My cat only eats when hand-fed. How can I get him to eat by himself?

First I would recommend having your vet examine Simba to make sure that he is in good health and there is not a medical reason he prefers spoon feeding. If he is in good health it is probably safe to wait him out for several hours - he will eat when he's hungry enough. You could try putting some canned food in with his kibble to encourage him to eat as well.

Some pets get in the habit of eating a certain way. They become conditioned in a sense to doing things a certain way and feel safer with their owners there for them. Cats in particular like to have flat dinner trays to avoid any rubbing of their whiskers when they eat. They are still very much un-domesticated in a lot of ways and so they want to make sure they can see around them while eating as a defense mechanism. This may be why your kitty likes to eat from your flat hand that is raised off the floor, because he/she feels safer in that position. You can try a flat dinner tray that is slightly raised off the floor and see if this encourages your kitty to eat on his/her own.

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! It sounds like Wilkie, much like my cat, is spoiled. I would say that the reason he does this is likely because he loves your company and eating is a great way to make sure that you stay around. If your preferred eating times and where you eat coincide with his, you may not need to do anything about this, as you can just enjoy your time together. There are several ways to get your cat to eat independently. Not all cats will respond to these but I have had a good majority of cats respond well. 1. Continue joining your Wilkie for part of his meal but not all of it. Put his food down and stand over him as you usually do, but walk away before he is finished. If he complains or stops eating, rejoin him and repeat. 2. Slowly pull back and extend the times you are away from him. Leave him alone to ignore his food for about 5 minutes, then 10 and then 15, etc. He probably won't like this but it will not hurt him to temporarily have an irregular eating schedule. Most cats will eventually eat their food when they are hungry. 3. Work on bonding with Wilkie during non-mealtimes. Plan regular play sessions and brushing sessions. Cuddle with him while you read or watch TV. If you are hanging out in a different room, peak your head in periodically and say hello to him and pet him. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

There are a few things you can try: One is trying a different type of bowl such as ceramic or plastic, or one that is wider or flatter, as sometimes the feel or sides of the bowl can be scary or irritating, especially if Simba is interested in eating still. The other is to start offering a piece of kibble from your hand with the bowl in your lap, and alternate one piece of kibble in hand, one dropped in bowl, back and forth, while praising each time he eats from the bowl. You can also sneak in a few tasty treats to make it extra fun for him. As he gets used to "eating" from the bowl with you there, you can gradually add more to it and then distance yourself from the bowl to encourage him to eat more on his own.

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern! You can add something to the food to entice Noushi more such as tuna water (from canned tuna) and see if she is more enticed by the tuna water to the point where she will eat on her own. Persistence and not catering to her wanting you around while she eats will help. It will take some time but be persistent and it should help. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

This can become a very frustrating problem! You can try adding a very small amount of low sodium chicken broth (assure that it does not contain onions or garlic) or a tablespoon of canned food to Yahoo's kibble to tempt him to eat. He may simply be trained to eat from your hand and may require a bit of coaxing to eat from the bowl. Start by feeding him from your hand over the food bowl, then gradually move your hand down to the bowl, eventually removing your hand from the bowl altogether, but you may still need to sit with Yahoo while he eats. It may take a week or so to gradually leave Yahoo alone to eat. I hope this helps!

This can be a very frustrating problem, but is quite common among small and toy breed dogs. Since you've tried offering timed meal feedings and a variety of different bowls for Snowball, you may need to try a very slow, gradual process to wean her from hand feeding. Start by feeding her from your hand, as usual, but keep your hand over the top of her bowl. The next meal, move your hand closer to the bowl so that it is just above the bowl. Later, put your hand in the bowl while holding kibble. Eventually, move your hand to the edge of the bowl, then out of the bowl altogether. After awhile, try just sitting beside Snowball while she eats from the bowl. It may take days to weeks on each step to gradually wean her from hand feeding, but this typically is successful for most dogs. I hope this helps and that all goes well!