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non cat person question about cat psychology

3 replies

slowgo · 18/04/2016 00:47

I am looking after two cat sisters for a friend and living in their house while I do it. One is obviously more dominant, the other more submissive.

They are in and out of the house, so the time I put the food down is not always the time that they are around.

The dominant cat will go to eat first from her bowl, but will always leave her sister's bowl full of food.

If the submissive cat is around while I am filling the bowls and her sister isn't, she will eat both hers and her sisters. When the dominant cat gets back and the bowls are empty, she will get upset and pester me until I feed her. Naturally, I give her a pouch of food for herself. But then the submissive cat will walk to her bowl and look daggers at me that I have not also given her some (even though she knows I know she ate two pouches already!)

The dominant cat will also look at the submissive cats bowl and look at me, as if I am being very unfair. The submissive cat will sit by the dominant cat watching her eat her pouch and occasionally sniffing her own bowl and then looking at me.

Once the dominant cat finishes, the submissive cat will then pester me for the rest of the evening for more food, to the point that she will scratch my bedroom door through the night.

What's going on in their heads?!

OP posts:
wickedlazy · 18/04/2016 01:08

Cats are greedy. If I'm eating something mine likes, I have to put her out of the room or she will torture me to get at it. Any kind of sandwich or burger she's up beside me trying to pull the filling out the other side. When I tell her no and shoo her away she can get quite aggressive, and will scratch. If I forget one of her pouches she'll go to the bowl and yowl. Vet says she's a bit overweight, but she's out more now with the better weather and burning off energy. If I sleep in at the weekend, and she wants breakfast, she licks and nudges my hands or neck until I wake up. Weird way to be woken up but not the worst :) She has brought me whole, seemingly untouched (except for obviously being dead) birds, mice and worms. Apparently this is either a thoughtful gift, or her way of telling me what I'm feeding her is inadequate. Only ever had one at a time. Have you tried giving them catnip yet? Maybe one at a time to start with if you do.

wickedlazy · 18/04/2016 01:09

*burning of calories, doh.

RubbishMantra · 18/04/2016 01:14

It's possible sub cat isn't sub at all, and is actually the boss.

Or sub cat has a food fixation. Do they fight at all? Even in a play-fighty sort of way? Which one gets the hallowed spot on your lap/curled up next to you?

At the moment, one of mine (dominant) has become very food fixated, after a big change to his life. He comfort eats.

Or, check with the owners when they the cats were last wormed - sub cat might be a hunter, therefore ingesting more parasites.

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