My cat wants me to be there when he eats.

My cat loves to eat when I'm in the room with him. If I walk down the hallway, he'll trot in front of me trying to escort me to the kitchen where his food is. If I'm in the kitchen with him, he'll eat forever. When I leave the room, he'll cut his meal short. It seems that it's not enough for him to have food in his bowl. He needs me there too to watch him eat. Just wondering if this is a common cat behavior.

I have no idea how common it is, but I have one cat who was a bit like that when I got him five years ago. He was three years old then. Actually though, it was more like he needed my permission to start eating. After he started, I could leave and he would eat more, though not as much as if I stayed with him. I often joked that he felt I had to be there to say grace before he could eat. He is much less that way now, though if there is some food he doesn't like, he is more inclined to eat it when I am there than if I am not.

Welcome to TCS! I haven't experienced it, but a friend's cat has been doing it her entire 11-year-old life, although her other cat doesn't. It's just one of those little quirks, I guess.