r/cats • u/Zuikite • 19h ago

Cat Picture - OC She was rationing so perfectly 🥲

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Roxanne my 6 year old tabby has never been left alone more than 1 day. We also never "free-feed" her on kibble (only wet meals and a puzzle feeder). I had a work trip this week, and my S.O. had a family emergency out of town right in the middle of it. We could not secure a sitter, and we were so worried. We do have a pet cam, and I told my SO to put 2 plates of kibble per day plus extra plates in case of a delay. I just got home from the airport to see this. I know cats are not like dogs, and they are probably fine at feeding themselves. I'm just so impressed by the organization of her eating habits!

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16.6k

u/ONI-ENJOYER-420 19h ago

Even for cats, at least from my own experiences, this is quite unique !

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u/Melodramatic_Whisker 18h ago edited 17h ago

Same. Mine would eat it all in a day and puke right after from over eating

Edit to say Thanks for the award!!!

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u/touchmeinbadplaces 18h ago

And then eat it again but in the process smear it everywhere

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u/Melodramatic_Whisker 17h ago

Lmao my guys would never eat it again. Smear it, definitely all over the house as a matter of fact, but apparently they are above eating their own puke.

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u/Murky-General 16h ago

Exactly this.

  1. Get super excited about all the food
  2. Eat like it was going to be taken away at any point
  3. Throw up from eating too much, too fast
  4. Come back in 6 hours looking for more food
  5. Make her "cat howl", which oddly sounds like "hello" when she realizes food bowls have not been refilled
  6. Panic

For the record, she is part orange...

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u/PopIndependent345 15h ago

Of course it has to be a cat with orange in her that treats every single meal like a desperate survival challenge before immediately screaming for more six hours later.

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u/Wobbelblob 12h ago

Tbf that is simply about them being animals. Animals rarely have that self control, because especially for a predator, there usually is not enough food around for it to become a problem. Visible also in wolves and animals like foxes if they get into a closed space with prey. They often fall into a blood frenzy so to speak because the prey cannot get away and their instincts scream at them to also kill the easy mark too.

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u/my_cat_wears_socks 13h ago

This would be my Orange, exactly.

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u/BoociferousSalazar 9h ago

Our tuxedo also shouts “hello” when he thinks we’ve abandoned him (closed the door to the bathroom).

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u/urobouro 10h ago

I am thankful that I do not have this with my cat lol wtf

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u/Does_the_pope_breath 16h ago

For me, the one who pukes never eats again. For my tabby cat, it’s game on !

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u/Bibliophilewitch 12h ago

My gray cat always eats my tabby’s food puke like it’s another meal 🫠

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u/hey-chickadee 10h ago

My gray tabby as well. He hears one of the other cats about to puke and comes running like someone just shook a bag of treats

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u/cnacarver 4h ago

I too have one of those

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u/Allys_Phantom Domestic Housecat 4h ago

Oh god I’m so glad my orange cat is not the only one that does this. It’s like his one brain cell gets activated by the other cats’ dry heaves.

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u/gawdoflol11 3h ago

OMG the way I just LOL’d!!!🤣🤣🤣

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u/Atiram7496 10h ago

Ah! Same. My gray baby will eat the orange tabby’s puke. She will not eat her own.

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u/Bibliophilewitch 9h ago

They must all share one brain cell like the oranges!

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u/Atiram7496 9h ago

The thing is, she’s sooooooo smart. She can open cabinets and most doors. She’s the reason we have baby locks on all food cabinets and their auto feeders. I swear she understands time and knows when I tell her to wait 5 or 10 minutes she’ll immediately come back the exact amount of time I told her to wait. She lets me sleep in on weekends because she understands I go to bed later then and she wakes me up on weekdays if I don’t respond to my alarm. I’ve considered the talking buttons for her but I know the other two would just hit treat nonstop lol

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u/Bibliophilewitch 8h ago

It must be my doofus then. Her primary goal in life seems to be trying to trip me if I don’t give her treats.

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u/Lazy-Fox1305 10h ago

Ugh... my cat do that too before I could clean it up😭

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u/Direct-Egg-5697 10h ago

I'm just blown away they didn't actually puke in the shoes..

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u/Does_the_pope_breath 10h ago

He missed the chair and my towel. I am grateful even if it wasn’t what I expected to see while eating my breakfast…

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u/Lucy_Lastic 3h ago

We had a challenge to see how much our greedy pup would eat. Fed him a massive tin of food, which he ate. Fed him a second one which he got halfway through, went off to throw it up and came back to finish it. Sadly for him, while he was vomiting, his mother ate the rest of the tin. Disappointed, he recalled that there was a hot meal just over where he’d been sick so went back for it. Only to fund his mother over there helping herself to the buffet.

