I just got an autofeeder for my cats. Wonderful thing. My cats still come to me and sit and scream for food for the hour before each mealtime, and we argue about whether or not they currently need my participation in mealtime, right up until the thing kicks on, then they’re off like a shot. It’s hilarious.
We have the autofeeder and litter box in the garage. There’s a cat flap in the wall between there and the rest of the house. This damn cat will yell to have us open the door for him. We finally figured out why, it’s because the other one will occasionally pounce on him when he sticks his nose through, and that’s the last thing you want when you’re clenching your sphincters. So we open the door for him.
Hey, just to throw it out there: kibble isn’t great for your cat. Cats should get most of their moisture from their food, so moist meats are best. They’re obligate carnivores. Those teeth are not made for chewing hard biscuit things. They love it because it’s basically junk food. But it contributes to kidney disease due to dehydration, tooth decay by age three because of the starches activating with the enzymes in their saliva, heart disease because of the weight issue and nutritional deficiencies (not to mention, cats will eat until they have sated their appetite for nutrients, hence why cats who eat kibble always seem to be hungry), along with a slew of other issues because everything good about the ingredients is extruded out in the process and they spray artificial vitamins back onto the food.
Like…don’t feed your cats kibble. Put it on top as a little crunchy garnish, nowhere close to the same amount of harm in that. But give your cats wet food with actual meat (not byproduct) as the first ingredient. Or better yet, buy your cat some raw food like primal, small batch, vital essentials. They are enforcing high pressure pasteurization in the industry, which is a shame because it has some of the same effects on the good bacteria in the food which helps maintain gut health, but it’s still way better than kibble.
I think the last sentence of your post is very true. If you feed your pet well, you will spend less at the vet over time.
When cats do this (complain that the bottom of the bowl is empty), it’s typically because they don’t want to shove their face (and wiskers) into the edges of the bowl
Its called “wisker stress”
A shallower bowl (or just a small plate) is usually more comfortable for them to eat off of
Alternatively, they might paw the food out of the bowl then eat it off the floor, for the same reason
If you didn’t say it, I would have. Thank you.
Thank you, this is interesting and useful. I’m telling my friend with the cats, she is the one who sent me this meme.
It’s not entirely true. I use a simple plate, there is no bowl, and she still begs when she can see more of the plate than she would prefer.
I think they just like to know there will always be enough food even if you have a routine. I feed my cat at 7am and 5pm but she acts like the next feeding will never come lol
I feed my cats their wet food on large plates the size of dinner plates. The assholes still prefer to paw it onto the floor and eat it off there, and then leave a mess everywhere. They get their kibble in a wide shallow bowl, and that stays in place.
The floor dirt tastes better
Human beings tend to season their food, too. So we shouldn’t judge cats for doing the same.
I got a quarter baking sheet and use that as a bowl. As an added benefit they can’t scarf down the food as fast.
