Cat Wants Me To Look At His Food With Him

[AnnaGrace]

Hello everyone!

It’s my first time posting, and recently my cat has been doing a pretty odd thing, so I was wondering if any of you have any idea why.

I feed my cat, Ollie, 4 times a day (in 6 hour intervals) with small portions of mostly wet food. Initially, I used to have to travel pretty far out for work, so I would be able to feed him wet food very early in the morning before leaving. After I got a new job, I didn’t need to wake up so early anymore, so I got him a little food bowl with a timed lid that will pop open at food time for his early morning meal, and gave him a small amount of kibble in the morning.

Initially, he was completely okay with this, but the past two weeks, he’s been coming to wake me up in the wee hours of the morning to look at his opened bowl of food with him before he’ll eat it- he doesn’t need me to watch him eat, he just wants me to look at it with him once before he starts eating. Once I ignored his meows and carried on sleeping, and when I woke up several hours later in the morning, I found that he hadn’t touched his food at all, and he made me go with him to look at it before he would start eating.

Does anyone have any experience with cats behaving like this? I know cats are all odd little souls, but this is the first time I’ve encountered something like this!

 

[maggiedemi]

Demi has been doing that for the past two nights too! He comes and gets me and wants me to watch him eat. I get bored standing there and leave after a few minutes and he's fine. Maybe it's the hot weather? Or he's just lonely?

 

[AnnaGrace]

Interesting to hear that Demi does this too! I tried to look it up and could only find things about cats wanting you to watch them eat, which is an entirely different thing from what Demi and Ollie are doing.

I wonder how long this is going to last for, because as much as I love him and his funny ways, being woken up at 4 in the morning to look at kibble once is not my favourite thing ever. I know I could just ignore him and that he might eventually stop trying to wake me up, but if he also just keeps waiting for me to wake up before he eats, then it quite defeats the purpose of the timed bowl.

 

[maggiedemi]

Does Ollie like his food? Maybe they are trying to tell us that they want a different food? I wish cats could talk!

 

[AnnaGrace]

Ollie loves his food! He could be trying to say that he’d rather have his wet food again, but immediately after I’ve looked in his bowl with him, he scarfs the lot down. I’ve tried petting him while he’s eating to see if he wants comfort or company, but he just pushes my hand away with his paw and gets right back to eating and doesn’t care if I go straight back to bed.

So many things could be cleared up if only they could talk to us!

 

[CL56]

That is odd...but it could be worse
At least he doesn't want to see you taste test it first

 

[FeebysOwner]

Is the morning meal the only time you use the timed bowl? If so - even though you said he was initially OK with it - could it be that he just really doesn't quite 'get it", especially since it doesn't work that way with his other meals? If it makes a noise, he knows something is up, but he's not sure what - so he wants you to check it out before he eats? I know, doesn't seem to make sense, but when do cats always make sense?

Not the same, but Feeby has dry food sitting out during the day. It is not on a timer bowl, but when she thinks she wants to eat some she will sit right in front of the bowl (with plenty of food in it) and wait for me to show up. All I have to do is jiggle the bowl or pick up some pieces and drop them back down in the bowl - sometimes all I have to do is tell her there is food in there and it is OK to eat - and she immediately gets up and eats. Then, I can go about whatever it was I was doing before. It's like she wants me to know she wants to eat and that I need to acknowledge it before she can continue.

 

[susanm9006]

I am not a fan (won’t tolerate) being awakened in the middle of the night unless it is an emergency so I would just ignore the middle of the night request and shut the door if
need be. Maybe he will eventually eat on his own or maybe not, but he will not starve to death between 4:00 am and whatever your get up time is. Then if he hasn’t eaten you can look at the food when you are up. Alternately, you can delay the feeding time until later in the morning. He might be quieter with no food, and again he isn’t going to be harmed by waiting.

