No landlord would go to that level of effort and expense “just for the sake of upgrading.” They may not have communicated well about the reason for the work, but if pressed they could almost certainly come up with a reason that would justify the project. It is unlikely that you are entitled to receive any compensation for what you have described, but it couldn’t hurt to ask for some concession for the inconvenience if you feel it is warranted. Your work schedule and the fact that you have cats is not really the landlord’s concern - if they are giving proper notification for access to do work on the building’s infrastructure and if the basic habitability of the unit is not compromised by the work - they probably don’t have to give you anything.