cat problem of the day

[franksolich]

I had a bad week, not to mention much excitement and hustle-bustle around here that the William Rivers Pitt is to be drilled next Tuesday (July 15), and one of the habits of the ancient cat Gustav, formerly the broken one, is grating on my nerves.

Although Gustav doesn't know that; I take special care to not vent personal frustrations on animals.

Anyway.

Ever since Gustav arrived here with a broken leg many weeks ago, a new phenomenon appeared, where the dry cat food is mysteriously scattered all over the floor of one part of the kitchen.  I sooner or later found myself sweeping up and putting into the garbage as much cat food as the cats here were actually consuming.

This morning, I noticed that Gustav plants his front left foot firmly into the middle of a bowl while dining, and that when he removes it, he inevitably scatters food outside the bowl.

Now, cats sometimes do odd things for very good reasons, reasons invisible to the rest of us.

It can't be that Gustav does this to keep the bowl of food from slipping; being a traditionalist (glass over plastic), I have for cat bowls very large and shallow glass bowls; a cat doesn't have the muscle to move these bowls (there are two of them in use at all times), and so his putting his foot inside the bowl to "anchor" it down while he dines is pretty much unnecessary.

One wonders why Gustav does this, and how he could be gently persuaded to stop it.  All the other cats here have never done this.

[Lord Undies]

If you find out why, I'd like to know.  My male poodle has been doing the same thing since he become old and picky.  I sometimes think he is looking for particular favorite shapes/flavors in the Kibbles'n Bits. 

[Willow]

I use one of those dispenser feeds for my three cats, the bulk of the food is in the container and there is a smallish bowl at the bottom. He may not have room for his feet. As to why cats do what they do? 


http://www.doolittlespetproducts.com/petfeeders.html?gclid=CJLYwammu5QCFQgfswodngbyTw


my feeder has no fancy timer, it is just the jar attached to the bowl which is filled by gravity.

[Toastedturningtidelegs]

I had a bad week, not to mention much excitement and hustle-bustle around here that the William Rivers Pitt is to be drilled next Tuesday (July 15), and one of the habits of the ancient cat Gustav, formerly the broken one, is grating on my nerves.

Although Gustav doesn't know that; I take special care to not vent personal frustrations on animals.

Anyway.

Ever since Gustav arrived here with a broken leg many weeks ago, a new phenomenon appeared, where the dry cat food is mysteriously scattered all over the floor of one part of the kitchen.  I sooner or later found myself sweeping up and putting into the garbage as much cat food as the cats here were actually consuming.

This morning, I noticed that Gustav plants his front left foot firmly into the middle of a bowl while dining, and that when he removes it, he inevitably scatters food outside the bowl.

Now, cats sometimes do odd things for very good reasons, reasons invisible to the rest of us.

It can't be that Gustav does this to keep the bowl of food from slipping; being a traditionalist (glass over plastic), I have for cat bowls very large and shallow glass bowls; a cat doesn't have the muscle to move these bowls (there are two of them in use at all times), and so his putting his foot inside the bowl to "anchor" it down while he dines is pretty much unnecessary.

One wonders why Gustav does this, and how he could be gently persuaded to stop it.  All the other cats here have never done this.

Is he aggressive towards your other cats Frank? This may be some territorial behaviour he is exibiting!

[Miss Mia]

Neither of mine do anything like that Frank.  Monty will, if he's drinking out of a slightly higher water bowl, move is right paw across the left (still on the ground) and try and move the bowl.  It's strange.

My cats drop a lot of food while eating.  They pick up a piece or two and tend to move back and it invariable drops some onto the floor.  My cats now have a place mat for their food and water dishes, so as to catch all the extras.  Makes for easier clean up.

[franksolich]

Is he aggressive towards your other cats Frank? This may be some territorial behaviour he is exibiting!

No, actually he's not.

Gustav, being very old, has always been pretty mellow, and after he was neutralized, got even more mellow.

He does his own things without disrupting the other cats, and the other cats do their own things without disrupting him.  Gustav seems a "loner," and generally hangs around places other cats here aren't interested in hanging around.  He for example when outdoors, prefers to merely sit on the front porch, gazing steadily at all the world beyond, mostly towards the William Rivers Pitt.

One wonders what a cat thinks of, when a cat is contemplating 739 cubic tons of antique swine manure.

[BlueStateSaint]

Is he aggressive towards your other cats Frank? This may be some territorial behaviour he is exibiting!

No, actually he's not.

Gustav, being very old, has always been pretty mellow, and after he was neutralized, got even more mellow.

He does his own things without disrupting the other cats, and the other cats do their own things without disrupting him.  Gustav seems a "loner," and generally hangs around places other cats here aren't interested in hanging around.  He for example when outdoors, prefers to merely sit on the front porch, gazing steadily at all the world beyond, mostly towards the William Rivers Pitt.

One wonders what a cat thinks of, when a cat is contemplating 739 cubic tons of antique swine manure.

Coach, how do you know that he is indeed comtemplating "739 cubic tons of antique swine manure," anyway?  I have a devil of a time trying to figure out just what Oreo is thinking of, when she's overwatching "the Heiress," or laying on our bed and looking up at me while I look through the closets for clean clothes to wear.  Gustav (tell me that his first name is "Carl," like the anti-tank rifle) may be contemplating the returns on the Belorussian stock market, for all we know.  I have zero idea what Oreo is trying to think of, but if it's a stock market, I sure hope that she's thinking of dumping whatever holdings she has and shifting her assets to real estate, preferably on the Great Sacandaga Lake in New York State.

[DixieBelle]

Was the left front leg the one he broke? Or was it another leg?

I'm wondering if that broken leg isn't coming into play. Maybe he's unsure and unsteady while eating because of the previously broken leg?

Or, he could just be a damned cat.

[Flame]

My daughter's cat also has a peculiar habit...when she drink from a bowl, she puts a paw on th oppsite rim of where  she's sitting when she drinks.   

I'm not sure how you'd be able  to break him of that habit, Frank, unless you find a dish that had a narrower circumfrence, so there wouldn't be room for his paw AND for his nose....maybe one of those cansiter type fedders or something??