Cat will only finish food if on the floor

[chelsmarie]

Lately, my cat who previously finished her entire portion of wet food in her bowl will only eat about half. To get her to finish, I have to put the remaining portion on the floor. I thought maybe it was a whisker thing but it happens for both raised bowls and flat dishes. Is it something instinctual? Should I just let her do it? It makes a mess and who knows what’s on the floor. I also thought the raised bowls were better for her spine and gagging. She previously was fine eating with the bowl…

 

[ArtNJ]

Cats will sometimes develop weird rituals around food if the humans accomodate. I wouldn't put the food on the floor. The behavior will likely go away within a few days.

 

[daftcat75]

I'm subscribing to this thread. My Betty is the same way sometimes. Sometimes she eats just fine from her plate. But other times she either doesn't want to eat at all, or she'll paw the food (wet food) off the plate and eat it off her paw. Sometimes she has no interest in food when I plate it. But if I grab a morsel off the plate and put it on the carpet, she'll take that up. Sometimes I can get her to eat an entire portion this way.

My two guesses with Betty are nausea and maybe a dental issue (painful tooth that sometimes hits the plate? ) The nausea is being treated with ondansetron while we wait for a specialist appointment to figure out why she has it in the first place. Betty is an adult cat who is new to me. Her mouth, like so much of her medical history, is a mystery to me. I debate with myself whether I should get her teeth checked out before her specialist appointment for her gut or after. One thing at a time? For now, she eats enough despite her odd and sometimes messy requirements.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Aside from the other suggestions, first try adding more water to the food to see if that might resolve the problem. Although my cat isn't trying to eat canned food off the floor - nor do I try to give it to her that way - she does seem to need water added to any food that has not yet been eaten. She also wants the food to be scooped up into a 'new pile' so to speak, making it also easier to eat from a dish. I also have a second set of dishes that are shallower when the food gets low, and that also seems to help to get her to eat the rest. If you can't find any other solution, at least get some washable mats to set on the floor for her to eat off of - helps with the mess and you know that they are 'clean'.

Btw, what made you think of putting the food on the floor to begin with?

 

[chelsmarie]

I already add water to her food so I don’t think that’s the problem and she drinks it all. Nothing in particular made me try the floor, just didn’t want the food to go to waste so figured why not. I’ve read some cats like eating that way if they lived outside (my cat was semi-feral and adopted at 8 months).

 

[FeebysOwner]

I already add water to her food so I don’t think that’s the problem and she drinks it all. Nothing in particular made me try the floor, just didn’t want the food to go to waste so figured why not. I’ve read some cats like eating that way if they lived outside (my cat was semi-feral and adopted at 8 months).

Then, see if you can find some shallower dishes and place the remaining food in those. I have no idea why, but when Feeby's food gets low in her dish, she doesn't want to eat it. Other than adding water, I also re-scoop it into a pile, which helps. Once that is no longer effective, I bring out the shallower dishes and that does seem to help to get her to eat more. I have a makeshift elevated food station, and both the deeper and shallower dishes fit on it, so she is still eating in a more upright position.

There is also a possibility that the angling of your elevated food station is not conducive to her eating the last bits of food. Or, perhaps you are adding too much water, and she doesn't like that much? Maybe not give her an elevated feeding station at all - perhaps, she doesn't need it, unless you have experienced issues with her that were resolved by raising her food dish?

Something has changed for her, and while it could be health related, it wouldn't seem so much to be the case since she does eat what you put on the floor. If you feel compelled to get her to finish food off the floor, don't want to try to remove the elevated feeding station, and hope this is some sort of phase, then at least get the mats.

Hopefully more members will come up with some other ideas for you to try!!!

 

[susanm9006]

If she insists on eating on the floor then I would just get a few inexpensive plastic placemats that you can lay down for her to eat off of. She of course may decide at some point that she wants to eat off of a plate again.

 

[ArtNJ]

Its definitely true that a lot of cats dont love shoving their face into the corners of a bowl to get at the last little bit. If they are hungry enough and know you wont "fix it" they generally will do so, at least for me. For example, my cats usually finish *everything* I give them in the finished basement overnight, often licking the bowl clean. During the day though? Clumps up against the side of the bowl definitely dont get eaten.

 

[danteshuman]

Try feeding her on saucers or the paper plate saucers (I use the kind with ?wax? Or something that seals them so the gravy isn’t absorbed. They are thicker ones. I get a pack of $300 from Costco.... I can’t remember the price but they are cheap!)