Remember when Louis Catorze was a messy eater? Yeah, well, he still is, only in a different way. He no longer makes a mess with crunched-up pieces of dry food, indicating that his teeth are doing ok, but, when he eats his wet food, he spreads it all over his bowl. And, once he’s done that, he won’t eat those bits unless they’re all pushed back to the centre of his bowl.
This never used to be a thing for Catorze. However, when one of my friends* visited and insisted on pushing all the spread-out bits of food together several times a day, she condemned us to an eternity of it. Thanks to her, Catorze now demands this all the time, and nothing triggers Cat Daddy’s Unrepeatable Expletives faster than me saying, “Could you push his food together for him?”
*Yes, she was well aware of what she was starting. No, she didn’t – and still doesn’t – care. Are you happy now, Lizzi?
Now, before you start yelling “Whisker stress” at me, hang on a second. Whisker stress is, apparently, a genuine thing; cats feel uncomfortable when pressing their heads into small places such as narrow cat flaps or high-sided bowls, because their whiskers get squished. (And, hilariously, it’s called “la fatigue des moustaches” in French.)
However, Catorze has a special Necoichi tilted stress-free cat bowl which was designed to avoid the need for this. It has no high sides and no hard edges. Yet, even when he uses this, Catorze spreads food all over it and then creepy-stares at us until we push it back to the middle.
As a result we are now putting more effort into the presentation of Sa Maj’s food than we ever have into our own. Either the world has gone mad, or we have.
jesuisleroisoleil 
That picture of you serving Catorze’s food looks suspiciously like a bacon-lettuce-tomato sandwich.
Our Buzz cat, who is blind, likes to have his food pushed together after he has eaten for awhile, but I attribute that to him not realizing what’s left after he has grazed.
Just imagine how upset you would be if he was refusing to eat.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Aww, Buzz! I think a blind cat is perfectly justified in wanting his food pushed together. Catorze has no excuse. He’s just a spoilt brat.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Speaking from experience, the less teeth they have the harder it is for them to scoop the food into their mouth. Because of the way cats use their mouth to scoop dry food in as well we have “hole in the bowl” troubles. 🥺 Sorry Buddy. It’s a real thing.
LikeLiked by 2 people
So … I can’t blame my friend Lizzi for starting this thing?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Lizzy just gave you a shortcut. You would have gotten there by yourself eventually. My girl Frenchy who passed had not one tooth in her head. I had to shepherd her food for her at every meal. I called her my Gummy Bear Princess. It broke me when I lost her. But I never resented helping her. 😢 We do it for love.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Gummy Bear Princess! Aww! ❤️❤️❤️
LikeLike
She was abandoned by her family and left to fend for herself for a year. She had bad stomatitis when the rescue found her. That’s how she lost her teeth. She was the sweetest thing and I never regretted taking her in for one moment. She had a way of touching everyone who met her.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Awww, she sounds absolutely gorgeous.
LikeLike
❤️ She was. Thank you.
LikeLiked by 1 person
But at least you have a happy cat. 🙂
LikeLiked by 2 people
Oh, I do. That is a fact. 😊
LikeLiked by 1 person
Great post
What a hilarious and relatable post! It’s amazing how much effort we put into pleasing our feline friends.
Annie
http://bestdogsstuff.com/
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thank you! Sometimes I wonder if dogs are less trouble?
LikeLike
Hmmm I have to do this for Merlot!
LikeLiked by 1 person
It’s a dog thing too?
LikeLike
Without wishing to cast too many ‘nasturtiums’ on chihuahuas, I would say it’s a Merlot thing. Merlot is a male diva, he’s not yappy like other chihuahuas and adores all humans, especially children and babies and will protect them as if he were a lion, he only barks at other dogs and he is even mellowing in that respect. There’s also the fact that I have difficulty with enticing any fur baby to eat their food and have had to resort to finger feeding even my beautiful big softie of a beast Archie, a german shepherd. Averaging a mere 2.7kg in weight so less than most cats, Merlot has to be enticed to eat most meals, angled cat bowls, holding his bowl head high while he sits upright eating, finger feeding, topping his food with minute pieces of ham, silverside beef, chicken, turkey, the filling of beef pies, chicken pies, steak bakes (don’t worry, I could eat only pastry every meal of my life, I much prefer it to anything that is inside it), home made gravy from scratch, grated dog chews, the list goes on, yes of course Merlot expects his food bowl to be turned around so he doesn’t have to reach out for a mouthful and yes of course he expects the food to be pushed together in the middle of his bowl! We are a slave to Their desires, as if our lives and Theirs depend on it
LikeLike
So far, I had never heard about whisker stress. Thank you for teaching it to me.
From now on, I’ll pay attention to it.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Nooo, that’s exactly what they want you to do! If it’s never been an issue until now, don’t open the can of worms!
LikeLiked by 1 person
“Whisker stress” …?? I can confirm it’s true. I experience it myself each time when licking out the chocolate mousse cup… 🙂
LikeLiked by 2 people
Yup, I have to do that for Gracie. It doesn’t look tasty unless it’s in a pile!
LikeLiked by 2 people
And do you have to keep rearranging the pile, or is she a scoffer?
LikeLiked by 1 person
No she will not eat if the parts are too far apart. It looks stale to her.
LikeLiked by 2 people