Cuddles has been with us for more than two years. And he continues to teach us things.
He was obviously named before his personality revealed itself because he’s not cuddly. But he’s affectionate and chatty and we take him as he is, the anxious little weasel. He has fallen asleep on my lap a handful of times, but it’s out of the ordinary for him to do so.
In the past few weeks, he’s been leaving most of his wet food uneaten. This isn’t like him. We kept track of which foods were getting eaten and which were not.
He ate the goopy, gravy-added varieties but not the pate which he used to love.
Then Derek hit upon a nugget of info about some cats. They don’t like to push their little faces into bowls of food because their whiskers are so sensitive. They hit the edge of the bowl and it’s information overload. We have small Corelle bowls for his food. Maybe that was the problem? He’s an older guy now. Perhaps his whiskers have increased in sensitivity? So, instead Derek put his pate on a plate. The results speak for themselves.
Perhaps it’s the whiskers after all!
When my beautiful Border Collie Lee Roy got older, he needed to have his food bowls raised. He choked on kibble one time and I – forgive me if I’ve told you this – gave him an abdominal thrust to dislodge it. As soon as the piece of food flew out of his mouth he ran to it and ate it. Dogs! I bought a tray meant for breakfast in bed and put his food bowls on it. He never choked again.
Sometimes, older guys and gals just need a little assistance.
This experiment is in its early days, but Cuddles hadn’t touched pate in weeks until now. He’s been cleaning his plate every day. I don’t mind giving up these plates to him but I draw the line at cloth napkins and cutlery,
That’s interesting and definitely going to try it,I’ve been having a similar experience . Who knew😊Thanks for coming up with the info❤️
I hope it works, Sarah. I call Derek the cat whisperer. 😁
I just discovered that my ancient dog, Chester prefers a flat plate. Who knew? All the dog and cat bowls sold are, well, bowls!
It’s a whole niche market that the pet food industry is missing. Why use a people plate when you can use a pet plate? People would buy them! 😀
It also could be that Cuddles sight isn’t what it use to be and thus info from whiskers is being responded to with a stronger reaction resulting in avoiding putting their head in the bowl.
Tip for dogs if you feed them dry food. Put a little bit of water in with their food which makes it easier to swallow and doesn’t get caught on the way down. My current guide is like this.
I suppose that could be the case but considering he sees things before we do, I think it’s the whiskers! Good tip about the dog food, thanks Allan.
Unfortunately, water on a plate could be tricky. How do you manage that? At one time I was a water dispenser and the spot where the water sat was shallow. I no longer have a fur baby so not something that I have to deal with 🙁
He only had trouble with the pate wet food. Water and kibble are no problem. Neither is the really goopy wet food with lots of gravy.
I’m so glad Derek found a solution to help Cuddles!
It’s a good idea to mention this to vets so they can pass the info along to people who may have a similar problem.
In the LTC homes, there are plates for people who have only one hand that works – such as stroke victims. The plates they use have a short, shallow rim so they can push the food up against it & still eat with dignity on their own. Maybe that type of plate would work for water? It seems to be a bit heavier than a usual plate, so it wouldn’t be easily tipped over. The ones I have seen in LTC are a bit smaller than a standard dinner plate. I presume you could get them at medical supply stores. Hope this may help some wee kitty.
Since, as you know, we have three again kitties, this is news I can use!
And I love that Cuddles doesn’t cuddle!
Clearly we need harsh legislation mandating truth in cat-naming!