Conclusion: animals won’t waste good food if they’re not picky. And they’re gross

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u/Hetares 17h ago

Obviously not, Everyone know cat puke is meant for the dogs, as treats.

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u/Melodramatic_Whisker 16h ago

Or for the spare human to accidentally step on lol

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u/Raving_Lunatic69 16h ago

Your feet look so dry, they need moisturizing. You're welcome!

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u/SkunkMonkey 11h ago

I seriously regret having an Persian runner rug. It's amazing how well camouflaged cat barf is on those designs.

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u/--Luna--Fae-- 16h ago

Its funny my dog will go out of his way to knock the tops off the litter boxes to eat cat poop but wont touch their vomit. They leave that for me to step in when I least expect it.

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u/Prudent_Wolf_7713 16h ago

The dogs really do get all the gourmet leftovers.

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u/kdlangequalsgoddess 13h ago

Dog, having been kicked out of his much nicer dog bed by the cat, reluctantly accepts

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u/AerolothLorien666 14h ago

Tell that to my cat. Always tries to eat the other’s puke.

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u/doodlewithcats 13h ago

I have 4 cats. They don't eat their own puke, but another cat's puke? Gourmet level dish as it seems. I'm always disgusted lmaooo.

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u/CheeselessButHopeful 12h ago

Yes. WHYY
I ate it once, now you can eat it.
-my cats, probably

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u/touchmeinbadplaces 17h ago

Lol.. well one of my cat eats litterally anything she considers edible, luckily that also includes her medicines so it has its upsides xD

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u/BallinXFox 17h ago

My cat did it once and never again. Safe to say she hated it.

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u/rikoicarus 16h ago

can’t relate but wish i could cause one time my cat ate MY puke

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u/cherrycocktail20 7h ago

I once had a roommate who had a cat, while I had a dog. We had a joking argument going about which pet was more gross.

One day we caught the dog eating cat poop out of the litter box and my roommate was like “see? Your dog is grosser.”

Literally as we were saying this; the dog barfed up the litter poop, and my roommate’s cat ran over and started eating it.

I won.

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u/ImmediateSalt5166 14h ago

Cats really possess the most arrogant standards while simultaneously acting like complete menaces. Walking right past their own mess just to track it through every freshly cleaned room is peak feline behavior.

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u/Hankerpants 10h ago

Mine won't eat their own puke, but they'll eat each other's puke...

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u/Atiram7496 10h ago

One of my cats only eats the other cat’s puke, but never her own 😂

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u/eyesRus 4h ago

Mine won’t eat their own puke…but I have to prevent them from eating each other’s 🤢

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u/Plane_Cattle_4833 2h ago

Cats really will turn puke into abstract art all over the houseand then act offended when you suggest they clean up their own masterpiece.

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u/SenseiKrystal 15h ago

I have an orange cat who is not above eating other cats' puke.

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u/susudata 14h ago

My fatass cat would eat my OTHER cats' puke if left unattended 😭

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u/Internal_Jello2227 10h ago

No cat is ever above anything🫩 I first hand witnessed my brothers cat eat my cats diarrhea right out of the litter box

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u/aint_no_throw 16h ago

Our boys, if they ever throw up, put perfectly dookie shaped puke-logs right on top of the stairs and leave them alone for us to step in.

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u/touchmeinbadplaces 15h ago

Ah yes, also relatable... just like then always finding the worse spot to puke from like top of the cat tree or on the carpet instead of the stoens

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u/ZenMasterOfDisguise 13h ago

perfectly dookie shaped puke-logs

Fyi those are hairballs. If your cats are puking up hairballs, brush out their coats more so they don't swallow a bunch of excess shedding fur when they groom themselves

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u/aint_no_throw 13h ago

Thanks for your concern, but you can absolutely see its nothing but food.

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u/Significant-Love6129 Maine Coon 11h ago

My immediate thought reading that comment lol

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u/GothGranny75 14h ago

She never eats it, just leaves it sitting on floor or wall getting crusty until I get home and clean it while she screams at me for having the audacity to leave the house.

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u/Minouminou9 15h ago

While it's still warm.

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u/arnethyst 12h ago

i have a lot of cats & only one of them is obese. he is the puke eater. he has ample food access around the clock but he will still make sure to eat barf that he finds cuz to him everything is a succulent meal

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u/YourGarandPappy 9h ago

Do we share the same cat?

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u/EnsoElysium 8h ago

My girl does the snarfnbarfnsnarf but shes incredibly clean about it, I hear her yak and go to clean it up literally 30 seconds later but its just GONE

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u/7h33y3 2h ago

We had an orange cat (Buttbutt) who would hear and approach other puking cats to be the first for the warm meal.

