Strange eating behavior

[daftcat75]

Betty White has the same plate on a similar textbook in the other room and has no issues pulling up to it and eating from it. However in this room, in this location, she has taken to using her paw to eat. Any idea why she’s doing this and how to encourage her to eat from the plate instead of her paw? To be honest, the only issue I have with this is that she doesn’t eat enough by paw as she would by plate.

 

[daftcat75]

One thought I had is that the plastic mat under the book probably smells like plastic mats do. The mat under the front room plate is a different kind of plastic that doesn't smell the same. I have removed the plastic mat and we'll see if that changes her eating behavior.

 

[FeebysOwner]

It will be interesting to see if the mat change makes a difference. Is the elevation/distance of the set up between the two stations the same?

For a while Feeby would drink water from her paw at the water dish that was on the patio - the exact same water dishes inside the house but she drank from those 'normally'. I merely changed the water dish outside to a different kind and that stopped her.

 

[neely]

I noticed it looks like you have carpet in this room. Does the other room have carpet? The reason I asked is because Carleton seems to have a preference eating on hardwood floors vs carpeted ones even if it is an area rug.

 

[daftcat75]

I noticed it looks like you have carpet in this room. Does the other room have carpet? The reason I asked is because Carleton seems to have a preference eating on hardwood floors vs carpeted ones even if it is an area rug.

Carpet in both rooms. To be honest, she has another unusual behavior. Sometimes she won’t eat from these plates. But if I pick a morsel off the plate and put it on the carpet, she will eat it. I’ve tried different plates (plastic, ceramic, stainless steel, with a lip, without one…) and she doesn’t seem to have a plate she prefers over the others.

 

[daftcat75]

It will be interesting to see if the mat change makes a difference. Is the elevation/distance of the set up between the two stations the same?

For a while Feeby would drink water from her paw at the water dish that was on the patio - the exact same water dishes inside the house but she drank from those 'normally'. I merely changed the water dish outside to a different kind and that stopped her.

They’re both chemistry books (in case she has a subject preference. ) The front room book is only slightly fatter.

 

[FeebysOwner]

To be honest, she has another unusual behavior. Sometimes she won’t eat from these plates. But if I pick a morsel off the plate and put it on the carpet, she will eat it.

Sometimes, you will just not resolve an issue like this, other than to randomly play around until something 'clicks' - and, you may actually never know why for sure. There are just some things than can't be analyzed and resolved through that process. Not everything cats do can be remedied on 'human terms/logic', as much as we would like to think they can be. So, what the hell - create a plate that has a semblance of carpet-like material in the bottom? Washable 'carpet pieces', of course.

I think all cats have their idiosyncrasies. Feeby, who is a lot older than BW, has acquired a nice 'set' of them over time. I know I can't change her - or them - so every day is an experiment so to speak She is what she is, and I do my best to work with that! Just like the water dish on the patio vs. the ones in the house - no human logic, IMO, as to why changing the one outside worked, but it did.

 

[susanm9006]

I have had a few who prefer to scoop their dry food out of their dish and onto the placemat or floor before eating. No particular reason could be found, just what their little heads felt was right. I also have a couple including one of my current that likes to store her favorite toys in her water bowl. Sometimes you just have to shrug and go “cats!”.

 

[daftcat75]

I wouldn't have an issue with it. Except that she's never going to finish her portion eating by paw. So simply to keep her on track for her daily calories, I would prefer to find something that works for the both of us. I mean if she actually did finish her whole portions by paw, I would say, "wow! that's weird, but carry on!" But there's a bigger issue with her and why she doesn't finish her portions. This is a symptom, not a cause.

 

[daftcat75]

I think removing the mat helped as I saw her eat from the plate rather than her paw. This could change tomorrow. Because cats.

 

[susanm9006]

Have you tried just setting the food plate on the floor? Perhaps that is the position she is used to eating in and isn’t comfortable with the height of her plate.

