Mary Allen
One carries away her food, the other carries it, the third scratch it first and then gets a bite. Why can’t cats just eat out of their bowl? Many velvet paws often show unusual eating habits. We’ll explain what’s wrong.
Because, according to the simplest answer, there is neither crockery nor cutlery in nature. However, this is the least of all triggers for strange eating habits. Much more important is the fact that wild cats, unlike all other pets and their wild relatives, never find their food served while strolling through the country, but always, and often only after a long wait and tremendous physical exertion, hunt it down. Stress around meals is therefore the norm for cats, not the exception. In addition, a cat first carries away the killed (or still alive) prey – to a safe dining alcove, to its den, or to its young animals. And then, as unobserved as possible and complete with skin and hair, to eat them slowly and with relish.
The Wild Hunt Is Part Of Every Menu As A Starter
The free-roaming cat treats itself to this pleasure in addition to the daily filled food bowl, indoor cats and those with a secure (prey-free) garden territory devote themselves to all kinds of games as a substitute. But physical exercise and the food offered are often far apart in time. Then many cats react to the food: they throw solid parts in the air and jump after it. Or they treat the bowl like a mouse hole and shimmy for small morsels.
Stains Can Be Avoided
Some cats seem so disgusted with the treatment that they’ve gotten too easily that they try to “hide” it. She scratches around the bowl with her paws, even tips it over, only to eat with obvious difficulty. Dragging away is another natural phenomenon when the table setting is in front of everyone. No cat likes to dine in “public”. And she wants to take her time. Of course, there are countermeasures against wall-stains caused by food thrown around or marks on the floor where the feeding area was chosen. Either switch to dry food or move the feeding area to a protected corner where your cat can eat in peace and completely undisturbed. Or you move the hours of play together before the lonely rounds of meals.