I've made a rod for my own back haven't I?

[funkiechicken]

yes you've made a mighty big rod there 
That said, due to age etc i can understand your worries...but me thinks Jaffa is laughing inside at how, in her old age she's managed to get so much more with so little effort on her part 

Tazi got very cheeky in his old age. He never asked for food from my plate in his whole life (nuggie would, without an ounce of shame - just extend his paw and tap my chicken  ) Tazi however would sit a distance away, pretending not to look, telepathically willing me to share the chicken. He hit 13 and he changed into scavenger. Never happy with the expensive delights i bought to tempt any cats taste buds...he'd fling himself in the fridge at every chance, eagerly pointing at the cooked meats insisting that if he got this instead of that awful stuff in his bowl he at least wouldnt starve to death. This was the same with my plate. Never had eating with my tray been such a chore! with Nuggie "pawing" my food and Tazi taking his chances at the "face in & grab" technique, I never wished i had a table more in my whole life!! His quicker than the human eye stealing, was his right, as he was old and he deserved it 

Nuggies "I have mammy doing my will" is being escorted to his bowl and like Tiggy's Mum standing and supervising his eating  I never realised this was his routine for nearly 10years until I moved to house where the kitchen door wasnt directly connected to the living room. Its only now when i have to walk the hallway with Nuggie strutting like a HipHop Gangsta that it finally dawned on me!!  He cries to be escorted in the unlikely event that there is no food in the bowl - thus cutting out the need to come back and cry for food......yes these boys have worked me and i didnt even know 

 

[maryas]

Aaaaaw bless 

Mary

[Susanne (urbantigers)]

I'm in weekend lie in mode now.  Weekend breakfasts usually consist of the same thing for both of them and no biscuits for Mosi.   I just get out of bed, plonk down 2 bowls of meat, tell them they can do what they like with them and go back to bed!  If I get any funny looks I just tell they can like it or lump it and if they want to go hungry thats fine by me.  I get tough on them when I want a lie in!  Both dishes are now empty - I don't know who's eaten what but I don't think Mosi will have eaten 2 full portions as he doesn't have that sort of appetite and I saw Jaffa tucking into his as I headed back to bed.  So no hand feeding this morning!

[maryas]

Answer to your question:

           




 

Can understand you being concerned Susanne  but I think for the moment it might just be Jaffa being a little sly 

Mary

[Susanne (urbantigers)]

The thing with Jaffa is that he doesn't have the appetite he used to have and he has always been a very slim cat so I don't want him losing weight.  He also has mild crf (not officially diagnosed as having crf but we are keeping an eye on him) so I am anxious that he gets his meals into him.  the danger of having 2 cats with different nutritional needs is that they end up eating each others.  I don't want to be going to the trouble of getting senior food and foods low in phosphorus for Jaffa only for him to leave half of it, Mosi to finish it off and Jaffa to go and finish Mosi's hi life which is pretty high in phosphorus and not good for cats with kidney problems.  I do try to leave him to it most of the time and if he half eats something I feel fairly confident he likes it and will go back for the rest later on, but sometimes he doesnt esp if there is a radiator on and he gets comfy by that.  he tends to forget all about it so I do like to get the food in him.  but I really must let him eat it himself and only hand feed him if he shows no interest.  sometimes that gets him eating a bit and realising it is quite tasty after all so I need to back off and let him discover it for himself.  I used to and it's only lately that I've increased the hand feeding - must take a step backwards and stop that!

ETA - age is a big part of it.  Jaffa is 14 years and 8 months so I do watch him like a hawk.  I am much less fussed if Mosi won't eat as I know he will be alright and it's either a hairball brewing or he's just being awkward but I'm confident he won't starve himself.

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

As they get older they are often willing to starve themselves and Kocka would have done if I hadnt helped her.

Also livers deterioate quickly when they dont eat for time and it vcant be reversed.

[Tiggy's Mum]

I know this is a cat forum and we are meant to be loopy about our cats but I think, unless there's a health reason for needing them to eat, we should just leave them to it - they won't starve! (I hope  )

Lu 'trained' me to start feeding him in the hall rather than the kitchen as he used to refuse to go in there unless I stood next to him while he ate  I fell for it for a little while but then I twigged on that he was perfectly capable of going to the far end of the kitchen to eat his biccies and have a drink so there's no reason why he couldn't eat his breakfast/dinner just inside the kitchen door. First few times he pretended not to eat and walked away, but so did I and then after a few minutes he caved and went in  Same happened when I'd put his food in the kitchen and leave for work in the morning, he'd stand there meowing refusing to go in but as I went out the door I could see him sneaking in 

Susanne 0 Jaffa 1

Me 1 Lucas 0 

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

I think you have to stay aware and if he is using his dish, stay out of it lol.

However if he isnt then this the way to go and had to feed Kocka by hand for about 3 years.

I also tempt Ducha from my hand when he stops eating

[Susanne (urbantigers)]

Jaffa is a bit of a fusspot with his food these days - some mealtimes he eats the lot in one go.  other times he will eat a bit and may come back later for the rest.  or he might not.  or Mosi might eat it.  Sometimes he stands a good foot from the food bowl looking at it like it's poison.  Anyway, I've taken to hand feeding him at times, esp if he won't touch it as he usually eats it from me like that.  I've mastered the art of holding the pieces in such a way so that he eats the chunk of meat but leaves my fingers behind.  And I don't really mind getting cat food gravy all over my fingers    But this morning I suddenly realised he was actually trying to eat it out of his bowl but I was insisting on feeding him it piece by piece.  I think he could get used to this.  I'm going to rue the day I started doing this aren't I?