Picky Eaters: Location, Location, Location

[lisahe]

There are always lots of threads about picky eaters -- including recent ones from @GGG and @Erin80 -- so I thought I'd mention something weird that's come up occasionally in some past threads about picky eaters.

Some cats like to change their dining spots regularly. As an example, our picky cat, Ireland, didn't want to eat her dinner tonight. I crumbled Pure Bites and Feline Natural pellets on it (multiple times!) but she just wouldn't eat. Then she jumped into a cardboard box she really loves and I ended up putting her dish in the box so she could eat in there. She finished most of her meal. She's very much a cat of habit for many of her other meals but for some reason dinner can be a real challenge.

I mention this because you just never know what might get a seemingly picky cat to eat. I know Ireland's not the only cat who does this: I seem to recall that @cheeser has a cat who likes to choose his spots very carefully, too. All of which is to say that sometimes it's not the food that's causing the drama, it's the location. I'm not sure which is scarier since it's so hard to read a cat's mind.

 

[FeralHearts]

When I start Charlie's millionth food trial for allergies again - and probably fail again - seriously I have little hope this time will be different - but - I'm adding this to my list of "things to try". One more thing to try that I've not can't hurt and maybe it will be the things that gets us a win!

Thank you!

 

[duckpond]

location can make a difference! mine are pretty much set on where they like to eat, my little black girl likes to sit in a box when she eats she is small, so those topper boxes i get from chewy are just right. she sits in the box, with the food on the counter beside her, this is how she normally prefers to eat.

sometimes she gets weird and wont eat her wet, but if i put little spoon fulls on the counter that they are allowed on she will eat it sometimes i think she gets a bit overwhelmed by a big plate of food, but little bits at a time she is happy?

 

[lisahe]

I hope it helps, F FeralHearts ! If Charlie leads you somewhere to eat, try that place.

duckpond , by "topper boxes" I'm figuring those almost-a-box things, right the ones that are only about an inch or two tall? The things that cats really do love sitting in?

sometimes she gets weird and wont eat her wet, but if i put little spoon fulls on the counter that they are allowed on she will eat it sometimes i think she gets a bit overwhelmed by a big plate of food, but little bits at a time she is happy?

And yes to this, too! I often wonder if Ireland gets overwhelmed, too. Sometimes I'll hand feed her a bit of something and then she'll dig right in. Or I'll put little clumps of food on the edge of the plate. Or even the floor or her place mat. It's often just a matter of getting her started.

 

[duckpond]

I hope it helps, F FeralHearts ! If Charlie leads you somewhere to eat, try that place.

duckpond , by "topper boxes" I'm figuring those almost-a-box things, right the ones that are only about an inch or two tall? The things that cats really do love sitting in?



And yes to this, too! I often wonder if Ireland gets overwhelmed, too. Sometimes I'll hand feed her a bit of something and then she'll dig right in. Or I'll put little clumps of food on the edge of the plate. Or even the floor or her place mat. It's often just a matter of getting her started.

yes, those little almost a box things. i get a lot of wet food from chewy, and they use those to top the cases of food, helps with transit damage. I always have a nice clean supply for her to sit in

 

[lisahe]

yes, those little almost a box things. i get a lot of wet food from chewy, and they use those to top the cases of food, helps with transit damage. I always have a nice clean supply for her to sit in

I used to order quite a bit from Chewy, too, and the cats loved to just sit, idly, in/on those box thingies. I've been thinking of Chewy again because it's seemed like some of our stores haven't had such stable food supplies lately (and/or just don't want to sell certain things) so maybe we'll have more of those silly boxes again soon, too!

 

[daftcat75]

Krista will sometimes walk away from the food early. I will take the dish, weigh what she left, and then re-plate it. Often just re-plating it makes my kitty reconsider, like, "oh new food!" Sometimes I take it to another location. And sometimes I just accept an early walk-away as a sign of an impending hairball. I wait for when she's hungry again, and then give her a glob of hairball gel and make her wait another hour before I feed her again.

 

[RajaNMizu]

This little trick works for Raja as well. Mizu tends to eat on the counter next to the sink (because she's messy and it's easiest to clean) and Raja usually cleans her bowl. If she doesn't, I move it to a new locations and she's like "Great! New food!" and will finish what she just walked away from.

