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My cat likes to be petted more when she is eating. What is the meaning of that?

post #1 of 3
1/13/12 at 9:03am
Thread Starter 

She will also try and beg over and over to show her where her food is again and again.

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post #2 of 3
1/14/12 at 7:25am

Have you switched her food recently?  The petting isn't so unusual but the needing to show her where the food is over and over again, she may be trying to tell you something.  Maybe she doesn't like the food?  I don't know.  But, usually cats don't need to be shown where their food is more than once.  She is trying to tell you something.

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post #3 of 3
1/15/12 at 8:49am
My Scarlett used to do that to us when she was younger. DH developed a bad habit of standing over her and petting her when she was eating, so she learned to expect if from him. If he stopped petting her, she would walk away from the bowl and DH would have to pick her up and carry her back to the bowl. Then stand there and pet her until she was finished.

When DH started to complain about having to do this, I asked him why he felt the need to pet her (cause she's so darn cute!). I told him to stop the petting and just stand there while she ate. When she adjusted to that completely, I asked him to walk away for short times to get her used to that. Eventually he could walk away entirely and she continued to eat. Basically we had to recondition her to eat on her own and it took a long time to break that habit.

Some cats just love the attention and most cats are creatures of habit. And if you make a habit of something they love, it's even harder for you to break the behavior. My advice is never to start doing something with a cat that you don't want to or can't continue the rest of their lives. Do small things to break the cycle of petting her while you feed her and eventually you can walk away.
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TheCatSite.com › Forums › Our Feline Companions › Behavior › My cat likes to be petted more when she is eating. What is the meaning of that?