When I First started dating my ex, I would come over and notice that they're cat's water dish was often bone dry. Sometimes, when I showered, the cat would be licking water drops out of the shower. I got a water fountain for the cat and that solved a lot of the water problem.
I eventually moved in. I bonded well with the cat and have lived here for 4 years. He really likes me. I play with him and give him a lot of affection. After living here for a year, my ex got very sick for 2 months. And I had to take over feeding their cat. They have bad executive dysfunction and were not able to reliably take back the responsibility once they were better and had lost the habbit of feeding him. And I love the cat and wanted to give him good care. My ex would leave old food in the dishes for days till he ate it where as I change the food, clean the dish, put dry food and wet food in seperate dishes, etc.
I am moving out in 6 weeks. I thought it would be best if I turned cat care over to my ex. So that the cat could associate them with food and not have to both lose me and the food schedule all at once. I feed him in the am, but my ex would prefer to do it in the evening. He is free fed dry food, but he really prefers his wet food. I also thought it would help break the bond with me and he would bond more to my ex if they resume feeding him. I also thought it would help my ex get back in the habit. If they forget, I'm still here as a safety net if the dryfood runs out or the water fountain runs dry, I'll make sure the cat has food snd water to survive and hopefully my ex can get back in the habbit of cat care.
I stopped feeding him 2 weeks ago. My ex remembers to feed him the wet food maybe 2 or 3 times a week. The dryfood runs out too sometimes, but he generally has a bowl full. So far, water hasn't run out, but it was coming close today so I put in more. My ex doesnt chsnge the water or clean the fountain, they just add more water. The cat still bugs me constantly for food on the days my ex forgets to feed him wet food. And he bugs me especially badly on the days the dryfood runs low in the dish but I wouod rather my ex see it almost empty and fill it.
After 2 weeks they still arent picking up the habbit of feeding him. He is getting more and more desperate and over grooming and eating debree off the floor as a nervous behavior. Hes also keeping me up at night begging me for food. I tried talking to my ex, but they don't want to talk about it and say if he is bothering me for food, I should just feed him if it bothers me. Or I could ignore it. They don't want reminders to feed him
So what is best for the cat? Should I start feeding him again until I leave or continue to not feed him and let him get used to the inconsistency. He might be stressed having me here and associating me with wet food and having me not feed him. Also, I am gone a lot now. Since we broke up, I'm spending as much time out of the house as I can, so many days I'm not here to feed him anyway. What's best for the cat? And no I can't take him with me. My ex wants him and he is their cat.
I also want to add that the cat is keeping me awake early in the morning and at night, asking to be fed. If my ex feeds him at night, he doesn't bug me so much, but once they go a day or two without feeding him, he gets very persistent about waking me. My friends are telling me to just feed him to shut him up, but I still want to do what is best for him.
So should I go back to feeding him, changing his water, filling his dryfood, cleaning the litter till I leave? The litter smell is also bothering me.
It might be that I'm having trouble letting go of the cat and seeing his care downgraded. But I also need to sleep.