Messy Eater (Bump from Cat Behavior Board)

[LaRana]

I have a 1 & 1/2 year old Male Bengal Cat (neutered) that is strictly indoors. For as long as I can remember, this little (well, not so little anymore) guy has been the messiest eater ever! I've had several cats in the past, and I have never encountered this issue.

I have a ceramic dish that I feed him with. I feed him dry Science Diet food once a day. The dish is about 4 & 1/2 inches in diameter, round. It is about 1 & 1/2 inches deep. I do not fill it up heaping full, rather I fill it up a little less than level. What he does is he scoots the food to the edge of the dish against the side of the dish and eats it from the side of the dish, spilling several kernels off to the side. He snacks throughout the day, which is good for us since my husband and I work full time and are gone all day. I've tried putting a small amount of food in there, and he still spills it. If there were 5 kernels in there, he'd spill 4-5 of them!

What's driving me insane about this is that once he knocks the food out of the bowl, he doesn't eat it! He only eats it when he's completely out of food in the bowl and he's starved. All the other cats I have had would *immediately* eat whatever pieces of food they knocked out of their bowl. What can I do to make this cat eat neater? I'm considering ordering one of those Scatterless Dome Bowls for Ferrets, but I'm wondering if he would just start eating from the front edge of the bowl.

(Picture of the Scatterless Dome Bowl)
http://www.healthypetstore.com/sp-61814.html

Help!

Ok, and I thought I would post a picture of the lil guy from when he was a kitten. I don't have any updated photos just yet - I haven't picked them up from the store yet even a *cough* year later. Been too darn broke!

There's lots more pictures if you scroll down!

[Jods]

go to the baby section in a grocery store and they have bowls with sucktions on the bottom it will stick to your counter... It works we did it for our iguana

[catland]

my gang is good with the dry stuff but not so good with their daily canned treats.

So I picked up 3 plastic in-boxes (like for a desk at an office) and their food goes on a plate in the in-box. That way, the food stays in the in-box and off of the floor.

:)

[carla and mike]

Maybe fill the bowl half way and let it be like that always.
Maybe it's a security thing.Even though he doesn't need the extra food.He's just being strange with it because he wants more in it?
My cat Lucy freeks if there isn't alot of food in the dry dish even though she'll only take a couple bites and leave.
Just a guess.

[christa]

Don't think there is a solution to this . . . cats are wierd.

Josie does the same thing. She eats dry food and there's ALWAYS a few pieces on the floor. And she usually picks them up in her mouth and then drops them on the floor. Instead of eating it off the floor, she goes back to the bowl. She NEVER EVER eats off the floor.

I buy cheap placemats and put them under her food/water bowls. That way it won't get on the carpet. Makes it look neater for me . . .

Cats ARE animals. I seriously doubt you can teach an animal to care about how tidy their space is. I think it's funny, but that's just my opinion.

BTW, cute kitty!!!

[LaRana]

Oh he'll finish all the food out of the bowl throughout the day. He just doesn't clean up the floor unless there's no food and he's *Desperate*! If the bowl has only a few kernels left, he'll still spill them! All my other cats would immediately eat anything that spilled out of the bowl. They almost reminded me of the Seagulls in "Finding Nemo" - "MINE!!!!!!!"

It's not that he's moving the bowl around either. Well he does, but that's not what causes the problem. He eats in his room (the 2nd bathroom - we don't have kids), but I would like it somewhat presentable for guests instead of the old excuse "Use the cat's bathroom.... Yeah, he'll follow you in there to inspect since you're in his territory now."

I'm strongly considering ordering one of those scatterless dome feeders for him that is really for ferrets, mostly because I'm running out of floor space. His littermaid (and tent!) takes up so much space, and with his food being everywhere - well that's the whole bathroom floor practically. I'll let you guys know how it works.

And here's another pic of the lil baby when he was a baby :)

[christa]

Like I said before, we have the same problem with Josie.

Do you watch him? Does he play with his food? If it's just around the bowl, he's probably dropping it out of his mouth onto the floor. (as does Josie) If it's all over the bathroom, he's probably playing with it. When we fed Josie in the kitchen (on slick floors), she'd reach into her bowl, pull some food out, and bat it around the kitchen floor. If that's what he's doing, or even if he's dropping it out of his mouth, I don't see how the dome feeder is going to solve your problem.

Good luck!

[catlover4ever]

My Abner does the same thing. I have a kitty rug with place mats down for their food but for some reason Abner just likes to spill his food. Abner also likes to "bury" his food. He will take his paws and cover the dishes over with the kitty rug. I just have to live with it. I clean up "kibble" every day. Cats certainly are funny creatures. :)

[LaRana]

He doesn't really play with it. He just seems to try to scoop it with his lower jaw by pushing it towards the edge of the far end of the bowl, and then when he grabs a kernel or two, the rest of the surrounding food falls out. He only plays with it once he's done eating, but that's very very rare, and usually he "plays" with it in order to get it in a convenient spot to eat it (like out from underneath stuff).

I'm going to test a 2nd time tonight, but I'll see if I can do a "mock" dome bowl with my hands. I tried it once and it seemed to help bu making him move his head back and eat from the center of the bowl.

More pics ;) Sorry, I don't have these posted on the net, so I have to do them one at a time :)

[catmandu]

The Found Cats are messy eaters,and then John Hancock,with two teeth,will go around the Food Dishes,ane eat all the crumbs! Just like Jack Spratt,and his wife!

[LaRana]

Well I ordered the bowl today. I'll let you guys know how it goes once I get it.

I tried doing a "mock" bowl with my hand this morning. I put my hand in a dome shape over the edge of the bowl. He was so hungry this morning begging, meowing, following me, rubbing against my leg. But then he seemed more interested in the fact that my hand was there on the edge of his bowl...

He stared at my hand for a minute thinking "Move, dangit!" Then he tried to get his food but realized it was my hand, so he wanted to give me some kisses and headbutts instead of eating the food.

For once... I ranked above food with Mr. Loki......

One more pic too :)

[carla and mike]

WOW
What beautiful cats.Just beautiful.:) :)

[Catsnclay]

Try this: get a cardboard box, cut it down to tray size (I have used the box from 4- six packs of soda) and put his food dish in there, that way when he spills the food out, it will remain in the box and not scattered all over the floor.

Another trick, put his food dish in the bath tub. You said all his stuff was in the 2nd bathroom, try putting it in the tub, it won't get all over the floor either.

Hope this helps.......BTW you are not alone, I think they throw their food all over! :rolleyes: :rolleyes: You have heard of the saying: Dogs have Masters, Cats have Staff. Well......welcome to the world of cats!! :D

He is a cutie, too!! :D

[catland]

such beautiful kitties!

These stories are so funny.

Sometimes my Sidney gets startled when he's eating (it doesn't take much to startle him) and if he has a mouthful of food he just lets it all fall out of his mouth onto the floor as he attempts to get away.

[LaRana]

Well on the rare occasion that someone visits and needs to use our shower, I don't want to end up with food clogging the drain :)

He has a cardboard box bed in the bathtub as it is that his daddy put 2 towels in.

This cat has complete reign over the whole house. He looooooves his blankets, and he will typically go find a blanket (with a human preferably), and crawl underneath it and hide his face and whole body. But then sometimes he prefers his "ghetto" bed.

The food bowl was mailed yesterday via priority mail, so I think I'll get it at least by Saturday.

[smokey the elder]

Aww, what gorgeous kittens!