Whisker fatigue causes stress and overstimulates their senses. Using a flat bowl or plate will relieve this issue and allow your cat to eat all their food without stress.
You can also search for “whisker fatigue” bowls specifically made for cats.
That really depends on the cat. Mine don’t care whatsoever.
True; every cat is different.
They’re all cats (I like cats).
Sorry, but this is pseudo-science bullcrap akin to healing crystals. Whisker fatigue is just some BS a mom group on Facebook came up with to sell products. It has zero scientific backing and frankly I would appreciate not spreading false information like this here. Leave that garbage on reddit
My cat will only eat from a bowl when there is Amethyst and Rose Quartz crystals arranged to promote calmness, love, and emotional healing. It is literally science.
Looks like its real but potentially exaggerated. https://schertzanimalhospital.com/blog/whisker-fatigue-in-cats/
Ranting on a soap box without providing any evidence is very “reddit” of you.
Burden of proof is on the person making the BS claims
Yes, thank you. You claimed whisker fatigue is pseudoscience. Go!
We use small plates for our cats. It doesn’t stop them from begging for more food even though they still have food.
Yeah, I learned about this as a child, since my cat would put her paw into the cat bowl and pull pieces of dry food out to eat on the floor.
I started putting her food on a plate and no more food was pulled to the floor.
The kitten I have now plays too rough and breaks all his whiskers off, so he doesn’t mind the bowl. But he’ll also get a plate if he mellows out.
Is this also why my cat drinks from the far side of the bowl?
Yes, and also they have a hard time seeing water. They prefer wide, shallow dishes for both food and water.
Sometimes moving water, too - and some are funny about material I think!
My current cat won’t drink from metal bowls, and loves a water fountain most.
they have a hard time seeing water
When my cat was a tiny kitten learning to drink from a bowl he would always dip his face in too far and get a nose full of water, causing him to sneeze. He learned to always dip his paw in the water first to see where the surface is before putting his face in. He still does it every single time. It’s pretty cute.
Tell that to my cat who does anything and everything in her power to drink out of mugs and half full glasses when she has a nice wide fountain full of fresh, clean, filtered water 5 feet away.
My cat won’t drink from her fountain if you watch her, it’s a private activity.
If I don’t put out random cups of water for her around the house so she can think she’s stealing from MY cup, she’ll try to drink from mine every time
Threads like this are great!
Not for infromative purposes, but as a reminder how whipped and nonsensical cat owners can be.
I never noticed until I got my own cats though. Used to be a dog person, through and through. Still am, but now I also love my cats.
Now like dogs, they are individuals so there are adjustments needed but let me just list all that I do with my cats that works amazing for them…
- ad libitum food, 2 cats, 4 bowls. 2 always full with dry food, 2 always full with water. (Now there’s actually also two massive dog water bowls they have additional access to)
- Night time crates; when we go to bed, they go to bed. No fuss, they are crate trained just like our 3 dogs.
- Never outside without a harness/leash. These are pets, and unlike dogs which are easily contained with chains or fences cats are not. Its unethical and plain wrong to let your cat out to kill birds and encroach on others property. Barn cats are another tough topic, I won’t touch on cause that’s a situation. But irrelevant anyways since these are house cats.
These 2 cats are healthy af, not overweight and well they eat and drink well.
I’ll add, I grew up with ad libitum dog feeding too. That said my 3 dogs currently are on a 2 meals a day regiment. This is purely due to the fact we have some overly food motivated breeds who will fight and we need to have them seperate when food is involved in any capacity (their food and food in general)
This rant just to say, cat owners very often come off as the type that try to sell chunks of gypsum and amethyst to heal your woes.
My cats dgaf.
Same with some dogs, especially those with long snout hair, even if they also have whiskers.
For dry food, if you put it in small (4-5cm dia.) cups they WILL reach in to grab the kibble and will eat one at a time.
This is a great way to de-chonk.
Or, if your cat is a fat, clever little shit, she will jam her paw in deep and then yank all the kibble out so she can binge on it and then barf on the carpet.
I have a cheap ‘food maze’ that is essentially this but also with some covers that slide or hinge. I started just putting food so it’s visible but after a few tries my cat figured out there are hidden treats, too. Cats are curious, so they enjoy the hunt, too!
better to give regular feedings in measured amounts imo but that’s not possible for everyone
[OT] I just googled “de-chonk” and now I with that someone named their gym “Human Dechonking Centre”.
PHYSICAL FATNESS
Tell that to my cat who’s preferred drinking vessel is a small cup she’s gotta stick her face into
Then there is my cat who stuffes half of his body in a 5cm diameter pudding container just so that he can reach the very last drop of it. Then wonders why he is stuck and as soon as I save him from his pudding prison he does the same again.
While true, my theory is that they might also want something else. I use a plate and sometimes she’ll just beg for more anyway even if half of what I gave her is still in the bowl, I’ll give her a tiny bit of something else and she’ll go eat that instead lol
my theory is that they might also want something else.
I keep about 4 different kinds of food around for our cats. I have three auto-feeders in different parts of the house each with a different foot and dispense schedule. That way the cat has some choice about what they are eating, and there’s a bit of environmental enrichment where they can eat in different places.
I also hide little piles of cat treats in various locations around the house. Keeps the cats curious and exploring to see if they can find something good to munch.
There are multiple reasons a cat could be begging for food while some is left, whisker fatigue is just the most common and misunderstood.
I did need to know this! Maybe I’ll buy my cat a flatter bowl to eat off.
This is called whisker fatigue. Try to pick food bowls designed to alleviate this. You’ll want a design that’s wide and shallow. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08L97TF8S/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00 I ordered these last year and my baby boy will happily finish his food to the very bottom of the bowl. If your cat’s eating from their usual bowl just fine, then you don’t need to go out of your way to get them special bowls or anything. Every kitty is different and has different needs!
If I served food on a plate, I’d be serving food on the floor.
A small mat under their food and water (kept separate due to other instinct cats have) is an easy way to keep things cleaner.
We tried separating the food and water.
The cat just went to where the water was and howled. We’d show her the new spot, shed drink, and do the same thing in 20 minutes.
Just moved it back, less howling and she still drinks.
I put it in a very shallow dish and then put that dish inside a shallow (and heavy) old baking tray.
The lip of the tray catches the kibble from falling outside of it and the heaviness makes it hard for her to move it.
And now I don’t feel bad about getting new, lighter pans because the old one is still getting used.
