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.)

All right, no need to stress yer whiskers.

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.

An actual photo of me serving up Catorze’s food. (Picture from lakeland.co.uk.)
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26 responses to “La fatigue des moustaches”

  1. catladymac avatar
    catladymac

    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.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. iamthesunking avatar
      iamthesunking

      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.

      Liked by 1 person

  2. Raven Moore avatar
    Raven Moore

    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.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. iamthesunking avatar
      iamthesunking

      So … I can’t blame my friend Lizzi for starting this thing?

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Raven Moore avatar
        Raven Moore

        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.

        Liked by 2 people

        1. iamthesunking avatar
          iamthesunking

          Gummy Bear Princess! Aww! ❤️❤️❤️

          Like

          1. Raven Moore avatar
            Raven Moore

            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.

            Liked by 2 people

            1. iamthesunking avatar
              iamthesunking

              Awww, she sounds absolutely gorgeous.

              Like

            2. Raven Moore avatar
              Raven Moore

              ❤️ She was. Thank you.

              Liked by 1 person

  3. cat9984 avatar

    But at least you have a happy cat. 🙂

    Liked by 2 people

    1. iamthesunking avatar
      iamthesunking

      Oh, I do. That is a fact. 😊

      Liked by 1 person

  4. Best Dogs Stuff avatar

    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/

    Liked by 2 people

    1. iamthesunking avatar
      iamthesunking

      Thank you! Sometimes I wonder if dogs are less trouble?

      Like

  5. Penny Cooper avatar
    Penny Cooper

    Hmmm I have to do this for Merlot!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. iamthesunking avatar
      iamthesunking

      It’s a dog thing too?

      Like

      1. Penny Cooper avatar
        Penny Cooper

        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

        Like

  6. mmechapeau avatar

    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.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. iamthesunking avatar
      iamthesunking

      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!

      Liked by 1 person

  7. Herman avatar
    Herman

    “Whisker stress” …?? I can confirm it’s true. I experience it myself each time when licking out the chocolate mousse cup… 🙂

    Liked by 2 people

  8. Kate Crimmins avatar

    Yup, I have to do that for Gracie. It doesn’t look tasty unless it’s in a pile!

    Liked by 2 people

    1. iamthesunking avatar
      iamthesunking

      And do you have to keep rearranging the pile, or is she a scoffer?

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Kate Crimmins avatar

        No she will not eat if the parts are too far apart. It looks stale to her.

        Liked by 2 people

  9. Aspasía S. Bissas avatar

    My cats are the same way with wet food– if it’s not in a pile in the middle, the dish is empty as far as they’re concerned. The things we do for our overlords…

    Liked by 1 person

    1. iamthesunking avatar
      iamthesunking

      We need bowls that are the same colour as the food, don’t we? Then they wouldn’t notice …

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Aspasía S. Bissas avatar

        Lol (then again, they’d probably just assume the bowl is always empty).

        Liked by 1 person

        1. iamthesunking avatar
          iamthesunking

          Yes, they would!

          Liked by 1 person

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