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Cat behaving differently towards food

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  • 12-02-2020 4:18pm
    #1
    0xzmro3n4y7lb5
    Closed Accounts Posts: 686 ✭✭✭


    Hi

    We adopted a cat last year. Shelter advised dry food but for our one advised wet food too because she wasn't eating great.

    We did this, we settled on Purina Gourmet we also left dry food out too so she'd be used to both.

    Anyway, we noticed a week ago she was trying to hide her food, overturning her dish and everything.

    So we didn't leave out food instead waiting until she wanted food. This worked more or less but still not fully, if she picks now she wants to bury it. Whereas before she came back and forth to it or we gave a fresh one if it was drying up.

    Anyone experience this sudden onset of peculiar behaviour?

    Thanks
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    #2
    Stratvs
    Registered Users Posts: 958 ✭✭✭Stratvs


    Sounds like this.
    https://www.catbehaviorassociates.com/why-do-cats-bury-food/
    Sometimes one of ours scratches around the bowl like she's trying to bury something, it sometimes looks like she's tidying all the scraps of nuts she's got on the floor. She had been a rescue also having been dumped from a car as a kitten and we took her in. She's now 8 and a real dote.


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    #3
    0xzmro3n4y7lb5
    Closed Accounts Posts: 686 ✭✭✭0xzmro3n4y7lb5


    Stratvs wrote: »
    Sounds like this.
    https://www.catbehaviorassociates.com/why-do-cats-bury-food/
    Sometimes one of ours scratches around the bowl like she's trying to bury something, it sometimes looks like she's tidying all the scraps of nuts she's got on the floor. She had been a rescue also having been dumped from a car as a kitten and we took her in. She's now 8 and a real dote.


    Poor thing she had a rough start she's lucky you took her in.

    Aww our's is a dote too. Completely bonkers with her 11pm dashes round the house but she's brought so much joy especially to an ill adult dependent in the house.

    We saw some articles online of similar thought but I will definitely reduce portions as suggested in the link. I suppose what worried us was it kind of came out of the blue, she's with us 8 months and about 2 years old.

    The only thing I can think of is we picked up a Sheba Soup which seemed to have real tuna flakes from the smell. She loved the soup but overturned the meat. I think that's the first time we noticed the burying behaviour so maybe after being wild the real type smell reminded her of her wild days so to speak.


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    #4
    Stratvs
    Registered Users Posts: 958 ✭✭✭Stratvs


    Kenneth Wonderful Fabric wrote: »
    I think that's the first time we noticed the burying behaviour so maybe after being wild the real type smell reminded her of her wild days so to speak.

    Some things are just hardwired into their brains it seems and this could have been the trigger that awoke that.

    I’m using our one as an iPad rest right now as she sleeps on me. Cats are handy for things like that :)


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    #5
    0xzmro3n4y7lb5
    Closed Accounts Posts: 686 ✭✭✭0xzmro3n4y7lb5


    So we put down small amounts and it was all going well.

    Now we noticed she’s scooping the food out on her paw and eating it from her paw.

    Any ideas?


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    #6
    Larbre34
    Registered Users Posts: 23,854 ✭✭✭✭Larbre34


    I wouldn't be looking to intervene. Leave a small amount of dry food all the time with water and some milk, she will take what she needs. If you see her being particularly ravenous, add some of the wet food but keep an eye that she likes the particular flavour.

    The worse thing you can do for her is hover around as she eats or have anxious vibes around her, just make sure she has a calm spot for her food bowls away from any busy human presence and she'll sort herself out.


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    #7
    0xzmro3n4y7lb5
    Closed Accounts Posts: 686 ✭✭✭0xzmro3n4y7lb5


    Larbre34 wrote: »
    I wouldn't be looking to intervene. Leave a small amount of dry food all the time with water and some milk, she will take what she needs. If you see her being particularly ravenous, add some of the wet food but keep an eye that she likes the particular flavour.

    The worse thing you can do for her is hover around as she eats or have anxious vibes around her, just make sure she has a calm spot for her food bowls away from any busy human presence and she'll sort herself out.

    Thank you. Will move her Wet food dish to a quieter spot not that it’s busy but it is near a door. Thanks for the advise.


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    #8
    Stratvs
    Registered Users Posts: 958 ✭✭✭Stratvs


    Kenneth Wonderful Fabric wrote: »
    So we put down small amounts and it was all going well.

    Now we noticed she’s scooping the food out on her paw and eating it from her paw.

    Any ideas?

    One of ours will paw the nuts out of her bowl and then take them from the floor. However she will eat the wet food from the bowl. Not sure if this is the case with yours but is the bowl metal on inside , i.e. shiny, can she see herself in the bowl. I read somewhere that they don't like that.


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    #9
    0xzmro3n4y7lb5
    Closed Accounts Posts: 686 ✭✭✭0xzmro3n4y7lb5


    Stratvs wrote: »
    One of ours will paw the nuts out of her bowl and then take them from the floor. However she will eat the wet food from the bowl. Not sure if this is the case with yours but is the bowl metal on inside , i.e. shiny, can she see herself in the bowl. I read somewhere that they don't like that.

    Yeh our bowls are small little metal ones from amazon. Will try a different one thanks.

    There was no odd behaviour until we got the Sheba flakes on offer in Dealz I think they reminded her too much of real food, her instincts kicked in, it was tuna and strong smelling compared to her usual purine or whiskers.


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    #10
    Graces7
    Registered Users Posts: 32,634 ✭✭✭✭Graces7


    Kenneth Wonderful Fabric wrote: »
    So we put down small amounts and it was all going well.

    Now we noticed she’s scooping the food out on her paw and eating it from her paw.

    Any ideas?

    A couple of mine do that a lot. My oldest wolfs food then regurges so I take the lid off the tin and he scoops and eats more slowly . Love watching ..I agree with others here; let her eat in peace at her pace. I always think cats do not like being watched as they eat? That may be affecting her. And maybe too many changes also? Maybe try sticking with one food for a good while? They are creatures of habit


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