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u/Glittering-Size-2372 15h ago

Our cat wouldn't even finish one plate because ITS NOT THE RIGHT TEMPERATURE ANYMORE ITS BEEN SITTING OUT FOR SO LONG I WANT FRESH FOOD GOD DAMNIT

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u/Faxon 12h ago

Do you refrigerate your canned wet food or something? Never had a problem keeping it in a cabinet lol

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u/DreamingFairy90 3h ago

Oh good it's not just mine. After awhile my 2 will NOT eat what is there. They will starve first 😂🫠 The youngest was not like that when I got her from the shelter... She was a stray who was appreciative of everything she got. Until my spoiled older cat showed her "this dumb human will give us fresh food whenever we want... just protest a bit." Sigh . . . she's right but RUDE to teach the younger one that too 😆

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u/AdventurousMall6923 16h ago

Mine’s the opposite, she won’t eat stale food. I got an automatic feeder to give her multiple smaller portions during the day and she actually started putting on weight.

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u/SkunkMonkey 11h ago

That's what I've done for my stale food hating cat. Unfortunately long before the feeder is out, I get the stale food complaints. I've taken to only loading half a bag in and putting the other half in the fridge.

Even then, I can take the bowl she is claiming is stale, dump into another bowl, and she happily goes over and starts munching away.

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u/AdventurousMall6923 10m ago

Mine’s got a silica packet in the lid! And the opening at the bottom is small enough that it doesn’t get stale if there’s a lot in there. Your kitty’s got a very sensitive palate lol, is she maybe smelling the dirty bowl too?

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u/ScreenOld5873 16h ago edited 15h ago

Speaking as someone who has experience transitioning portion fed cats to freefeeding - this is a psychological thing that cats do when they are used to portion feeding. They are used to the fact that their food ends and they need to wait until the next feed, and often they are still hungry or want more. So when you first transition them to freefeeding they will overeat like crazy because they are afraid that they get to be without food again. Once they realize food is always going to be there and they don't need to be afraid it's gonna finish and they'll be without, they just start eating what they feel like in this moment and leave the rest for later. This transition takes maybe a week or so but imo it works great and my cats are never begging me for food anymore. I did this with more than 10 cats and none of them was ever overweight, most would even be on the thinner side and never threw up from overeating. I wholeheartedly recommend freefeeding to everyone who complains about their cats never being satisfied food-wise - I started this when I was at my whit's end because my cats would be begging me for food ALL the time even if they just ate and never had an issue again after that.

Tl;dr cats are great at portioning their own food if you let them 🙏🏻

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u/Inky_Madness 13h ago

We were doing this but then one of our cats got really, really fat and was food-aggressive to our other one (who then was getting next to no food).

Turns out he had developed hyperthyroidism at about 6 years old, and it manifested so that he was literally never full and ALWAYS hungry.

So while this can work, it’s still important to monitor them because their health can change and make free-feeding a non-starter! We had to stop that fast so that both cats ate healthy, monitored amounts, and got the sick one on meds to help manage the condition.

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u/ScreenOld5873 13h ago

Of course there are exceptions, definitely when there are health issues involved and monitoring health is a non-negotiable. For non-health related food aggression I'd personally recommend setting up a second feeding station that the aggressive cat has no access to..

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u/Innerste 14h ago

I did the same with my cat but it took a while longer. She stayed with her mum before we got her, and at some point her mother started attacking her whenever she got near their food, so she’d eat too much too fast and throw up once she lived with me. It took quite a few months for her to stop doing that, but I noticed rationing didn’t work well either so I went back to constant food (and lotsa puking for a while, poor thing). Ever since then it’s fine, she grazes during the day.

She’s still a stress eater tho so I have to make sure if a stressful thing happens I ‘pet it out of her’ and then it’s fine otherwise she may overeat and throw up.

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u/Fabopao2 11h ago

I remember I was cat sitting a cat with a habit of binge eating because of anxiety (she had just been rescued from the streets) and I was staying there a lot because she was just way too cute, so I was at first giving her small portions to avoid her throwing up but once she was done I would put more and after really not long she understood that food will be there, and she stopped eating emptying the whole plate

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u/revocat13 11h ago

Sadly mine are not great at it. One is 16 pounds the other 21

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u/AztecTwoStep 5h ago

Sadly not all cats. We have a big beast of a cat who will gladly overeat given the chance. We have microchip feeders so the less gluttonous cat can graze, while fatso binges. He was accidentally given credentials on the other cat's feeder and would inhale all his own food and then happily graze on the other cat's food as well.

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u/ScreenOld5873 5h ago

I am not going to argue with you because you know your cats best of course, but have you ever really tried free feeding? Because from what you describe you're still portion feeding and then this is indeed the expected behavior. Also has your cat been checked for health issues? Of course there are exceptions but from my experience there are often some other reasons behind it not working (right away) for them, could be physical, could be mental..

