My cat won't eat alone. How to move her food bowl to the kitchen?

Thank you for submitting your question regarding your cats. I would start by adding food to the new area while still keeping food available in the original area. Then gradually decrease the food offered in the old area while increasing the amount in the old area. You can take a week or two to make the transition. I hope this information helps!

The food bowl should be in a separate room than the litter bowl, i recommend putting one water bowl in the same room as the food but not one beside the other, i also recommend having an additional water bowl in a different room. Beds and scratching posts according to the space you have in your home.

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Navi. She should adjust to the new fan given enough time. In the meantime, I would add a second litter box and another feeding station in an area where she will not have to go through the kitchen to access it. You don't have to keep this set up forever of it is inconvenient given the layout of your house, but it will help her in the short term. I hope this information helps!

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.

It may be impossible to train her to eat from the bowl. It’s not uncommon that pets will remove food from the bowl to eat on the ground or only eat if the food is placed on the ground. Unfortunately we don’t know why they exhibit these behaviors. I recommend to experiment with feeding her on a plate or a very wide bowl that does not come in contact with the whiskers on her muzzle or the top of her head. It could be a tactile sensation she does not like. Also observe her closely to make sure she’s not showing evidence of illness or not wanting to eat due to a medical condition. There are many reasons a cat will stop eating including sickness or dental problems. If you are not sure if Luna is healthy, have her examined by the veterinarian. Best of luck.

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Nymeria. It is more nutritionally balanced to have her on a commercial cat food. I would transition her slowly to the new food. Mix the old and new foods together and gradually decrease the old food until she is consistently eating the new food. You can add warm water to the dry kibble to encourage her to eat it. I hope this information helps!

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.