 

[daftcat75]

Have you tried just setting the food plate on the floor? Perhaps that is the position she is used to eating in and isn’t comfortable with the height of her plate.

She eats from the elevated height in the other room. I do believe it may have been the placemat. We’ll see tomorrow. Tonight’s portions will be served in the front room on a text book and she does not paw the plate out here. If she eats okay tomorrow without the placemat, I’m okay with that. She’s not terribly messy. Not like Krista was.
View media item 423563

 

[daftcat75]

Have you tried just setting the food plate on the floor? Perhaps that is the position she is used to eating in and isn’t comfortable with the height of her plate.

Trying this now since she's back to pawing at the plate.

 

[susanm9006]

Trying this now since she's back to pawing at the plate.

Couldnt hurt to try. Another rather longshot is to change the detergent you wash her dishes in. One of mine will only eat off of dishes that have been run through the dishwasher. Hand wash and she won’t eat.

 

[daftcat75]

Couldnt hurt to try. Another rather longshot is to change the detergent you wash her dishes in. One of mine will only eat off of dishes that have been run through the dishwasher. Hand wash and she won’t eat.

It's strange because she doesn't paw food off the plate in the other room. Same plates. I bought them in pairs so I can easily weigh her portions in progress without having to empty the plate.

 

[IndyJones]

Maybe the floor smells funny in that spot? Ever have leaks or mold issues?

Indy sometimes plays with her food and flings it all over the floor and walls. She also knocks her water bowl over or pushes it across the room and sometimes puts toys in it. Cats are weird sometimes.

 

[daftcat75]

Maybe the floor smells funny in that spot? Ever have leaks or mold issues?

Indy sometimes plays with her food and flings it all over the floor and walls. She also knocks her water bowl over or pushes it across the room and sometimes puts toys in it. Cats are weird sometimes.

Oh I'm sure the floor smells funny all over this office between her and Krista's various secretions and ejections over the years. I do what I can with the Bissell wet vac. But it's like trying to service an engine while driving. I don't get too many opportunities to deep clean the office beyond the latest mess.

But I am pleased to report, at least for now, because cats are weird, that she just ate a good sized portion (good size for her) from the plate rather than her paw. It would be interesting to switch out the textbook and see if that makes a difference. Or if I move her front room plate to the floor whether she might eat more overnight. I mean, cats! Right?

She's such a nibbler that whatever it takes to get her to eat or eat more. Sometimes she has no interest in eating from the plate even on the floor. But if I pick a few bites off the plate and place them on the carpet, she'll eat that off the carpet. Then I pull off a few more bites. And going like this, I can get her to finish a Betty portion before she walks away. Unfortunately, I can't keep doing that as we're moving away from the stew texture which picked up a lot easier to the pate texture which makes a bigger mess on the carpet.

 

[FeebysOwner]

You are on the right track to work with the differences between the two locations, given that she has no issues with the one location at all. Change out the books - for anything better to offer (LOL). Or move the mat she willingly eats from the books/dish to the other location. It has something to do with THAT location.

 

[daftcat75]

You are on the right track to work with the differences between the two locations, given that she has no issues with the one location at all. Change out the books - for anything better to offer (LOL). Or move the mat she willingly eats from the books/dish to the other location. It has something to do with THAT location.

She just cleaned that plate for the first time in...I don't remember. If she wants this plate on the floor, great. Maybe I'll try the other plate on the floor because she barely touched last night's portion in the front room.

 

[daftcat75]

You are on the right track to work with the differences between the two locations, given that she has no issues with the one location at all. Change out the books - for anything better to offer (LOL). Or move the mat she willingly eats from the books/dish to the other location. It has something to do with THAT location.

It's chemistry or biochemistry here. I don't want to sacrifice my programming books for this. But perhaps I'll keep looking for an elevated station she may prefer more. An elevated eating station just seems like the easiest thing I can do to help her out. Except when she doesn't want that help.