"My ancestors could take down water buffalo. Look what I've let myself become. I could probably only take down a Zebra now."
ZombiFrancis 17 points a year ago
This can actually be a large part of it. Cats are obligate hunters so they can be pretty regimented in wanting a 'hunt' to spur their appetite.
A play session may be that fourth thing.
Maalus 14 points a year ago
There is also a trick I used to do - fill the food bowl with water (wetfood only). The cat plucked it out of the water and then drank the water. They take in most of their water from drinking blood / when eating. Also important to feed them internal organs - chicken hearts, livers, etc.
Rakonat 5 points a year ago
My mom was a florist with a greenhouse attached to the house. Cats loved roaming the greenhouse to find mice of course, but by far their favorite was all the glasses of water my mom used to cut flowers with, we joked that one particular tuxedo cat had a refined palette and would only sip on rose water.
When those cats were thirsty, they didn't check the water by the dog food or one in their cat tree for a sip, they'd go right to the table and counter top and sniff around at every glass they could find till something seemed just right for them.
Me and my sisters pretty much had to go around the house collecting glasses every day we got home from school cause my mother couldn't be bothered to clean up after herself.
MisterFrog 6 points a year ago
I'd suspect it's a water safety thing, not wanting to drink stagnant water right next to their "kill". The cats I've had have always preferred drinking running water in the bath
This is but a hypothesis, though
ArmoredThirteen 31 points a year ago
I finally figured out mine doesn't have a favorite and he rotates through multiple flavors. Variety is the spice of life and all that. I mostly have it figured out now and only have to give away about a bag a month. Took nearly $200 of food research to get here though I hope he knows how much I care
Landless2029 8 points a year ago
Couldn't you have multiple flavors out to eat in order and see which one they eat first?
I don't have a pet but I think I'd do that. Food is mostly fuel for pets so they'll eat what's available unless there's a problem. These things are manufactured to be appealing to your kitties. If they won't eat it you won't buy it.
burgerpocalyse 15 points a year ago path: 0 17714070 17715333 17715844, hotness: undefined, score: 15, children: 1
idiomaddict 9 points a year ago
And/or whatever you’ve just given up on and thrown away
Shellbeach 10 points a year ago
What Whisker likes today might not be appealing to him tomorrow, and he will ask for it in 2 months when you thought he didn't like it. Don't get me started on which brands he favors depending on which direction the wind blows. That being said, I got mine to eat his wet food by mixing pumpkin purée for human babies with it. It worked for almost an entire week.
I_Fart_Glitter 2 points a year ago
Fun fact, pumpkin purée is the #1 vet recommended cat laxative.
Shellbeach 3 points a year ago
That is a fun fact!
De_Narm 4 points a year ago
I could present him with multiple options at once, but since he only gets wet food, this would involve a lot of waste.
There's also the added problem of changing taste. Depending on my mood, I prefer different food on different days. Until proven otherwise, I just assume the same for him, which is why I would ideally have everything in stock and he could choose every day.
Maybe I should get more cats, give them multiple options and see who goes for what. Ideally, everything gets eaten and I learn more about their preferences.
dontbelievethis 5 points a year ago
Maybe you can try to associate the food with a label? So that the cats can point at a label or color or whatever the association with a flavor is, to show you what it wants in the Moment?
idiomaddict 3 points a year ago
I do this, and it’s still only like a 60% chance it’ll appeal to my cat in the moment. I just let it sit until she either eats it or it’s been 6+ hours (she’ll generally eat it within 1-2 hours, though). I use wet food pouches, and only put a little in the dish at a time, so it’s not a huge waste, but it’s annoying when she chooses a flavor and still doesn’t want it.
I_Fart_Glitter 3 points a year ago
Mine goes off fish every now and then. Sometimes during these times she will still eat salmon, but not tuna, cod or her freeze dried minor treats.
Other times I have to be careful not to get my hand attacked for not putting the fish dish down fast enough.
The other night she had chicken “stew” for first dinner, reluctantly. When I tried to serve the same flavor for 3am dinner, she sniffed it and then reached out and scratched my leg and yelled at me.
I haven’t gotten rid of that flavor, she may change her mind later.
She’s currently only excited about beef and rabbit flavor. I’m extremely disturbed about canned rabbit, so I hope she starts accepting poultry again soon.
Landless2029 4 points a year ago
Wait... Now I'm remembering about that dog that got trained to talk with a sound board.
If you had that for a cat with water, chicken, fish and beef I wonder if it would work...
Edit: It can be done...
Landless2029 2 points a year ago
Holy crap that's nuts
Psythik 7 points a year ago
I keep telling my girlfriend this but she doesn't listen. "I see her drinking her water all the time!", she says. Yeah well she'd drink a lot more if you moved her water bowl!
It frustrates me so much because kidney failure is extremely common in cats due to low water intake. She claims that she loves her cat so much yet refuses to research this shit.
