Eating Habits...

[Squirrel]

Sometimes I have to laugh at Cloud and the way she chooses to eat. In other ways, it's interesting, and am guessing that there is something in genetic wiring which causes her to do this. Am mostly just pleased though, cause I feed her on a small coffee table, and she can eat as messily as she pleases without it going on the floor...

What am I on about? Well, sometimes when I'm watching cloud eat she'll pick a mouthful up out of the bowl, turn round and deposit said mouthful on the table next to her, and then eat it off of the table.

She seems to do this regardless of whether she's eating wet or dry, and regardless of bowl shape (though that may be partly cause I've only got a few shapes of bowl, so if there something in that causing it then maybe they all do!).

So... First of all - thoughts/comments on that, and secondly, any strange eating habits of your own cats?

[Phoenix]

Some cats just don't like eating out of bowls. Dylan likes having his dry food on the floor believe it or not although at the moment he's convinced dry food is toxic and will only eat wet food

Dylan also likes making as much mess as possible when he's eating so we end up with cat food everywhere (including places like his - sorry! - litter tray and - strange boy - his drinks dish when it's full

[wilbar]

You might want to consider the type of bowl you are putting the food in. Some plastics give off noxious smells to cats, some materials are more porous & perhaps retain the smell of detergents, some are reflective & cats may not like seeing reflections in the bowls, some may be too small or deep so that the whiskers touch the sides etc etc.

But if it doesn't bother you & your cat is eating happily, then perhaps leave thing alone?

[Squirrel]

Thanks Wilbar.

I don't see any problems with this really. If that's the way she wants to eat that's the way she wants to eat. It's not harming me - though I may want to be extra careful how I clean the table.

I might try different bowls as time goes on - mostly I use plastic bowls - and I've heard that some cats find that it's uncomfortable to put their heads into their bowls when they aren't large enough to accommodate their whiskers?

Thank you for the thoughts anyway.

[Shelley123]

Tom and Jerry eat out of shallow metal bowls and they don't tend to drag food out onto the floor. I have however had other cats in the past who have done this.
Malaika sometimes removes the first few mouthfuls of food from her dish and takes it a small distance away before eating. I wonder if this is a trait from the wild when they would grab meat of a carcass and then leave the main food source to ensure no other dog got it.

[dandysmom]

That's odd behavior for Cloud; possibly she doesn't like a bowl? Mine have always been fed on a plate rather than a bowl. Fortunately, none were messy eaters, and I have a plastic place mat under the plate and water dish.

[angieh]

Kizzy is a very clean eater, but Pip is the "take it out of the bowl first" sort - but not always! They both have stainless steel bowls and I have often wondered, especially with the water bowl whether the reflection might be off-putting. Neither actually drink from the water bowl though - I just can't adjust to not using it for them! Kizzy has her fountain and Pip just asks for the tap turning on.

[Squirrel]

I find all of this very interesting!

Hadn't thought about that shelley - I can follow that reasoning though.

Very possibly Eileen - at some point I'll try her on a non plastic something. The coffee table I feed her on has ceramic tiles on it, so no huge deal her scattering her food round there before eating it!

As for the water bowl, I think Cloud's a bit atypical that way as well. She has a metal bowl with water in which she drinks from a fair bit. I did try her on a water fountain for a while, but she seemed scared and began to loo in the wrong places... Just think she couldn't get used to the noise, and didn't see the ripple effect as soemthing to drink from. Maybe if she doesn't like eating off of plastic I'd need to try one made from different materials, or a different way of delivering water = but it's very expensive to buy and then find you can't use!

As for taps - she's still at the watching cautiously stage, when I turn a tap on. Maybe if she's very brave she'll get quite close to the water, but actually touch it? No chance!

[cats' staff]

Cleo drags her food all over the place as and we feed her in the bathroom this can make mornings unpleasant as I wander in there barefoot and without specs. You'd think I would learn!

[Squirrel]

Oh no!!! Yuk! Sounds like you really need slippers on of a morning... But I can so follow with the bare footed bit. Haven't been over the door today and I've still nowt on my feet!