Hi there,
I've tried moving my cat's food bowls from my dining room floor to a table in my kitchen, because I'm about to foster two toddlers and I have visions of the little ones eating the cat food.
My cat just won't jump up to the table though.
I've considered that maybe it's too high for him as he is getting older (7). But he still climbs 5ft fences several time a day and the table is just under hip hight.
At the minute the food is on the floor next to the table. Yesterday I had resolved to put the food on the table and leave it, thinking that he was probably being stubborn and he would jump up there when he got hungry enough. So I put the bowl down, in front of him and lifted him onto the table so he could see it. He ate a bit, jumped down, then five minutes later he was stretching up with his paws at the edge of the table. A few times he looked like he was going to jump up but changed his mind.
In the end, he ended up going to the door to be let out. I know that there is somebody in my neighborhood ignoring his 'don't feed me' collar (he's on a special diet because he's over weight) so I got the impression that he'd decided to just get food else where. I ended up putting his bowls on the floor again.
Am I asking too much for him to jump that high for his food at his age? Or am I just letting him call the shots?
I've tried moving my cat's food bowls from my dining room floor to a table in my kitchen, because I'm about to foster two toddlers and I have visions of the little ones eating the cat food.
My cat just won't jump up to the table though.
I've considered that maybe it's too high for him as he is getting older (7). But he still climbs 5ft fences several time a day and the table is just under hip hight.
At the minute the food is on the floor next to the table. Yesterday I had resolved to put the food on the table and leave it, thinking that he was probably being stubborn and he would jump up there when he got hungry enough. So I put the bowl down, in front of him and lifted him onto the table so he could see it. He ate a bit, jumped down, then five minutes later he was stretching up with his paws at the edge of the table. A few times he looked like he was going to jump up but changed his mind.
In the end, he ended up going to the door to be let out. I know that there is somebody in my neighborhood ignoring his 'don't feed me' collar (he's on a special diet because he's over weight) so I got the impression that he'd decided to just get food else where. I ended up putting his bowls on the floor again.
Am I asking too much for him to jump that high for his food at his age? Or am I just letting him call the shots?