 

[vyger]

From my experience cats develop a loose idea of time from your activity. Normally they would follow the sun and the rest of the pack for timing their activity. They don't understand clocks and exact time but they do understand patterns and rhythms. My cats know my patterns, not necessarily time though. Changing when I do things in terms of the exact time doesn't matter as long as it is within a reasonable window. So getting the food dishes filled isn't dependent on an exact time as much as in the morning sometime. This is one of the reasons changing the clocks forward and back twice a year has no effect on the cats. They don't tell time by the minute or hour. So the cats major daily events, like time to eat, are tied to my activity. Mine can have food in the dishes and not even look at it until I decide to have something to eat. Then they all show up and eat also even though the food was there all along. I noticed this pattern some time ago (no pun intended) when I realized they all came to eat when I did. Unlike most people, I don't follow the clock in a lot of what I do. What I mean by that is I go by when something gets finished or I need a break rather than what time it is. Mowing the grass can take more time or less time, it doesn't end at an exact time. I have a lot of grass, it can take a lot of time. Sometimes the deciding factor is running out of gas, not the clock. Sometimes it just when it gets done that it is done. It might drive time locked people crazy until they adjusted to it. When I was doing computer repair the only thing the clock was for was billing. If I had to stay at a school and work until 1 AM so they were ready for when the staff came in in the morning then that is what I did. There was no quitting time, there was only "it's finished" time. So for me "dinner time" can be anywhere in a 4 hour period depending on when I get around to it. In the fall and winter time the deciding factor becomes more when sunset is than anything else. Can't cut firewood in the dark. But my cats are all fine with it as long as there is a pattern and a window of activity.

You are trying to get your cat to tell time and live by the clock. They don't really know how to do that. What is very confusing to your cat is that you are on a different pattern than he is. By getting you up so he can eat he is trying to get you and him on the same pattern. Forget the timed dish, just leave extra dry food for if he gets hungry at night and let him learn and follow your pattern.
By the way, my cats all sleep through the night also because they know the pattern, when I go to bed we all go to bed. It doesn't matter so much as what time it is but more that we are all on the same pattern.

 

[Purr-fect]

Greg has his quirks with feeding.

Sometimes I have to tap the edge of his food dish before he will start eating.

Sometimes I have to stroke him so he will start to eat.

Any even slightly loud noise will send him scurrying away. We have to empty the dishwasher quietly or he will leave.

Arnold on the other hand is the opposite. Noises are barely noticed by him when feeding. If greg leave his dish for even a moment, arnold will go over and finish gregs food.

 

[Hellenww]

Mawkin was 2yr when we met my partner. She never had any food rituals but within 3 mt she had my partner touch her food evertime partner was home. Mawkin ate anytime she felt like it so I saw it more as her training the new human than Mawkin needing her food "Blessed" They kept up their routine for the next 12yrs when Mawkin passed.

 

[vince]

I have similar problems with Meep. She eats very slowly and is easily distracted, and the others will eat her food. I have to sit with her and pet her gently during the whole meal or she just walks off to investigate at the slightest noise elsewhere in the house. Funny though, appliance noises don't bother her.

 

[AnnaGrace]

Thanks for the responses everyone! In the greatest of ironies, I woke up at 8am today to find that Ollie had gone back to eating his morning meal without waking me up - go figure, cats are strange. He did come by when I woke up to insist that I look at his bowl again, but this time it was empty. Then he just head butted me and trotted off.

For the life of me, I can never figure him out.

 

[AnnaGrace]

Is the morning meal the only time you use the timed bowl? If so - even though you said he was initially OK with it - could it be that he just really doesn't quite 'get it", especially since it doesn't work that way with his other meals? If it makes a noise, he knows something is up, but he's not sure what - so he wants you to check it out before he eats? I know, doesn't seem to make sense, but when do cats always make sense?

Yep, the morning meal is the only one with the timed bowl, but he’s been okay with using the bowl for several months before the looking at the food ritual popped up, which is why I can’t make head or tail of it since nothing has changed (as far as I can tell) since then.

