Something Wrong?

[lanasaez]

This is a picture of Ella's eating area in the kitchen. It's between the stove and the cabinets. She eat's in the area but we've noticed that she will only go to it if were walking towards the kitchen..Once in a blue moon she will go to it on her own, It's kind of like she forgets where her food is at. Should we move it to another area for her? 

 

[mrblanche]

The only thing I can think of is that it is open behind her, which might make a skittish cat reluctant to eat there.

 

[aeevr]

Also, some cats like to eat when you're around. I had a cat who would run to the kitchen to eat and/or use the litter box when anyone would go towards the kitchen. She liked an audience.

 

[lanasaez]

Hmm I see. 

aeevr, I know what you mean. She does it every time. Maybe she is the one who like's an audience? could be. Oh well. 

 

[rad65]

Both of my cats love having an audience to eat. It makes meal time, when I serve them wet food, a bit frustrating sometimes, as they will leave the kitchen the second I do so I have to stay and watch them eat their whole meal. They will eat their dry food alone sometimes, but they still follow me into the kitchen nearly every time so they can eat with me around.

I do agree that Ella may be fearful of eating with her back to the rest of the room and her head facing that corner. She may be using you as a bodyguard when she goes in to eat. My cats will push their food bowls to the side so that they can sit parallel to the cabinets. That way they get a good look at the kitchen/dining room opening. You could try rotating the food and water bowls 180 degrees, pushing them away fro the wall far enough for Ella to sit behind, and leaving a path in the middle for Ella to walk through easily. She may feel better about eating if she is in the corner and can survey the rest of the room herself.

One other suggestion/observation. I have never had a problem with it since I have water bowls all over the house, but quite a few people on this site have found that their cats don't like to have their food and water directly next to each other; a carried over instinct for not polluting a nearby water source I would imagine, since wild cats bury the remains of their food in the ground to avoid detection by other animals.

 

[princessesme]

It could either location or just having an audience. Naku is a people cat, so if no one is in the area where he is eating when it is time to eat, he kind of freaks out. Since we have to feed the cats seperately due to allergies, we put his food out with us, so he can be around us while he is eating.

Also, do you free-feed? We've switched over to a twice daily feeding (based on our vets recommendation) and it allows us to control where they are being fed a little more too, since we feed them around the time we are about to eat dinner or at least prep in the kitchen. So maybe a feeding schedule would help, to put the food down while you are in the kitchen prepping yourself food as well?

 

[mystiquetyler]

Great advice and I learned something new   I never knew that some cats don't like water next to their food. Makes sense though.
 

Both of my cats love having an audience to eat. It makes meal time, when I serve them wet food, a bit frustrating sometimes, as they will leave the kitchen the second I do so I have to stay and watch them eat their whole meal. They will eat their dry food alone sometimes, but they still follow me into the kitchen nearly every time so they can eat with me around.

I do agree that Ella may be fearful of eating with her back to the rest of the room and her head facing that corner. She may be using you as a bodyguard when she goes in to eat. My cats will push their food bowls to the side so that they can sit parallel to the cabinets. That way they get a good look at the kitchen/dining room opening. You could try rotating the food and water bowls 180 degrees, pushing them away fro the wall far enough for Ella to sit behind, and leaving a path in the middle for Ella to walk through easily. She may feel better about eating if she is in the corner and can survey the rest of the room herself.

One other suggestion/observation. I have never had a problem with it since I have water bowls all over the house, but quite a few people on this site have found that their cats don't like to have their food and water directly next to each other; a carried over instinct for not polluting a nearby water source I would imagine, since wild cats bury the remains of their food in the ground to avoid detection by other animals.

 

[lanasaez]

wow, thank you for all of this information. I'm going to try moving her food and water and see how that works. I don't mind her running to the kitchen when im going their too (sometimes i trip over her 

) it's just that i hate when she stops eating when i walk out of the kitchen. makes me wonder has she eaten all day since i work 9am-6pm and hubby 12-6pm =/ 

 

[stephanietx]

Also, you don't want the water to be that close to the food.  Be sure to leave about 4 feet of space between the two to prevent eating then drinking immediately which can cause them to throw up.