Tag: feeding

Establishing Hierarchy

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Every night when I start cooking, I have Henry’s complete attention. He watches my every move. He tries to get up on the counter to check out if there is anything for him there. He might try more than once. When he doesn’t get what he wants he retires to his box on the ironing board from where he keeps watching me across the room.

Today I was making a bolognese sauce and I put a little bit of beef mince to the side with Henry in mind. When the sauce was bubbling on the stove, and I had cleaned the counter top I put the mince in one of his dishes. He gave me the beady eye. I was expecting him to jump down and come closer. He didn’t twitch. I lifted the dish and waved it. He remained stony-faced. I started to lower it. Still no reaction. I finally put it down in the usual spot where he eats his food. He stayed in his box.

He ate it later, when I wasn’t watching. No way would he admit that I have some kind of power over him. If only through food.

Why don’t I just give him a bell?

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Having a family member who works irregular hours creates havoc with catsipline! Henry used to ask for his food pretty much every morning at 7 o’clock, give or take a few minutes depending on the sunrise and weather. It took some effort to make him understand that patience is a virtue and that his humans are not appreciative of being woken at the crack of dawn but he had accepted this principle, more or less.

Since our son has started to work different shifts and on some days gets up at 5 am and on other days I am the first one up at 7.30 am, Henry has decided that if his humans practice anarchy then he will, too. He goes and comes as he pleases, sometimes at midnight, sometimes at 2 am, sometimes even later. And breakfast whenever he feels like it, basically anytime between 4.30 and 6.30am. And he is NOT taking no for an answer, making such a racket outside the bedroom door leading in the garden that is difficult to ignore. Or, if he is already inside, he knows exactly how to bump his head in my face that gets me awake and at the same time all gooey because I know it’s how cats express their love. He’s toying with me, and I still do what he wants me to do.

Communication glitches

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We all know situations when children play off one parent against the other. Cats can do that, too. More precisely, Henry can do that, too.

I have to get up earlier than my husband since I am going off to work. But he often has a case of the geriatric early bird syndrome sometime around 5 am (even though in his case it is often only a levisomnus interruptus – aka: he needs to go to the bathroom and then back to bed). Anyway, he often feeds Henry when he is up early.

But since Henry is a clever cat, he pesters me later: “Feed me. I am hungry. How dare you get up so late?! Feed me now.” Which I do.

Or I feed him before I leave for work and then Henry pesters my husband for food. “Feed me. I am hungry. How dare you get up so late?! Feed me now.” Which he does.

The problem is, of course, that because of this we will soon have either a very fat cat suffering from severe calorie overdose or a very picky cat who doesn’t need to eat what is put in front of him because he can always hold out for something more to his taste.

So we introduced the minion system. We have three toy minions standing on our coffee maker. Whoever feeds the cat in the morning moves one minion to the tea box standing next to it.

Sounds okay. But since I am often not quite awake before my first cup in the morning, there have been occasions with two minions on the tea box. And a very satisfied cat.

All cats look grey at night

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Our neighbours are on holiday and we promised to feed their cat as we’ve done before.

Johnny is a recluse of about 15, a black and white shy gentleman. He sort of tolerates us, barely allows us to touch him.

It’s usually my husband who goes and dishes out his dry food.

Yesterday he returned and was quite pleased: “Johnny is really warming up to me.  Today he actually allowed me to pet him; he rolled on his back and even started purring.”

A bit later I noticed an ear and nose slowly edging around a corner and after a seemingly endless time a whole head followed. Then I blinked and the cat disappeared, back in the corridor and out into the garden.

The unknown visitor was a bi-coloured grey and white cat.

All this explains why Johnny was extreeeeemly hungry tonight.  Apparently hubby had been feeding the wrong cat.

Note to self:  Sometimes German proverbs are true: Nachts sind alle Katzen grau.

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