 

[daftcat75]

This little trick works for Raja as well. Mizu tends to eat on the counter next to the sink (because she's messy and it's easiest to clean) and Raja usually cleans her bowl. If she doesn't, I move it to a new locations and she's like "Great! New food!" and will finish what she just walked away from.

Krista eats on the counter too for the same reason. I'd rather pick food off my coffee maker than clean the floor after every meal.

 

[misty8723]

Mine have all been that way, but I guess I spoiled them by taking the food to where they were.

Cricket (my only cat at the moment) will go to the place where she wants to eat, or where she wants her treat, and I have to bring it to here there.

 

[lisahe]

Often just re-plating it makes my kitty reconsider, like, "oh new food!"

Ha! I'm going to remember this about replating!

That said, both cats' appetites are lower now, probably because they're sleeping more. It's finally gotten cold so they're not spending much time on the veranda watching unattainable prey.

 

[ailish]

Cats are funny. Ailish will only eat from a plate put in the proper place. No eating dropped food, "You expect me to eat off the FLOOR???" or even a spot dropped on the counter. WILL eat from a plate on the counter if I'm trying to work with it, but I can't feed her on the counter. Won't touch people food. My sister's cat won't eat two foods mixed, "What is THIS, because it's not food!!!" While Ailish has no problem with mixes. Dogs on the other hand...food...eat.

 

[lutece]

A few years ago my son (then in elementary school) did a science project on trying to determine which kind of canned cat food our cats preferred. He tested several types of food over several days, giving the cats multiple choices at one time on little plates, watching the cats eating, recording data, etc., and then was thoroughly puzzled by his data... until he finally figured out that the location of the plate seemed to matter more to these particular cats than the type of food on the plate

 

[lisahe]

A few years ago my son (then in elementary school) did a science project on trying to determine which kind of canned cat food our cats preferred. He tested several types of food over several days, giving the cats multiple choices at one time on little plates, watching the cats eating, recording data, etc., and then was thoroughly puzzled by his data... until he finally figured out that the location of the plate seemed to matter more to these particular cats than the type of food on the plate

I love this story, lutece -- I think your son should become a vet with a specialty in cat behavior! He clearly figured out what these cats were up to.

 

[maggiedemi]

he finally figured out that the location of the plate seemed to matter more to these particular cats than the type of food on the plate

So what was the best location? Let me know and I'll try it with my cats.

 

[lutece]

I'm afraid the results were not very exciting... In each trial he put one hungry cat in the bathroom with a row of 3 small plates, each plate having a different type of food. Most of our cats ate significantly more of the food on the center plate, compared to the side plates, regardless of the type of food on each plate.

 

[lisahe]

I'm afraid the results were not very exciting... In each trial he put one hungry cat in the bathroom with a row of 3 small plates, each plate having a different type of food. Most of our cats ate significantly more of the food on the center plate, compared to the side plates, regardless of the type of food on each plate.

So the key to success is multiple plates! (And put the stuff you really want the cat to eat in the middle.)

 

[kmoulus]

My cat wants to eat with me. I only noticed recently, we are having a problem with weight loss and I have become preoccupied with getting her to eat. And I have noticed that if I feed her and walk away, she will eat a little and then join me wherever I am. If I feed her in the room where I am doing whatever, she will clean her plate. So now Speedy eats her breakfast in the bathroom while I'm dressing, doing hair etc., and then she eats dinner in the living room while I watch TV. She's definitely eating more, her poops are much bigger.

 

[PushPurrCatPaws]

My cat Milly has recently taken to eating her meals when the food dish is set upon a window sill (she has a long, more narrow dish, not a round one).

I call it her "tv dinners": it takes her twice as long to eat as she keeps stopping mid-bite to look out the window at a passing bird or car, then she goes right back to eating as if nothing had happened.

 

[lisahe]

That's funny, PushPurrCatPaws ! Ireland, our picky cat, also eats tv dinners (though we never called them that) because she likes to eat by a glass door. Or on the veranda. She usually checks the situation on TV, circles the dish, and then starts to eat, slowly, checking often to see what's happening on the show.

And kmoulus , how interesting (and sweet!) that your cat likes to eat with you! Ours is the opposite: she likes to be encouraged in the beginning but then she prefers not to be observed.