Any even slightly loud noise will send him scurrying away. We have to empty the dishwasher quietly or he will leave.

Arnold on the other hand is the opposite. Noises are barely noticed by him when feeding. If greg leave his dish for even a moment, arnold will go over and finish gregs food.

I have similar problems with Meep. She eats very slowly and is easily distracted, and the others will eat her food. I have to sit with her and pet her gently during the whole meal or she just walks off to investigate at the slightest noise elsewhere in the house. Funny though, appliance noises don't bother her.

The funny thing about Ollie’s new thing with the morning food is that he doesn’t need or want me to stand guard while he’s eating, he seems to just want me to check it out with him before he eats. And it’s probably not a noise issue because he’s like Arnold that way- there are no noises that will stand between him and his food. His greatest fear on earth is thunderstorms, but if you bring him food when he’s hiding in a closet during a thunderstorm, he’ll still eat it, eyes closed and trembling and all.

 

[maggiedemi]

He did come by when I woke up to insist that I look at his bowl again, but this time it was empty.

Cats are so funny!

 

[Maria Bayote]

A

Hello everyone!

It’s my first time posting, and recently my cat has been doing a pretty odd thing, so I was wondering if any of you have any idea why.

I feed my cat, Ollie, 4 times a day (in 6 hour intervals) with small portions of mostly wet food. Initially, I used to have to travel pretty far out for work, so I would be able to feed him wet food very early in the morning before leaving. After I got a new job, I didn’t need to wake up so early anymore, so I got him a little food bowl with a timed lid that will pop open at food time for his early morning meal, and gave him a small amount of kibble in the morning.

Initially, he was completely okay with this, but the past two weeks, he’s been coming to wake me up in the wee hours of the morning to look at his opened bowl of food with him before he’ll eat it- he doesn’t need me to watch him eat, he just wants me to look at it with him once before he starts eating. Once I ignored his meows and carried on sleeping, and when I woke up several hours later in the morning, I found that he hadn’t touched his food at all, and he made me go with him to look at it before he would start eating.

Does anyone have any experience with cats behaving like this? I know cats are all odd little souls, but this is the first time I’ve encountered something like this!

Awws, such a sweetheart. I think it's just his way of getting more attention from you.

My Barley used to do that. He wants me to look at him while he eats. Otherwise, he won't touch the food. Lately he is ok eating alone. I don't know what happened, but he just stopped. Sometimes I miss that, but I prefer that he won't so he does not starve in case I am away. LOL.

 

[Jwa]

Haha ...my kitten always wants me to stay in the kitchen while he eats his wet food every morning. If I leave he stops eating and follows me until I go back in there and he will resume eating....I’ve never had a cat do that before. Silly things

 

[AnnaGrace]

You are trying to get your cat to tell time and live by the clock. They don't really know how to do that. What is very confusing to your cat is that you are on a different pattern than he is. By getting you up so he can eat he is trying to get you and him on the same pattern. Forget the timed dish, just leave extra dry food for if he gets hungry at night and let him learn and follow your pattern.
By the way, my cats all sleep through the night also because they know the pattern, when I go to bed we all go to bed. It doesn't matter so much as what time it is but more that we are all on the same pattern.

I get what you're saying, but the issue here is a little different. Ollie has very fixed schedules of his own that he likes to follow and he's kind of his own slightly neurotic cat so he pretty much disregards what my schedule is like because mine is highly erratic and changes from day to day. He was actually the one who decided on the 6 hour intervals for food (when I first started meal feeding, he'd come and ask for food at roughly equal intervals 4 times a day) and now if he isn't fed on the dot at each his 6 hour intervals, he'll come and yell and me until I do it. The looking at the food ritual only cropped up recently after several months of there not being any issue so it just baffled me (and it's also recently stopped again so I guess its' going to remain a mystery forever).