they won’t move until Elvira herself gets up. No alarm needed.

That’s the first thing you notice about mornings at Floriente: two completely different personalities, two completely different routines — and a home that adjusts to both without a word.

Feeding is Sasha’s zone. He knows the system: Seba — wet food, Sima — dry, Halva — “treats.” The morning order doesn’t change: get up, wash up, feed the cats. And only then — think about your own breakfast.

“Seba wants to eat first. He needs food at 6 a.m. And the girls — they’re Little Sunshines.”

Once the cats are fed — we sit down to eat ourselves. It’s not a rule on paper. It’s just how the morning goes. Cats eat first. Every day. That’s the rhythm here — from the start and forever.

After the bowls, Sasha lights the wood stove. That’s when the whole house gathers — not out of habit, but as if by their own choice. As the stove warms up, everyone finds a spot nearby. The cats stretch out, press into the heat, and freeze in place. Elvira says — they’re warming their bones. It happens every day. Not for a photo. Just how the morning goes.

The Workday

By mid-morning, the house finds its rhythm. Seba takes his spot on the second floor — quieter, sunnier, and nobody comes to bother him. He values all three.

The girls are different. They want to be near Elvira, and they’ve worked out their system long ago. One sits on her lap for about two hours. Then it’s the other’s turn. When it’s Sima’s shift — Halva goes to the bathroom: heated floor, her own bed, no hard feelings. When Sima needs alone time — she climbs to the very top of the wood stack. That’s her spot. Nobody can reach her there.

After lunch, the energy shifts. Morning play gives way to something quieter.

“It’s become a physical necessity — for them as much as for us.”

That’s the part that’s hard to convey in a kitten ad. Cats don’t just tolerate closeness — they need it. And the family does too. After months and years of life like this, it’s not a choice anymore. It’s just the day.

Each One Has Their Game

Sima has one game with Sasha, and it belongs only to them. Chasing, hiding, sudden appearances around corners — Sasha calls it “grab the cat.” When Halva once tried to join — she figured out fast that some games aren’t for everyone. The line was set. It holds.

Halva has her own thing: long toys — “draggers,” the kind that stretch and trail — she grabs them and drags them off to her bathroom. That room is hers. Toys that end up there stay until she decides otherwise.

When Aunt Vikulya comes over — Sima switches on a separate program. There’s a game with bedsheets, there’s beads, there are rubber bands on the floor. And there’s a moment when Sima sits down next to Vikulya and carefully explains that they don’t let her go outside, and she considers this state of affairs deeply unfair.

Vikulya listens. She always listens.

The Night Shift

Sima is the one who decides when the day ends.

If Sasha is still downstairs — she lets him know. Insistently. Loudly. Not aggressively, but completely seriously. She doesn’t settle until he actually gets up and goes upstairs.

“She won’t quiet down until he actually gets up and comes to me in bed.”

Once everyone is upstairs — spots are assigned. Halva — by the shoulder. Sima — between the legs. Seba — at the feet or off to the side, depending on what he’s decided that evening. Lights out — everyone in their place.

But Sima has a secret.

When everyone’s already lying down, when the breathing evens out and the house goes quiet — she waits. Then she quietly sneaks back downstairs by herself.

“Sima waits for everyone to go upstairs, quietly sneaks down, and plays like a child. Nobody’s supposed to see it.”

Deer, bunny, ducky — these are her night companions. The deer, in particular, has a complicated reputation when it comes to behavior. In the morning he’s sometimes found on the floor — clearly there were consequences.

“If the deer misbehaved — he always gets it.”

And the New Year’s gnomes — that’s a seasonal story. They come out once a year, and this time they behaved just as badly. Every evening they got it from Sima — same as the deer. Then Sima decided: let them sit for a year each. She “sentenced” the gnomes to a full year in jail — they’re serving time now. We’ll bring them back into rotation next New Year — assuming, of course, Sima recognizes they’ve reformed.

When the Kittens Arrive

A day with kittens is a different day.

An adult cat needs about an hour of active attention spread through the day. Kittens need 1.5–2 hours — and that’s just active time, nothing else.

Important detail: “active supervision” isn’t “being nearby while I work.” It’s the hours when you’re doing nothing else. Playing with them — 1.5–2 hours. You need many short play sessions (5–15 minutes, but often).

Cleaning up after them. Feeding each one separately. Watching who ate and who got pushed out — that’s another 1.5–2 hours a day. Otherwise socialization doesn’t happen. Together, 3–4 hours a day minimum.

Floors get washed morning and evening. Litter boxes get cleaned. Temperature gets monitored — kittens catch cold faster than you’d think. Feeding requires supervision: the smallest get pushed out, and you have to watch them separately.

Going out — impossible. Maximum an hour or two: the store, into town. That’s it.

This is what serious breeding actually is. Not shows and not certificates, but the daily routine: morning starts with cleaning, feeding control, limited time outside the house. Your kitten spent its first weeks inside this schedule.

Questions and Answers

What time do they wake up?

Seba wakes Sasha up at 6 a.m. The girls sleep until Elvira herself gets up — that’s later. The house adjusts to both schedules.

Do the cats have their own spaces?

Yes. Seba picks the second floor. Halva has her bathroom with the heated floor. Sima — the top of the wood stack when she wants to be unreachable, and the first floor at night when she wants to be alone.

How much does the day change when there are kittens?

Substantially. Active supervision goes up 3–4x — and “active” here means: you’re focused only on them, not running other tasks in parallel. Going out — maximum 1–2 hours. Floors get washed twice a day. Feeding requires individual control — the smallest get pushed out, and you have to watch them separately.

Are the cats sociable with guests?

Each in their own way. Seba would prefer guests didn’t exist at all. Sima sniffs everyone in turn and figures out who they are and why. Halva is friendly from the first minute. Guests usually marvel first at the cats’ length, then the ears, then the voice.

What happens if a kitten eats less than the others?

It gets fed separately. Elvira watches feeding, and the smaller ones are always under supervision.

The Environment Your Kitten Comes From

When you take your kitten home from Floriente, it already knows what daily life with people looks like. It spent weeks in a house with a wood stove, a morning ritual, and a family that doesn’t eat until the cats have eaten.

It watched Sima run lights-out. It heard the sounds of a home that lives around its animals.

That environment — the daily life of a home Oriental cattery — travels with your kitten.

When the time comes to bring your kitten home — here’s how that road works: Article #15 — How Your Kitten Gets to You →

If you want to know what the first 30 days at your home will look like — what to continue from what started here — that’s covered in Article #17: First 30 Days with a Floriente Kitten.

And when you’re ready to talk timing and availability: our kittens — florientecattery.com/en/kittens. Elvira responds fastest on Instagram and through the contact form.