Where do you keep your cat food/dishes?

[IkeaMonkey]

Hi all!

I adopted a 3 year old male about 10 days ago. I live in an apartment and I keep his food and water dish in the kitchen where I also keep his food.
I’m realizing that this is now associated me going to the kitchen with him thinking I’m getting his food- which has led to some aggressions when I come out without food for him!
Besides saying NO, giving him a kicker, and ignoring him for 10 minutes, I would prefer to figure out a new spot for him to eat and to keep his food so I can be in the kitchen with some peace!
As I try to figure out a good option in my apartment, I want to see where you all keep the food and dishes? Especially if you have limited space!

thansk!

 

[Flybynight]

I keep my cats food dishes and bowls in the same cabinet in the kitchen as our dishware but in a separate spot on the shelf.
The food is in a deep pull out drawer in the kitchen with only cat food, medicines and treats.
Do you have a china type cabinet outside the kitchen or a utility room?

It may be he is hungry or food insecure if not enough to eat before you adopted him. Wet food is pretty safe to feed on demand if good quality without high grain or sugars. Dry food is what tends to put the weight on as carb heavy.
I would try feeding him more but small wet food meals. My two tend to eat 3/4 times a day but only wet.

 

[IkeaMonkey]

I keep my cats food dishes and bowls in the same cabinet in the kitchen as our dishware but in a separate spot on the shelf.
The food is in a deep pull out drawer in the kitchen with only cat food, medicines and treats.
Do you have a china type cabinet outside the kitchen or a utility room?

It may be he is hungry or food insecure if not enough to eat before you adopted him. Wet food is pretty safe to feed on demand if good quality without high grain or sugars. Dry food is what tends to put the weight on as carb heavy.
I would try feeding him more but small wet food meals. My two tend to eat 3/4 times a day but only wet.

Thanks for your response! Unfortunately, I don't have any smaller rooms that would available. I could move them more to the living room area and figure out a spot to store the food.
I do wonder if this is related to his previous lifestyle. I currently feed him 3 oz of wet food in the morning, about 1/3 cup of dry around 5, and then 3 oz of wet around 10 right before bed. Lots of treats in between!

 

[rubysmama]

I wonder if he's a former stray, and therefore has "stray cat food obsession", in which case no matter where you store his food, he's going to quickly connect you going there with him being fed.

My Ruby was a stray for a bit before I adopted her, and when I first brought her home, she was obsessed with food. She would eat every speck in her dish at one time, and would still want more food. She hovered around me whenever I was in the kitchen, to the point that on some occasions I had to put her in another room so I could cook.

Eventually, after several months (probably 7 or so) she one day started leaving food in her dish for later, and stopped being obsessed with food.

So if the same thing is happening with your boy, there is hope that he will eventually get over associating you going into the kitchen when him being fed. It just may take some time.

As for Ruby's food and dishes, they're kept on shelves in the kitchen.

Welcome to TCS, btw. And congrats on being a new cat parent.

 

[IkeaMonkey]

I wonder if he's a former stray, and therefore has "stray cat food obsession", in which case no matter where you store his food, he's going to quickly connect you going there with him being fed.

My Ruby was a stray for a bit before I adopted her, and when I first brought her home, she was obsessed with food. She would eat every speck in her dish at one time, and would still want more food. She hovered around me whenever I was in the kitchen, to the point that on some occasions I had to put her in another room so I could cook.

Eventually, after several months (probably 7 or so) she one day started leaving food in her dish for later, and stopped being obsessed with food.

So if the same thing is happening with your boy, there is hope that he will eventually get over associating you going into the kitchen when him being fed. It just may take some time.

As for Ruby's food and dishes, they're kept on shelves in the kitchen.

Welcome to TCS, btw. And congrats on being a new cat parent.

Oh thank you! Yes, he was a stray before being picked up and neutered in the beginning of June. The behavior of your cat Ruby definitely sounds like my guy. Thank you for this, it brings me some clarity. Maybe it will just take some time! I will keep on staying strong and ignoring the attacks.

 

[suzeanna]

Whatever you do, store any dry food or snacks totally out of reach... I thought I had a well-behaved kitty, but once we were gone for several hours and she chewed a face-sized hole in her dry food bag and ate from it without limit (she's normally on a pretty strict diet with only 15 kibble/day).

You could maybe keep some of his 1/3 cup of kibble in a baggie and toss him one or two when you leave the kitchen without food for him otherwise.

 

[vince]

I had to start keeping dry food in a plastic box in the oven. My cats can't open that. They had figured out how to get the pantry door and kitchen cabinets open and had gorged themselves on the cat food.

 

[LTS3]

A Rubbermaid-type storage container will work for bags of dry food and keep the cat from chewing through the bag. Canned food can be stored pretty much anywhere you can stash them: kitchen cabinets / shelves, a rolling cart, in a closet, etc.

There are large bins made just for bulk bags of dry food with separate storage for cans but those may be too big for your apartment unless you have a large closet space.

And smaller dry bulk containers like these but require counter or shelf space:

Most cats will eat any where you place the food bowl. So it's fine to move your cat's bowls from the kitchen to the living room or wherever else you can spare a little space. My cats generally eat just outside the kitchen area (open floor plan so no doors) but they'll go wherever I place their bowls.

 

[rubysmama]

I will keep on staying strong and ignoring the attacks.

When you say "attacks" what exactly do you mean? Is he just head bumping and pawing at you when he thinks you're getting him food? Or is there actual aggression with scratches or bites?

