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Whisker fatigue causes stress and overstimulates their senses. Using a flat bowl or plate will relieve this issue and allow your cat to eat all their food without stress.
You can also search for "whisker fatigue" bowls specifically made for cats.
A vet weighs in on this whole thing and goes over a study that was done on it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLrI0eprVr8
TL;DW it's mostly marketing and fear mongering. Your cat doesn't care and even with completely natural behaviors (like oh I don't know, squeezing into prey burrows and clamping their muzzle around mice) they get their whiskers compressed all the time. Whiskers are touch receptors so the idea that they can't be touched is kind of silly.
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It's funny: The linked article up top briefly brings up that some vets question it, but then immediately turns around and acts like it's a foregone conclusion.
Yeah, cats are just assholes
That really depends on the cat. Mine don't care whatsoever.
I have a whisker friendly dish and my cat still does this. My cat just likes company when he eats and he’ll meow at you to come join him. He digs in as soon as I sit down with him at his bowl. Just a little weirdo butt.
Not really weird. It's a survival thing. He wants you to watch over him while he's vulnerable and eating.
Yeah one of our 2 cats seems to enjoy eating more with company so most of the time I'll stand there and be lookout for him so he's comfortable.
My cat will come and tap me a couple of times with his paw to get my attention, then wander to his food bowl. He just wants me to pet him while he eats. It's the cutest thing.
No, whisker fatigue is mostly a myth. Like just put some thought into it for a moment, do cats care when their whisters touch stuff when they are lying down or sleeping? Do they care when they squeeze into a tight space or lay in a tiny box? Does your cat rub its face on anythingnand everything it gets the chance to? Then why would only thr bowl cause whisker fatigue?
My cat likes to invert her spine into a kind of gel substance and then stick her face down the side of the bed between the wall.
I am fairly sure that she is perfectly happy with having a whiskers compressed, what she's not happy about is having less food.
My cat likes it when I cup my hand and cover the front of her face like a hand mask. Not sure why, but it definitely presses on her whiskers a bit and she doesn’t seem to mind either.
Tactile interaction is a really important part of social bonding for cats.
I think that's it as well. My cat has never had to worry about not having any food available, but will act like she's dying of hunger the second her bowl is less than half full. To get her to eat the last half all I have to do is shake the kibble box next to the bowl.
While whisker fatigue is in debate, it's true some cats are weird about touching the bowl. I personally feed the cats on the same plates I eat from and they get water from a fountain. But I have known many cats who were fine with a bowl too. I think the main thing is the material of the receptacle. Some plastics can hold bacteria that makes their lil faces break out. :(
I also use the same plates we use, but they would still ask for me to throw out the food and serve a new batch everytime (I don't actually throw out the food but 'recycle' it).
Then there is my cat who stuffes half of his body in a 5cm diameter pudding container just so that he can reach the very last drop of it. Then wonders why he is stuck and as soon as I save him from his pudding prison he does the same again.
cats have autism don't ask me to explain 💅
If I served food on a plate, I’d be serving food on the floor.
A small mat under their food and water (kept separate due to other instinct cats have) is an easy way to keep things cleaner.
We tried separating the food and water.
The cat just went to where the water was and howled. We'd show her the new spot, shed drink, and do the same thing in 20 minutes.
Just moved it back, less howling and she still drinks.
My cat still acts like her bowl is empty even though it is flat, so I'm skeptical.
I also have a 'flat' bowl. My cat isn't happy with her food until I put some of her food on the floor and watch her eat for a couple of minutes. She is the boss... apparently.
I started feeding my cat out of a pie dish because I was worried about this and I think it prevents it.
And it had the added benefit of making it look like my cat just polished off an entire pie all by himself when he’s done eating.
And it had the added benefit of making it look like my cat just polished off an entire pie all by himself when he’s done eating.
This is the real life pro tip
😮 So THAT'S why they will beg for food even if the bowl isn't empty!
While true, my theory is that they might also want something else. I use a plate and sometimes she'll just beg for more anyway even if half of what I gave her is still in the bowl, I'll give her a tiny bit of something else and she'll go eat that instead lol
For dry food, if you put it in small (4-5cm dia.) cups they WILL reach in to grab the kibble and will eat one at a time.
This is a great way to de-chonk.
I have a cheap 'food maze' that is essentially this but also with some covers that slide or hinge. I started just putting food so it's visible but after a few tries my cat figured out there are hidden treats, too. Cats are curious, so they enjoy the hunt, too!
Or, if your cat is a fat, clever little shit, she will jam her paw in deep and then yank all the kibble out so she can binge on it and then barf on the carpet.
[OT] I just googled "de-chonk" and now I with that someone named their gym "Human Dechonking Centre".
Yeah, I learned about this as a child, since my cat would put her paw into the cat bowl and pull pieces of dry food out to eat on the floor.
I started putting her food on a plate and no more food was pulled to the floor.
The kitten I have now plays too rough and breaks all his whiskers off, so he doesn't mind the bowl. But he'll also get a plate if he mellows out.
We use small plates for our cats. It doesn't stop them from begging for more food even though they still have food.
My cat yells at me like I'm a criminal even when the bowl is fucking full. Where is your god now?
My old cat used to do this, because I’d feed her and then walk away. But once I started sitting with her she started to eat a lot more.
It’s not necessarily that your cat wants extra food: sometimes they just feel vulnerable while eating (especially as they get older) and want someone they trust watching over them.
My cats dgaf.