Meanwhile I have two water fountains for my kitty—both far away from the food—and let him drink from sink anytime he wants. She never lets him because he gets in the way of her "skincare routine", but I am of the opinion that you should never pass up on an opportunity for your cat to drink more water.
justme 3 points a year ago
When we got our two cats (they were buddies in the shelter, so they came in a bundle) one was super scared of everything. The first two weeks we only noticed his presence in the middle of the night, when he came out of hiding to eat. Then he started drinking out of my water cup, which is on my desk next to me. A year later I'm drinking out of a bottle and he has still his favorite cup on my desk :) the other one is using a fountain.
SalmiakDragon 2 points a year ago
At this point jusk ask her to move the water for your peace of mind. I'm worried this will breed resentment otherwise when her cat's health fails, even if it's only due to aging. If she respects you she will move the bowl, even if she believes it is totally unnecessary.
SgtAStrawberry 2 points a year ago
That or suggest a second water bowl, as a can't harm to give the cat more water to choose from.
jordanlund 33 points a year ago
Treats:
pleasestopasking 4 points a year ago
I have the only cat in the world who could take or leave Churu.
jordanlund 2 points a year ago
Out of our 4, two are obsessed with it and 2 just don't care. I think it's the smell.
nickiwest 3 points a year ago
This is the answer.
My cat is 18, and she has become extraordinarily picky in the past year. The only thing she will eat reliably is Churu. She gets her medicine mixed in it twice a day, which means that now she wakes me up at 5 a.m. daily to beg for her breakfast.
immortalluna 28 points a year ago
It looks like a human looking into the fridge full of food but finding nothing to eat
barneypiccolo 6 points a year ago
Me, every day.
Schadrach 26 points a year ago
The fourth is catnip. Always the 'nip.
Once my mom asked me to clear out a planter box that had become overgrown because she wanted to plant tomatoes. I pulled up this 3ft tall stalk plant with little purplish flowers, and as soon as I shoved it in the trash bag, the cat came running from the other side of the house and dove face first in the bag. After a minute or so, it was backing out of the bag with the stalk between his teeth dragging it out of the bag and once it was out of the bag started nibbling on it and rolling around on the plant. Looked up what the plant was and apparently I had just pulled up his catnip grow operation. When he came down, he was mad at me for a few days.
RememberTheApollo_ 24 points a year ago
Move the water away from the food. Get bowls that are wider and shallower than those so kitty’s whiskers don’t touch the sides when drinking and eating. Cats like separation between food and water, and they don’t like their whiskers touching the bowl when they eat.
Might make mealtimes easier for kitty.
SgtAStrawberry 1 point a year ago
Except for some cats that show their face down a glass to drink, with their whiskers completely squashed between them and the glass.
And apparently prefer it that way. Most cats will not like it but some do.
RememberTheApollo_ 2 points a year ago
Your water is always worth the effort. It hasn’t been sitting in a bowl all day.
SgtAStrawberry 1 point a year ago
That is true, but the glass could also stand on the table the whole day and ge didn't care. By the end he got his own glass and he loved it just the same, our water was however still a bit better.
Rakonat 4 points a year ago
I can strongly recommend a fountain. My current cat isn't fond of drinking from a bowl, but I found a fountain that I just swap the water every morning on. Comes with different kinds of heads. Somedays he wants a steady flow, other days he wants to nip at water out of the air. Always have a second bowl on the opposite corner of the kitchen just incase he's been picky, food dish is over in the living room by my computer.
moseschrute 20 points a year ago
For me this 4th thing is “tub”. It’s when my cat asks me to fill the bathtub with a small puddle of water so he can stand on the dry side and drink from the puddle. He’s 18 years old but he can still climb in and out of the tub and I think that’s pretty cool.
Psythik 19 points a year ago
If they're an indoor cat, buy a cat harness and take them on a walk. Preferably one with a long leash.
Do not try to walk them like a dog; that will never work.
Cats are fiercely independent; try to force them in a particular direction and they'll protest. Let them lead the way.
If they try to go somewhere dangerous, simply stand in place and do not allow them to progress any further. Do not tug, they will eventually get the message on their own.
Be prepared to spend a half hour minimum outside, ideally an hour or more. Cats like to take their time on a walk.
SalmiakDragon 5 points a year ago
If you want this to be successful, you would be wise to devote time to harness training (i.e. getting used to the harness) first. Don't just put the harness on - it can be a bad experience for the cat and move you further from the goal of a walk.
wulrus 2 points a year ago
Yes, the worst was when something startled her (sting from a thistle?) and she dashed for the door full speed, into the harness, did a looping. A good fit is essential, could have cause major injury!
wulrus 3 points a year ago
That was so nice when I got an 8 year old indoor cat. You could see this world of wonder in her eyes, as she didn't know where to look and where to sniff first.
With time, I could let her run free but supervised in a shared apartment building garden. She always went to the same pine trees and couldn't get enough sniffing them. Also jumped on the window sill of neighbour cats just to hiss at them from the outside.
When I went to neighbours, for example to pick up a package or talk about something, she trotted next to me through the hallways like a well-trained dog and sat next to me when I talked to a neighbour. The whole stairway and hallways were another great adventure to her, sniffing and clawing doormats etc.
barneypiccolo 15 points a year ago
For my little Chloe, it's deli meat. I don't know how she does it, but she always knows. I could go to the kitchen 10 times, and she wouldn't react, but if I quietly make a sandwich and bring it to the living room to eat while watching TV, she's right there, purring for her share. You can't sneak it past her, she always knows.
