Cats exchanging bowls and sharing food...normal?

jadeleaf

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My cats are a funny pair. I give them a bowl each at dinner time and half way their meal they will stop and switch bowls. Then after the meal is nearly finished they will swap back.

I noticed recently if I give them both bits of chicken or ham as a treat, occasionally Sabbath (the cat I've had longer than my newer three legged one) will put the piece of chicken down for Felix to take.


Is this normal good behaviour for cats? I was always led to believe cats got very territorial over their food but Sabbath actually left my chicken scraps tonight (which is his favourite) as if he was leaving it for Felix to take. sabbath usually wolfs down every last bit (or did until Fe came to live here).

It's a nice thought of them sharing but I was wondering if there's something deeper meaning in the behaviour. Is it a dominance thing if a cat leaves his food for another as if to say "I'm letting you have this because I'm the alpha cat and I'm feeding you" or it just a case of Sab showing his love for Felix?

I also note Sab gives Felix a little head bath (before Felix starts wanting to play) but Felix never licks him so something tells me Sab is the dominant cat here lol.

Cats are so funny and unpredictable and not to mention clever.
 

mingking

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I have no idea why they do that but they both sound so sweet! Perhaps Sabbath is  taking care of Felix. But anyway, so cute!
 

betsygee

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That's very cute!

Our three have a funny routine, too.  They all three eat together--Ozzy on the left, Rico in the middle and Zoe on the right.  If they're not in that order when I'm putting down food, they will actually walk around me to get to 'their' dish.  But while they're eating, they often switch bowls.  I never saw it as a dominance thing, I thought they just wanted to make sure there wasn't better food in the other guy's bowl!  
Now they have raised stainless steel bowls, but note they're still eating in the same order--Ozzy, Rico, Zoe.


I think that's adorable that Sabbath is taking care of Felix!  
   Aren't cats fun to watch?  
 

2bcat

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My two have been bowl swapping ever since they came home, even though they get the same food.  They are litter mates, have been together all their lives.  I think it's mainly for that "Is there better food in the other bowl?" reason.  Earlier on, we didn't necessarily get too specific about which side either was on, but for the last few months they always start out on the same side, and the one cat at least understands it (the other is less particular about that sort of habit).  

The other thing I think is at play, at least before, is that the larger cat would purposely swap in the middle as a possible way to gain a bit of extra food.  At the time I was feeding the portions a little too large, at least for the smaller cat.  With the current portions and current foods, though, they finish pretty close to the same time and usually each finish their own bowl or pretty close to it before walking away or swapping.  That's been a nice change, they really understand a mealtime now and will finish their meal in one go instead of trying to graze it.

Anyway, it shouldn't be a problem as long as you don't notice one cat getting too heavy or not getting enough.  There could be some territorial-type instinctive behaviors in there but unless you notice other issues it seems like a harmless one to me.  The bigger problem is if you end up with weight issues (over or under) and then trying to get them to have the right amounts gets kind of difficult.
 
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