 

[IkeaMonkey]

Whatever you do, store any dry food or snacks totally out of reach... I thought I had a well-behaved kitty, but once we were gone for several hours and she chewed a face-sized hole in her dry food bag and ate from it without limit (she's normally on a pretty strict diet with only 15 kibble/day).

You could maybe keep some of his 1/3 cup of kibble in a baggie and toss him one or two when you leave the kitchen without food for him otherwise.

Haha oh my! Thanks, I will do that!

 

[IkeaMonkey]

I had to start keeping dry food in a plastic box in the oven. My cats can't open that. They had figured out how to get the pantry door and kitchen cabinets open and had gorged themselves on the cat food.

Haha as long as you don’t forget to take the food out of the oven before turning it on! I keep pans in there and forget every time . Cats are so smart!

 

[IkeaMonkey]

A Rubbermaid-type storage container will work for bags of dry food and keep the cat from chewing through the bag. Canned food can be stored pretty much anywhere you can stash them: kitchen cabinets / shelves, a rolling cart, in a closet, etc.

There are large bins made just for bulk bags of dry food with separate storage for cans but those may be too big for your apartment unless you have a large closet space.

And smaller dry bulk containers like these but require counter or shelf space:

Most cats will eat any where you place the food bowl. So it's fine to move your cat's bowls from the kitchen to the living room or wherever else you can spare a little space. My cats generally eat just outside the kitchen area (open floor plan so no doors) but they'll go wherever I place their bowls.

Oh thanks! I read things about not moving the food bowls, so this helps.

 

[IkeaMonkey]

When you say "attacks" what exactly do you mean? Is he just head bumping and pawing at you when he thinks you're getting him food? Or is there actual aggression with scratches or bites?

There is actual aggression with scratches and bites- usually grabbing around my feet or ankles. This happens during play too, so I try and play a ton! Doesn’t always mean that is doesn’t still happen though. I’m pretty worried about it to be honest!

 

[vince]

Haha as long as you don’t forget to take the food out of the oven before turning it on! I keep pans in there and forget every time . Cats are so smart!

Turning it on? That implies I might actually cook something!

 

[game misconduct]

graycie always has a bowl of dry food out near the breakfast bar. her canned food bowl goes on the drying rack along with our dishes until needed. guess i am lucky that she has learned every time she over eats she pukes lessoned learned on my part after cleaning the mess so many times

 

[rubysmama]

There is actual aggression with scratches and bites- usually grabbing around my feet or ankles. This happens during play too, so I try and play a ton! Doesn’t always mean that is doesn’t still happen though. I’m pretty worried about it to be honest!

When he bites or scratches you, say "noooo", or "ouch" to let him know he's hurting you. A higher pitched tone is best, as it would sound more like a cat yelping, which is how another kitten would let their sibling know play got too rough.

As I mentioned upthread, when I first adopted Ruby, she was food obsessed. She would wake me in the morning, looking for breakfast, and would be pawing and biting at my hands. Not aggressively, exactly, but more excitedly. I think just in anticipation of food. Well one morning she bit too hard and broke the skin on my finger. It was just one tooth, but it hurt, plus shocked me, and I yelped out "owwwww" really loudly. My yelp scared Ruby, who slithered under the sheets to hide. However, she got the point, and never bit that hard again, and eventually stopped the pre-food biting, altogether.

Here's a few TCS articles that might be helpful.

Cat Aggression Toward People – TheCatSite Articles
Why Do Cats Attack? – TheCatSite Articles
How To Stop Playtime Aggression In Cats – TheCatSite Articles

Ouch! More Than You Ever Wanted To Know About Cat Bites – TheCatSite Articles

 

[IkeaMonkey]

When he bites or scratches you, say "noooo", or "ouch" to let him know he's hurting you. A higher pitched tone is best, as it would sound more like a cat yelping, which is how another kitten would let their sibling know play got too rough.

As I mentioned upthread, when I first adopted Ruby, she was food obsessed. She would wake me in the morning, looking for breakfast, and would be pawing and biting at my hands. Not aggressively, exactly, but more excitedly. I think just in anticipation of food. Well one morning she bit too hard and broke the skin on my finger. It was just one tooth, but it hurt, plus shocked me, and I yelped out "owwwww" really loudly. My yelp scared Ruby, who slithered under the sheets to hide. However, she got the point, and never bit that hard again, and eventually stopped the pre-food biting, altogether.

Here's a few TCS articles that might be helpful.

Cat Aggression Toward People – TheCatSite Articles
Why Do Cats Attack? – TheCatSite Articles
How To Stop Playtime Aggression In Cats – TheCatSite Articles

Ouch! More Than You Ever Wanted To Know About Cat Bites – TheCatSite Articles

Thanks for the resources! Believe me, I have been reading blog posts and articles non stop! More aggression today- oddly right when I came out of my room and then during a play session. I did the yelp each time and separated the two of us.

I’ve been following the Jackson Galaxy advice to play before feeding- I just feel like nothing is really working. Maybe it just needs more time! I’m being consistent with my responses.

 

[hurricanemix100]

One thing I sort of inadvertently taught my cat is the word "food". Whenever I feed her, right before I open the door to get the food out, I look at her and I go "food", "you want food", etc. Over many months I can just yell "food" and she comes running. If I go in the kitchen and don't say food, especially if it's not near feeding time, she knows there is no food coming cause I didn't say the word she now associates with feeding time.

 

[ladytimedramon]

I just moved Delilah's food and my prescriptions into the same cabinet in the kitchen... I forget to take my prescriptions and I figured I'm not going to miss it when I go to get her food...