Question Of The Day, Sunday, March 25, 2018

[micknsnicks2mom]

good morning!!

it's a lovely sunny day with blue skies here, and we're forecast to get to the upper 30's today!
today's Question of the Day is about our cat(s)......



Do your cat(s) have a routine at meal time? Any 'antics' while they're waiting for you to prepare their meals?



i'll start!

we have a routine here at meal times. our Punky becomes very excited when it's meal time, so she does best with some 'special consideration'. i always give her a couple bites of canned food just before i start making my cats meals. this makes her more calm, and able to wait the few minutes it takes for me to add supplements and a little extra water to their canned cat food. usually DeeDee likes to be given a nibble of wet food too, with Punky.

while i'm preparing their meal, my three will many times 'mill' around the kitchen, walking around the computer table near the center of the kitchen.

and our Punky most times will play the game she created, the 'shadow tail game'. she'll stand still and watch and wait for her tail to make a moving shadow on the floor...then pounce on that shadow tail. it's one of her favorite games to play, and it's really very cute...


how about your cats, any 'antics' at meal times?

 

[verna davies]

As I'm retired and home quite a lot so there are no set times for meals. My three usually let me know when they want food by jumping into my lap, meowing, jumping down and repeat until I cave in and feed them. Once one does it they the other two run into the kitchen afraid they are missing something. All three are then fed and quiet for oh at least 2 hours then they start again. Hamster and treadmill come to mind.

 

[Katie M]

Not really with Charlie, but Selene gets excited and starts meowing when I refill the water dishes. She'll follow me to the sink, jump in, briefly drink from the faucet, and then race over to the dish once I've set it down.

 

[Merlin77]

Oh yes, we have a very careful routine. First, kitties run around the house like they're on fire. Then, we shoo them out on the deck so we can actually set up their food. We get the food, sneak out the back door onto the deck, and call them over. Then they race each other to the plates and finish everything in 2 minutes. Finally, they forget that they've just eaten and start meowing for food again and jumping on the counters.

They are crazy.

But adorable

 

[LTS3]

Leroy's routine is medicine first then get underfoot and whine while I'm prepping the bowls of food with probiotics and supplements Emma just waits for her bowl.

 

[Kitty Mommy]

JC is ready for her canned food at around 4am every morning. If I don't get out of bed after her first meow she will intermittently howl until I get up and feed her. I've tried switching her canned food meal to the evening but she still wants it in the morning. After she has her breakfast she gets on the living room table for some petting and loves before her morning nap Max won't eat canned food at all. Even with all his missing teeth he insists on only the dry food but he won't eat if someone is watching or comes by him. I have to put a food bowl in the bedroom where he likes to sleep so he can eat in private because if you make a noise or walk by him while he is eating he'll run off.

 

[betsygee]

Oh, boy, do they. They know that 5:30 a.m., Daddy will be going out to the kitchen to feed them, so all four of them follow close on his heels as he heads out there, where they are all underfoot while he tries to get the food in the bowls.

Then they line up. Hannah jumps up on the washer for hers. Zoe is on the right, Rico in the middle, Ozzy on the left. If they aren't in order, they will actually move to position themselves in front of 'their' bowl. Zoe in particular is a stickler for the 'rules'.

 

[mightyboosh]

Mine are free feeders but when the bowl runs out overnight, for example, they let me know about it. Lots of 'wahs, meows,' etc with head bumps and pleading looks.

 

[Draco]

soon as I open the can, Monet starts smacking me in the leg, meowing. Like, don't rush me, cat! Perfection takes time! lol.

Cassie would wait patiently and run into the bedroom (Where i feed her). If I am feeding dry, her favorite, she'd spin around like a dog with excitement.

 

[denice]

Alice has a very loud, raspy voice. She has always had it, when she was a tiny furball I couldn't understand how that much noise could come out of such a small furball. She knows when it is time to open a can and she lets me know it. I try not to let her run out of water but I don't think she trusts me on that one. When it's low she starts with the insistent loud meows and I know her water is low.

 

[aliceneko]

Toffee and Fudge like to perform a little dance for us whenever we feed them - it's great fun to watch! They usually eat their food first, incredibly fast, before they go on to their water. Before they get their food they'll often stand up by the door, trying to open it with their paws! They then both have to have quite a long wash afterwards, first themselves and then each other.

 

[Candybee]

I am just loving the cute stories I am reading! I haven't got much to tell as I just got my Gypsy this week. She is still somewhat secretive and furtive about eating as she is still overcoming her shyness. But at least now she is eating during the day as well as during the night. Her first few days she only ate at night after I went to bed... too shy and scaredy to come out to eat during the day! Much better today as she goes more freely to her bowl and is getting used to me a bit.

 

[sivyaleah]

We've given up regular feedings since Casper developed kidney disease. We feed him on demand in order to assure he at minimum, stays stable with his weight as he's lost quite a few pounds in the last few years. Because of this, he eats around 4x a day which means Cocoa does too. We try to give her less in her bowl for the "snack" feedings and even though she sure does enjoy eating, I find she self regulates fairly well (like just an hour ago we opened a can for him and she didn't even budge from her window perch).

