Cuddling Too Much To Eat

[LittleShadow]

Okay, when I first was thinking about bringing Molly inside I joked that she might starve, as she prioritizes cuddles over all else, including food. Now...I'm not so sure it is a joke. I brought Molly in yesterday. She's got a fountain for water, dry and wet food out, a new cat tree, and a litter box on each end of the house.

In the time she's been inside, she's eaten about an ounce of wet food, licked at the water a few times, and has otherwise been glued to my side. I put her out in her catio, with dry food out, for about three hours midday while I ran a few errands, so she might have eaten/drank/pottied then, but she's starting to worry me. Am I being paranoid, or should I be putting her out to make sure she actually eats a couple times a day if she's too clingy to bother with trivialities like eating when she could be sleeping on me?

 

[rubysmama]

Molly sounds like such a sweetie pie, but you're right, she needs to eat. Did you just bring her inside yesterday?

 

[FeebysOwner]

Molly LOVES her new inside home and being around you. She is truly just trying to make sure you don't leave her or put her back outside. This will subside over time I am sure, as she starts to realize you are going to keep her with you.

If she is not that motivated to be outside in the catio right now, don't do it until she is more confident. If you have to go away for a while, select a 'safe room' for her and put her there while you are out - of course, with her food/water/litterbox/toys/etc. If she is not placed out in the catio, she might realize you are keeping her and she can consider that safe room as her home base. You can also spend time with her when she is in the catio, just for more re-enforcement that she is not on her own.

In the meantime, sit with her at her food bowl and water dish and see if she will eat with you being near her. Most cats typically use the litterbox shortly after eating, so you can move to the litterbox area shortly after she eats and see if she will then use the litterbox.

I think after a few weeks you will see a change in her confidence and her desire to be a bit more independent.

 

[LittleShadow]

Thanks for the suggestions, FeebysOwner . I went and sat next to her food, and just kept picking her up and putting her in front of her dish and petting her when she looked at the food, and after about 15 minutes of this she ate some of her kibble. She finally used the litter box after that, so that's one more worry out of the way.

I hadn't thought to make an indoor room to close her in when I'm away, I'll work on that. She, believe it or not, is a former feral, so I'd thought she'd prefer being in her catio and watching the outside. You raise a good point though about her not understanding that she's going to continue to be allowed inside with me, even though I sometimes have to leave for work or errands. I'll have to work to clear and cat-proof a room with a door, I've still got a ton of mom's things even though she's moved to her new place. She's clearing out the storage unit first, since that costs money, while my spare bedroom doesn't.

Until I know Molly's figured out indoor manners, I don't want to let Molly roam free when I'm not home, as there are a number of things in the house she could innocently destroy. I can't do it today before work, but I'll start working on clearing a space once I get home.

 

[amethyst]

It sounds like you may have it at least on the way to being sorted, but thought I'd share about one of my cats. I've had her since birth, she was born from one of my cats, so she has never had any worry about where you belongs. I'm pretty convinced that eating is boring to her and she feels there are better things to do. I've resorted to hand feeding her kibble sometimes when I haven't seen her eat all day. If I put a bowl of food in front of her or try moving her to the food bowl, she wont eat it, but will eat if I give her one kibble at a time, like they are treats . She also has her own private food bowl of kibble in the bedroom at night. That way she doesn't get distracted while eating by the other cats and what is going on in the rest of the house, which happens often when she is eating at the communal feeder bowl (I free feed kibble) or when wet food is put out.

So basically there are some cats that just are not that interested in eating. The only time she seems genuinely interested in food is when she has hunted and killed it herself. (I live out in the country, mice ending up in the house literally comes with the territory.) So another thing you can try is play with her, then offer the food, rather then just having it out all the time. A cat wouldn't naturally have food all the time, they hunt for it, kill it, then they can eat.

 

[Kflowers]

Or with it being cold and all, you could just put a towel in your lap. Invite her to get in your lap, then -- surprise, here's this bowl of cat food that was just sitting on the table beside me, let me put it on my lap. Would you like some of it?

The shock might make her interested. The fact that she's securely sitting in your lap and you can't 'get away' might make her feel it's safe to eat. Like @FeebyOwner said, she still over joyed to be inside. The only time she's seen you before was when you were handing out food. In her mind if the food is still there, you'll still be there. Feeding her in your lap gets both together.

As soon as she finishes her wet food, I'd put some dry down, just to prove food remains. I'd also let her sleep in the bed with me. That's the best non-verbal, we're sharing this turf, don't worry statement I know for cats.

 

[LittleShadow]

Oh, she acts like she never sees me, but back when it was warm enough outside I spent a good two to four hours a day just petting and cuddling her in her catio, more on my days off. Once it got too cold, I started bringing her into my bedroom and cuddling her for two to six hours a day, usually while I read or watched a movie or two. She just has absolutely no concept of "enough cuddles", to her there is no such thing. It's hard to believe it took us months to get her tame enough to catch, because she absolutely LOVES people now.

Play session leading to food isn't likely to work, mostly because I've never had a successful play session with her. She ignores the toy and rubs against my hands if she can get to them, legs if she can't. She couldn't care less about the toy, she wants pets. Offering her food in the hand gets her head rubbed on my hand, or she'll bat the food out of my hand, then stuff her head under my hand.

I will try the arranging to have both her and her food in my lap idea, that might work. She eats best in my presence when I'm petting her with both hands and the food is right in front of her, so she might feel more secure if I'm holding AND petting her with food right there. I'll have to wait a bit to try that, as the first thing I did when I got home was coax her into eating some, so she's probably not very hungry right now.

As to letting her sleep with me, of course! She's been sleeping with me and cuddling in bed with me like crazy. There's just more cuddle space in bed, so I've been camped out there as much as possible, trying to cuddle her into calmness. Fun fact: She snores, and it's adorable!

 

[mizzely]

Lydia went through a phase like this when my older cat died in November. She ate very little and only wanted to be on me. It was the first time she had been the only cat in her 9 years.

We are just getting back to normal almost 3 months later. I think it just takes them a bit to learn the new normal.

In the meantime, I experiemented with lots of new foods to find out what she really liked and built a rotation from that. I learned a lot about her and what makes her tick. I think the variety is helping her to eat what she should!

 

[LittleShadow]

Food in lap is a success! If I bundle up on the couch, put Molly's food by my knees and Molly in my lap, she'll eat it once she settles in. She even ate a little on her own when I was eating lunch a few feet away at the breakfast bar! More food is disappearing overnight too, which didn't happen her first two nights in, so I think when I'm asleep she's going out and eating.

I feel a little silly for being so worried about her eating enough, but with how quickly not eating can make a cat sick I didn't just want to wait it out. At this point, I've got things in the house arranged so she can roam free when I'm not home, and she seems to eat when I'm asleep or away, and will grab a bite or two if I linger in the kitchen. She's not eating as much as she normally does, so I'll keep encouraging her until she's back to normal portions on her own, but she seems to be calming down.