Watch as sleepy cats wake early to observe pre-dawn suhoor meal for Ramadan, beat FOMO

Their lids may be drooping with sleep lining their eyes, but these cats do not want to be left behind as their owners observe the pre-dawn meal called suhoor during the holy month of Ramadan.

Bella, a 2-year-old Bengal in the United Kingdom, is described as a "homebody," who "loves her sleep," by her owner Sanah. But ever since Ramadan started on March 1, she has been fighting through the tiredness to make sure she joins in with her family for the meal during the wee hours of the morning.

"Bella is such a homebody and my partner (and I) always laugh at the fact that as soon as it hits 10 p.m., she will head straight to bed," Sanah told USA TODAY. "You can imagine how perplexed she was when suddenly the house came alive at 4 a.m. on the first day of Ramadan. She has to know what’s happening, so she fought through her tiredness to make sure she could join in."

Sanah said when Bella saw them eating so early, "she looked so shocked" that she had no option but to give the cat some snacks to make sure Bella felt included.

"She was definitely expecting a full meal, too, but she had to wait till her usual breakfast time for that," Sanah said, adding that Bella enjoys lots of chicken treats and has taken a liking to dates, though she isn't allowed to have them.

Still, Bella never gave up hope. Sanah said that as she prepared her suhoor meal, Bella would just stare at her and "would focus on not falling asleep."

Arya, the Persian-Maine Coon mix in Toronto

Across the Atlantic, Arya, a 2-year-old Persian and Maine Coon mix in Toronto, Canada, was equally confused when she saw her family waking up earlier than their usual time for pre-dawn meal. Arya's owner, Anum, told USA TODAY that her cat sleeps in her bed "but now that we wake up for suhoor she’s confused."

"I think cats are just very family-oriented creatures, they love being around their owners," said Anum, who only shared their first name. "Especially Arya, she always has to be wherever we are in the house."

As Anum and her family prepare suhoor and iftars (in the evening), Arya sits with them in the kitchen hoping for a few treats, which she usually gets, Anum said, adding the cat goes crazy for her pureed snacks.

2-year-old cat Millie 'ready to investigate'

Millie, a 2-year-old domestic shorthair, is also not one to be left behind.

"Millie wakes up instantly at any sound," her owner Zaina Mirza told USA TODAY. "She’s always ready to investigate."

Mirza said on the first night of Ramadan, Millie heard her family wake up and "immediately assumed it was morning."

"To her, me getting out of bed equals breakfast time, no matter if it’s 5 a.m. or 11 a.m.," Mirza said, explaining cats wake up during suhoor "because they’re so attuned to their owners’ routines."

However, unlike her fellow felines, Millie isn't very "thrown off by the time shift" and just "wants to be involved" and maybe get an extra meal out of it, Mirza said.

Cat owners agree the cats are just curious and hate missing out on the fun, so they’ll fight through tiredness and confusion to make sure they don’t get FOMO (fear of missing out).

"Millie has a serious case of FOMO," Mirza said. "If we’re up, she’s up. If something’s happening, she needs to be there, even if she has no idea what’s going on."

"Ramadan is no different, she’s just following the vibes," Mirza added.

What is suhoor?

Suhoor, an Arabic word, which means "the last part of the night," is a meal that Muslims eat early in the morning, before the break of dawn to prepare for a day of fasting, which concludes at sunset.

The time of suhoor varies depending on the time of year in which Ramadan takes place, and also varies within the month itself, as the length of the day length, according to Islamic Relief.

(This story was updated to fix a typo.)

Saman Shafiq is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at sshafiq@gannett.com and follow her on X and Instagram @saman_shafiq7.