this post was submitted on 24 Jul 2023
612 points (99.0% liked)
cats
22348 readers
1893 users here now
Typical internet cats. Videos, pics, memes, and discussion welcome!
Rule 1) Be kind
Rule 2) Follow the lemmy.world rules
other cat communities midwest.social cats
founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
The one I often read is cats do this because they want fresh food. Auto-feeders are pricey but seem to be a decent solution to all the above - my cats stopped meowing through the night and knew food was eventually coming, portioned, during the night. They're a little loud but brief and better than caterwauling.
My old cat used to do this and would tuck into “old” food with gusto when I sat down next to her: I figured out that it was her wanting someone to watch over her while she was vulnerable while eating.
I get why people do it (and I do too, cleanup and access) but I do wonder if putting food at floor level near a heavily trafficked area like the kitchen (which also tends to have multiple entrances/be open concept) would contribute to need to be watched over while eating. It’s not really practical to, say, stick a cat’s bowl up high, but I do wonder if they’d eat more freely as a result.