In the last 2-3 months my cat has started exhibiting a new behavior. Whenever either of us is standing idly in the kitchen, usually eating directly out of a food container, she will walk in and begin to plaintively meow at us and look at her food and water bowl. Sometimes she will just keep meowing until we leave the room, and sometimes she will go to her food bowl and eat.
She has a long history of not eating anything except dry cat food. No human food, no wet cat food. There is NO food product in the kitchen she wants except the food readily available in her bowl.
She’ll do it even when her food and water are freshly topped off.
She enjoys being petted while eating, but if we pet her, she’ll continue to alternate eating with meowing.
I’ve had two cats that have done this. Merlyn (who died a couple years back) and now Chicken (who’s almost 2). Both are examples of Supercats. You know, there’s felis domesticus that lays around the house, tears up your couch and usually shits in the litterbox; and then there are Supercats that have actual personalities and want to be active members of a family.
The solution is to butterlip the cat. Just rub some butter on his lips. They clean it off easily and are quite happy afterward.
Our older cat loves to be petted while he’s eating. We joke that this was why he was so skinny when Mr. Horseshoe’s mother took him in as a stray - before that, there was no one around to scratch his butt for him while he ate.
Theories about OP:
Cat likes ultra-fresh water, and even if her bowl has been recently cleaned and refilled, she wants it done again. Ditto kibble - it’s been sitting out for a while so it’s not as “fresh” as what’s just out of the bag.
Cat wants attention. (“Play with me! Scritch me! C’mon, pay attention to meeee!”)
Cat has figured out that this drives you insane, which fits in with previously-laid world-domination plans.
Cats is weird. One of mine insists on drinking out of the faucet. Not just drinking out of the faucet though, he wants you to sit on the toilet and pet him while he drinks out of the faucet. The sitting on the toilet part it crucial because occasionally he wants to rub his wet cat head all over your face to show how much he loves that you left the faucet on for him. Such a weirdo!
I agree with the “not fresh enough” crowd. I have to give my cat fresh water at least twice a day, and if the food sits in her bowl for “too long” she won’t eat it. The dog gets it as a super special treat.
One of my cats does this. It drives the person who stays home and has to hear her batty. The other cat eats, sleeps, and keeps to himself.
My theory is that she wants to discuss British Literature.
If we have a conversation like this:
Cat: “Meow”
Me: True, but Byron can’t be considered in the same class as Shakespeare."
Cat: “Meow”
Me: No, I don’t think an un-named woman wrote all of his plays
Cat: “Meow”
Me: Because there’s no credible evidence, that’s why.
Cat: Walks away
If you don’t talk to her in this way, she’ll Meow for much longer.
I’ve had a few cats who insist on “being fed” even when they have a bowl full. Meaning, I just gave you some an hour ago, you ate a few bites, and now approach the bowl, look at it like it’s rocks or something, and MEOW for a fresh serving.
It’s as if the ACT of feeding them is what they want…some sort of reassurance that you will continue to feed them perhaps or just that you notice them maybe?
I get how they might not want to eat stale dry food, but this was always a case of FRESH food…I always just dispensed a little bit at a time to avoid the “won’t eat stale food” issue. Otherwise I’d end up tossing out most of it after it DOES go stale.
But ultimately, as I live with an older, increasingly difficult, pain in the ass cat (and have before…last cat was with us for 15 yrs and only got wonky like this in her last few years) I have concluded cats tend to be neurotic and passive agressive, esp. as they get older. (and some I’ve known are that way from the get-go…had one years ago who got irritated when my new husband put her off the bed and left us a big pile exactly in the center of the freshly made bed and clawed and peeded on HIS record albums one day. Point made.)
My sis-in-law’s very old cat who recently died was doing the exact same shit as mine is now…intentionally shitting in front of the toilet (mine goes for the fresh bathmat EVERY TIME the door is left open, despite having a clean, CLOSER litterbox…it is clearly a form of acting out) and constantly whining for food even when just fed. So was my old cat, except she took to pissing in the corner of the dining room until I had to rip up the whole carpet.
It’s as if they feel, hey, I feel bad physically and/or emotionally so I am going to make sure you are aware of the fact/feel bad too. :mad:
My cat does the same thing. Not specifically for British Literature, but when she gets in one of her talky moods, I have to have a conversation with her before she’s satisfied. Though if my husband talks to her, she’ll meow at him for an hour.
As more evidence that cats is weird, my cat has decided that she wants curry. I tell her “No, you’re not a curry eating cat. Go away.” Yesterday she stuck her head in my bowl and lapped at it like it was milk, and seem quite unhappy when I took it for her. She can taste the heat, right?
As for the OP, I think she probably just wants attention because this is an activity (eating from human bowls) she can’t participate in, but she wants to be part of the family, too!
How about some treats. My cat loved raw liver and real whipping cream. She didn’t get it much at all but it turned her from the typical stand-offish cat to running around the house, asking to be petting, jumping backwards and acting cute.
For about 20 mintues then it was back to just “tolerating” everyone