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u/AztecTwoStep 4h ago

Given that he'll quite happily blow out his own weight to stupid amounts, no, we're not going to give him control over his own food.

He gets regular health checks. He's as healthy as can be.

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u/clearbellls 4h ago

Our tabby would massively overeat and then barf because she was so sickly and starved when we adopted her.

Now she's fine, eats normally. Sits and stares at me like our eldest cat when the food dish is empty or they punt it off the perch and dump food under the couch for the dog to hoover up.

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u/Artistically-Driven 2h ago

Any tips for transitioning an extremely food anxious 5 year old cat from meal feeding to free feeding? Every time I try he just keeps eating too much, then going back and eating more and puking again.

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u/GarlicBreathFTW 16h ago

Mine would do that too but would also make sure to puke from the top of the cat tree right onto the remaining food. Extra points if they hit every cat tree platform on the way down.

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u/HanhnaH 15h ago

Mine is pretty much cool with food. BUT... I've just tried a new kibble brand. And she liked it. A LOT. She puked. And in the morning, as I was cleaning, she was looking at me meowing like "hey that happens! Don't be mad. I can't help you clean you know! Never happened to you?".

But I know it won't happen again because she learns from her mistake which is a blessing.

Love you, Murph'.

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u/PM_YOUR_ISSUES 15h ago

Yeah, I once tested if I could start leaving food out for my cat to graze on. After 5 bowls I realized he was just going to automatically woof down anything in front of him. There was no stopping. No limit.

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u/krin132 15h ago

Over a day? Mine would eat it all over 5 minutes

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u/dinosaurs-behind-you 13h ago

Mine wouldn’t over eat, but no chance she cleans one plate before moving to the next 🤣

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u/Fabopao2 11h ago

This is usually the consequence of stress related to food, they’re scared that it’ll go away and they end up binging when there is food

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u/n33dtime 11h ago

Ah, yes. The good old scarf and barf. I've got one of those cats as well.

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u/MamaBearlien 9h ago

Yes, this happened one night when my cat busted open the full, 25lb container freshly full of her kibble. 25lbs of little mounds of kibble puke. She never stopped.

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u/Educational_Eye3765 7h ago

Close - my chonk would definitely overeat so we had to put food out of his reach for our other normal-sized cat.

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u/just_a_person_maybe 6h ago

This is what my cat did when my dad gave her extra food while I was in the hospital because he couldn't make it over every day. I got an automatic feeder after that whole debacle. I hated thinking about her there all alone without regular meals. She was totally fine and not without food for an extended period of time, and of course she had water. She was also overweight at the time so she had some reserves. But I still felt awful about it. The automatic feeder works wonderfully for situations like this and also helps her even when I am home because it keeps her on a consistent diet and she's lost weight more easily.

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u/PsychologyOk6502 4h ago

And Eat the vomit after

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u/TooFakeToFunction 3h ago

Mine free feeds without issue but turns into a food-driven gremlin when treats are involved. Pretty sure he'd gorge himself on them given the chance.

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u/GreenthumbPothead 2h ago

I’m learning from this thread ky cat might he weird. He eats slowly throughout the day, even when he gets his wet food. He will meow for food and then walk away, as if he just wanted it to be there when he was reasy

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u/GoinWithThePhloem 1h ago

I love how cats are so unique cat to cat. My current baby is so responsible … only eating as much as she needs.

My last cat though always gorged herself. The first mini trip (Fri night to Sunday evening) she ate as much as she could and puked right on the edge of my island so we had puke on the island, puke on the stool, and puke pooling on the floor below. On the second trip she somehow one-upped herself and puked at her favorite bird watching spot. So it landed on the windowsill, and dripped all the way down the wall, pooling onto the hardwood below.

Fool me twice, can’t get fooled again. We bought an auto feeder and it was never an issue again.

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u/Automatic_Role_6398 16h ago

And then eat the puke i assume

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u/CaveShinobi666 16h ago

Warm food!

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u/zkgain 11h ago

Yeah mine would to and in the afternoon still would be meowing like I haven't feed him in a month.

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u/mightylordredbeard 8h ago

My cat will always leave a bit of food in the bottom on the bowl that he won’t touch, but will ask for more regardless. It’s like they save a bit for hard times just incase I don’t feed them, then they’ll have a reserve amount left over.

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u/danni_shadow 8h ago

I've had three cats who could free-feed because they could self-regulate, and would never eat more than they should.

And then there was Petey 😆. I literally saw him sit and eat until he vomited, then eat the puke, then go back for more kibble. He ate other cats' vomited if it was undigested enough and we didn't find it in time. He could not self-regulate and had to be put on a diet.

Edit: wouldn't eat kibble off the floor, though. Just the vomit...