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Admittedly this is a nit pick, but I am still curious why my cat does this. Despite nothing being in his way, very often when he goes to eat from his food bowl instead of eating in front of it, he'll eat it from a 90' angle. I really don' understand why. I have also noticed he will go up to his bowl, kind of rub his right paw against the carpet and then eat. I actually put a few things beside it so that he had no choice but to eat from the front, which I removed shortly later, but I still don't get it.
It may have something to do with perception of safety, being able to see around him to keep watch for dangers, and knowing he has an escape route. The odd thing about this kind of behavior is that it's an instinctive thing and not necessarily because there are any dangers nor any need to watch for safety. If he goes straight up to his bowl, then the entire world is behind him out-of-sight, and maybe his inner wild cat instincts just kick in.
Perhaps he's just a curious cat and wants to know at all times what's going on, so he eats with one eye on the world. Is he a curious cat? Is he always investigating things, poking his nose into cracks and crevices, bags and boxes? Or is he the type of cat who explores something new with his eyes only and from afar before approaching anything new? Knowing his personality type might help explain if he's wary or curious when he's eating.
Or if it's a behavior he's picked up rather than something he always did, maybe unbeknownst to you something happened while he was eating, and now the sideways approach lets him feel more secure. For example, one of my cats has to eat from behind her plate so that she can see the world in full view. I'm guessing it has something to do from the days she lived outside (a lost or abandoned stray that we took in) - who knows what kinds of things she saw or heard in those days while she was vulnerable having a meal.
So many eating and litterbox issues are purely because a cat has experienced something "scary" (an unexpected sound, smell, or sight) when they've been the most vulnerable (when they've been eating or depositing). They easily associate what they are doing or where they are with the "scary" thing. A loud sound, like a dropped pot or pan or a slammed door or a fluffed plastic bag (or even a sudden loud laugh in another room), while they're eating can immediately change a behavior since they think the sound and eating are connected (they don't have the ability to always know that one is not connected to the other).
Like my cat who eats from behind her plate, if your eat-from-the-side kitty is eating well (and not making a mess), then I kind of ask why not just let him do it. I know it doesn't answer the question why, but I think it's a question with no answer unless all of a sudden your cat begins to speak English and tells you :-)
P.S. Questions are never nit-pick-like! The smallest behaviors are still fascinating to ponder!
My ladycat Angel seems to have very high standards when it comes to food service. She will sit in her favorite spot in the kitchen while I prepare her bowl. Then I must place the bowl directly in front of her so the edge of the bowl is almost touching her front toes. If it's too far out, or off to one side or the other, she will not eat it. Only after proper adjustments are made will she go ahead and eat.
Sometimes, if she's had a particularly tiring day she'll lay down in the loaf position, and I have to gently lift her chin and slide the bowl under it (I'm seriously not kidding about that). I really don't know if it's feline weirdness, or just her being too lazy and overly spoiled by yours truly. But I suspect it's probably the latter.
As to the OP's question, I agree with Catsmom. After all, we're talking cats here, so who knows?
My ladycat Angel seems to have very high standards when it comes to food service. She will sit in her favorite spot in the kitchen while I prepare her bowl. Then I must place the bowl directly in front of her so the edge of the bowl is almost touching her front toes. If it's too far out, or off to one side or the other, she will not eat it. Only after proper adjustments are made will she go ahead and eat.
Sometimes, if she's had a particularly tiring day she'll lay down in the loaf position, and I have to gently lift her chin and slide the bowl under it (I'm seriously not kidding about that). I really don't know if it's feline weirdness, or just her being too lazy and overly spoiled by yours truly. But I suspect it's probably the latter.
As to the OP's question, I agree with Catsmom. After all, we're talking cats here, so who knows?
No, no she is not being lazy! She is being...Herself. That you know she requires this special treatment only illustrates that you know how to understand when she communicates her preferences to you. That shows a real bond.
She has trained you just the way she wants you. My cats are good trainers too. Sometimes they may find me a slow student, but usually I catch on pretty quickly. Why not? It's a nice way to live, I think.
No, no she is not being lazy! She is being...Herself. That you know she requires this special treatment only illustrates that you know how to understand when she communicates her preferences to you. That shows a real bond.
She has trained you just the way she wants you. My cats are good trainers too. Sometimes they may find me a slow student, but usually I catch on pretty quickly. Why not? It's a nice way to live, I think.
You're right about that of course. I've been in training for 28 years, and I'm still learning.
I can only vaguely remember my aimless and unfulfilled life before cats. I'm a happier person now that I've discovered my true calling as a cat staff.
(Actually, there's a bit of truth in that, I think.)
You're right about that of course. I've been in training for 28 years, and I'm still learning.
I can only vaguely remember my aimless and unfulfilled life before cats. I'm a happier person now that I've discovered my true calling as a cat staff.
(Actually, there's a bit of truth in that, I think.)
I was being completely sincere in my comments, no tongue-in-cheeck at all.
I was being completely sincere in my comments, no tongue-in-cheeck at all.
I know you were, and I wasn't making fun of your comment.... just poking a little fun at myself. I truly do have a special bond with my cats, and I don't know what I would do without them. I'm sure most of us here feel the same way.
Have a Happy 4th Catsmom.
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