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Nimbus doesn't need petting to eat, but sometimes if the food isn't something that immediately interests him, the surefire way to get him to eat some is to hold the bowl for him. It's like he can't resist being "served" by his people. He's very "OK, fine, if you insist" about it. He's a persnickety cat when it comes to food sometimes, a meal he liked the other day, today he might just sniff, look, and then walk away or sit and look at me like he's waiting to be given some REAL food. And while I kinda get it because I'm not in the mood for the exact same food every single day myself, it's not like he can TELL us what he wants.
Although one trick we do sometimes is to hold out two cans and he'll rub his face on the one he wants. We've found that letting him "choose" also seems to make him more inclined to eat what he's given. I don't think he actually knows what's in the can specifically before it's opened though.
Indulging cat quirks is part of the fun of having a cat.
When mine recently spent a few days at emergency care they said they tried to feed her and we also took her favorite food for them to feed, but she wasn't interested. When it was finally time to bring her home, I look some food with us so she could eat right away. She nearly knocked me over to get to her food which totally tweeked the hospital staff who stomped out of the waiting room.
When mine recently spent a few days at emergency care they said they tried to feed her and we also took her favorite food for them to feed, but she wasn't interested. When it was finally time to bring her home, I look some food with us so she could eat right away. She nearly knocked me over to get to her food which totally tweeked the hospital staff who stomped out of the waiting room.
What has my life become?
Much better for having cats in it.
My philosophical thought for the day; One must always keep a positive attitude when living with a cat.
One of my cats, gets petted for the first few minutes while he eats. It started a bit over a year ago when he was very sick. He had a blockage and the Dr. said no more dry food. He used to only get canned food for breakfast. I had to switch him ( and the others to canned food full time because they eat each other's food) He wasn't thrilled, and was very picky to be on canned food only and have no dry food out, so I started petting him for encouragement and now he expects it all of the time, I don't mind lol. He's my baby. So every meal comes with a good petting.
A vet once told me that they will sit and pet their client cats that won't eat and it often encourages them to eat a little when they're not feeling well. I goes back to babyhood. Mama will lick her babies to both clean them and it encourages them to suckle. Grown cats will still respond to that stroking sensation which encourages their appetites (whether it was mama's tongue, or your hand). I noticed that it works with my kitties too. If one walks up to the bowl and is lukewarm about eating, if i pet him a bit, he will start eating. Works every time. May only be a couple of bites and walk away, or the start of a meal.
My cat, Carly, gets 1/4 of a small can of wet food for breakfast every day, and I have dry food available at all times. I used to put her wet-food breakfast down and go off to take a shower and get ready for the day. But Carly always wants to be where I am, so I found she was leaving the wet food uneaten so she could follow me around.
So now when I put the wet food down, I sit next to her while she eats it. From time to time she'll glance over at me, as if to make sure I'm still there. She doesn't need to be petted, just wants my company.
My 19 year old female, Squeak, has been ill recently with a hematoma on her left ear (had 2 surgeries) and has had a difficult recovery. She also suffers from FCD and literally forgets that she's eating her breakfast in the kitchen sometimes. So now I always keep a bowl of wet food on "her" quilt on the sofa where she pretty much lives on her kitty heating pad. She'll eat intermittently throughout the day, but if I feel she's not eating enough, I'll stroke her back and she'll start chowing down immediately. It has helped a great deal in bringing her weight up from 4.8 to almost 6 lbs. over the last 6 weeks.
My 18 pound Maine Coon cat will stand in front of his food dish and wait till I put my hand on him before he starts eating.
He's a wonderful cat.
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Goes back to babyhood