As far as behaviors we always know. Cocoa is rather dramatic. Flopping and stretching fully in front of us. Casper is silent, he will come to us and bore eyeballs into our soul until we relent. Both also will start play fighting with each other as meal time comes around. Or, they get into mischief - both like to bounce themselves off the basement door (they are not allowed down there) and then run off.

Cocoa is vocal as food is being prepared, cute little mews, lots of winding around feet. Casper, being stoic, just kind of sits there patiently until his food is put down for him. They really couldn't be more different

 

[Boris Diamond]

Diamond rubs against everything and makes banging noises doing it, especially when he rubs against the door. I tell him that I am going as fast as I can! Since it's cold weather, I heat a container of water to warm the cans of food in. They hate waiting for this! Seal rubs my leg and makes his pitiful little meow. Tragic!

Leonid is just too cool. He will not eat while I can see him. I put his food down, turn away and leave the room immediately! Sometimes he won't eat for hours after I put the food down. Seal likes to eat some of Leo's food before he finishes his own. If there is any liquid or gelatin, Seal will often get Leo's. Sometimes I feed them in separate rooms to forestall this.

 

[betsygee]

Oh, boy, do they. They know that 5:30 a.m., Daddy will be going out to the kitchen to feed them, so all four of them follow close on his heels as he heads out there, where they are all underfoot while he tries to get the food in the bowls.

Then they line up. Hannah jumps up on the washer for hers. Zoe is on the right, Rico in the middle, Ozzy on the left. If they aren't in order, they will actually move to position themselves in front of 'their' bowl. Zoe in particular is a stickler for the 'rules'.

View attachment 224251

No antics here but there's the Death Glare from Ms. Hannah when dinner hasn't been served by 5 p.m. Better go feed cats!

 

[neely]

When it gets close to the dinner hour, Carleton picks up his toy mouse by the tail and drops it over and over again. This is his way of saying, "feed me!"

 

[micknsnicks2mom]

As I'm retired and home quite a lot so there are no set times for meals. My three usually let me know when they want food by jumping into my lap, meowing, jumping down and repeat until I cave in and feed them. Once one does it they the other two run into the kitchen afraid they are missing something. All three are then fed and quiet for oh at least 2 hours then they start again. Hamster and treadmill come to mind.

ahhh, your cats have a routine, to tell you they're ready for meals!!! awesome!!

my cats do something similar while i'm sleeping. they'll jump up on my bed, nuzzle around the edge of the blanket and my face until i let them under the blanket, tunnel around for a short while, and then head up towards my head again to be let out from under the blanket. this usually means they're ready for a snack...though, i'll tell them that it's not time yet and to wait for the timer to go off. yes, i actually set the timer on the kitchen stove to wake me up for my cats 'middle of the night' snack.

 

[verna davies]

ahhh, your cats have a routine, to tell you they're ready for meals!!! awesome!!

my cats do something similar while i'm sleeping. they'll jump up on my bed, nuzzle around the edge of the blanket and my face until i let them under the blanket, tunnel around for a short while, and then head up towards my head again to be let out from under the blanket. this usually means they're ready for a snack...though, i'll tell them that it's not time yet and to wait for the timer to go off. yes, i actually set the timer on the kitchen stove to wake me up for my cats 'middle of the night' snack.

And I thought I was bad enough. You could put the treats in your bed and when they go under the blanket...voila...treats. You might get a lay in even

 

[micknsnicks2mom]

Not really with Charlie, but Selene gets excited and starts meowing when I refill the water dishes. She'll follow me to the sink, jump in, briefly drink from the faucet, and then race over to the dish once I've set it down.

no routine or 'antics' with your Charlie, but your Selene gets excited when you refill the water dishes!!! very nice!!

that sounds so cute, it sounds like your girl loves water! my girls love to watch very closely while i'm pouring fresh water into their water dish, from the filtered water pitcher. they don't try to drink the water as it's being poured, or at least they haven't tried that yet, but they're very fascinated by it.

 

[micknsnicks2mom]

Oh yes, we have a very careful routine. First, kitties run around the house like they're on fire. Then, we shoo them out on the deck so we can actually set up their food. We get the food, sneak out the back door onto the deck, and call them over. Then they race each other to the plates and finish everything in 2 minutes. Finally, they forget that they've just eaten and start meowing for food again and jumping on the counters.

They are crazy.

But adorable

your cats get very excited at meal times!!! great!!

it sounds like your cats all eat pretty much at the same pace. my three eat at different paces. our Punky finishes her meal first, then usually tries to nibble on Dude's food...while he's still eating -- which i'll gently redirect Punky to doing something else. Dude will finish his meal next, and then our little DeeDee slowly finishes her meal -- usually with Dude and Punky...keeping her company (really, waiting until she's eaten what she wants, and then i give Dude and Punky the little bit that's left in her dish, to share).