Jankatarch 11 points a year ago
All cats have a +15 on perception.
Psythik 6 points a year ago
You think that's crazy, try being in the same house as a cat when you're tripping on psychedelics. They know when you've entered their realm, and the cheeky little bastards like to take advantage of that fact.
I had this one cat that was a normal cat when I was sober, but liked to pop in and out of existence whenever I was on 25i/2c-e/LSD/etc. This one time I hear him meowing from across the house; I turn towards the sound, and suddenly he's rubbing against my legs and purring. Reach down to pet him and he's gone. It was some seriously freaky shit.
wulrus 14 points a year ago
Hm. Maybe try putting the water away from the food. Some cats don't like it near the food. (Presumably related to clean water sources in nature vs. dead prey.)
My last cat only ever drank from the running tab. Jumped into the bathtub and meowed until someone turned it on, day or night.
SgtAStrawberry 6 points a year ago
We got one of those little water fountains, super popular. Everyone has there own place on it to drink. One likes where the water comes out, one likes the little pool and one likes the edge towards the nozzle, the water makes small waves there.
ArchmageAzor 12 points a year ago
Perhaps dry water
Lemmyoutofhere 11 points a year ago
You forgot Churu exist.
UndulyUnruly 11 points a year ago
I’m tortured by my reflection. Our sustenance craves alteration.
MyNameIsRichard 3 points a year ago
I read that as alliteration, which works wonderfully!
s38b35M5 10 points a year ago
That fourth thing is hunger. It only comes when the cat is fed on a schedule, as opposed to free-fed with multiple piles of food out all day. Feed in a schedule and you'll suddenly see (healthy, right-weight) interested felines licking empty bowls.
s38b35M5 2 points a year ago
Lol. 😂 I hear you. I feed at 10am and 10pm (with a 90 minute variance to keep them from getting to good at timekeeping). After almost a decade, I figured out a way to sleep in! Course, they still whine at night starting at 8pm sometimes, but my vet says my cats are unusually fit and a good weight, so I know I'm not starving them like they want me to believe. Their chirps and whines have gotten more and more elaborate and detailed on the last three years.
lightnsfw 2 points a year ago
Yeah, I had to leave for work at 6 during the week so that was when he got fed. If I wasn't awake by 5:30 He was on my chest licking/biting my face. I could have set my clock by it. He had a crazy sense of time.
Psaldorn 6 points a year ago
Autocorrect changed the meaning of this initially. "Bowels" and rims, oh my.
My cat is the messiest eater you've ever seen. I tried a lickmat with him but he just sprays it everywhere. Bloody carnage.
_stranger_ 3 points a year ago
oh no is it contagious?
collapse_already 9 points a year ago
My cat wants food she can kill herself. That and cheese. I have no idea why she is so interested in cheese. Also, we tend to not eat tuna to avoid her pestering.
collapse_already 3 points a year ago
Years ago, I had a cat that loved cantaloupe. He was a stray in terrible shape when we got him (he adopted us). Our theory was that he found a cantaloupe that saved him from dehydration when he was feral. One of the nicest cats I have ever known.
Angry_Autist 7 points a year ago
Don't put cats food dishes near their water dishes, it isn't a mystery
JohneryCreatives 6 points a year ago
Sometimes I wish I can read cats' minds so I can finally understand what they want
ivanafterall 4 points a year ago
Be careful what you wish for.
SalmiakDragon 2 points a year ago
Indeed.
SalmiakDragon 1 point a year ago
The next best thing: Talking buttons
pleasestopasking 5 points a year ago
My cat is a very bad eater (doesn't hate his food, just doesn't eat enough). The other day he was s c r e a m i n g at me while I ate a piece of cheddar cheese*. I bit off the tiniest corner (like 2-3 mm wide, seriously tiny) and gave it him. Never seen him go so wild at a piece of food. I fear I have created a cheese monster and will never know another moment of peace while eating cheese.
*Low-lactose cheese is okay as an infrequent treat. It's the lactose in milk that's bad for cats.
MyNameIsRichard 3 points a year ago
I was making a macaroni cheese and had just grated the cheese, turned around to put the block back in the fridge and when I turned back, Greebo was face down in the cheese munching his way through it. I stopped him and because of the lactose thing, checked with the vet who said to look out for constipation or diarrhoea but he was fine, and I was a lot more careful after that.
NigelFrobisher 4 points a year ago
She already knows the fourth thing is mouse.
LovableSidekick 3 points a year ago
Raw and wrigglin'!
CalipherJones 2 points a year ago
Shit that's how my life feels basically at all times.
Toneswirly 1 point a year ago
He's lookin in the pantry for whatever magical thing you're eating comes from
UncleArthur 1 point a year ago
A Webbox treat stick.
throwawayacc0430 1 point a year ago path: 0 17731687 17732085, hotness: undefined, score: 1, children: 2
JimVanDeventer 3 points a year ago path: 0 17731687 17732085 17732349, hotness: undefined, score: 3, children: 1
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