We have two, and we always laughed when there was food around the rim of their bowls, yet if we added just a bit to the middle they would eat it. We thought maybe they just wanted it "freshened up". Not the case. I watched a video on Youtube the other night that indicated cats' whiskers are very sensitive and when the bowl is too deep they just can't bear eating the food around the edges. We're going to shop for more shallow bowls this weekend. Skip right to 1:47 if you want.
Does anyone with cats know why they leave food around the rim of their bowls?
- Thread starter seadoug
- Start date
CinnamonSugar
A Quiet American
Judycat
Well-known Member
- Location
- Pennsylvania
Poor kitties having to deal with their whiskers. 
jujube
SF VIP
The food I fed my last cat was multi-colored. Each morsel was a different color and a different taste. First he'd sit and stare at the bowl like it was the most wonderful thing he'd ever seen. Then he'd pick up each piece with his paw pads, contemplate the absolute magnificence of it and then he'd eat it. This would happen with 5-6 pieces and then he'd fall upon the feast like he hadn't eaten in three weeks, wolfing it down.
Then he stopped eating. He'd come in, look at his food, turn his nose up and wander off. He might be tempted by a morsel of tuna or a little ham, but mostly there was no interest. I was worried about him but he wasn't losing weight (actually he was getting fat) and he didn't look sick, so I thought I'd just hold off for a while and see what was going on.
After a few days, I came home from work and the animal services van was in front of my house. The guy got out and said he wanted to talk to me about my cat. MY cat? Yes, MY cat.
Apparently, an elderly neighbor two houses down had made a complaint that I wasn't feeding the cat. I showed the guy that there was a cat door and that there was always food and water available. I said, let's go talk to the lady.
The elderly lady said she had been feeding him because he was "soooo hungry" and was acting like he wasn't getting anything to eat. He just begged and begged, she said. What was she feeding him? Oh, she was feeding him cream and tuna and fish and chopped liver and..... She was told to stop feeding him, that he had adequate food at home.
That sh!thead cat was gaming both of us. I'm pretty sure she was still slipping him a few treats but he did start coming home for dinner.
Then he stopped eating. He'd come in, look at his food, turn his nose up and wander off. He might be tempted by a morsel of tuna or a little ham, but mostly there was no interest. I was worried about him but he wasn't losing weight (actually he was getting fat) and he didn't look sick, so I thought I'd just hold off for a while and see what was going on.
After a few days, I came home from work and the animal services van was in front of my house. The guy got out and said he wanted to talk to me about my cat. MY cat? Yes, MY cat.
Apparently, an elderly neighbor two houses down had made a complaint that I wasn't feeding the cat. I showed the guy that there was a cat door and that there was always food and water available. I said, let's go talk to the lady.
The elderly lady said she had been feeding him because he was "soooo hungry" and was acting like he wasn't getting anything to eat. He just begged and begged, she said. What was she feeding him? Oh, she was feeding him cream and tuna and fish and chopped liver and..... She was told to stop feeding him, that he had adequate food at home.
That sh!thead cat was gaming both of us. I'm pretty sure she was still slipping him a few treats but he did start coming home for dinner.
OneEyedDiva
SF VIP
- Location
- New Jersey
I found out from watching Jackson Galaxy (aka Cat Daddy) videos when Deja was a kitten that cats whiskers are very sensitive, so its best to buy wide bowls for them that are not too deep. My son had bought her two cute plastic kitten bowls and I bought stainless steel ones that were about the same diameter. After watching the video I bought a set of wider stainless steel bowls, like the ones linked below, None of the bowls are that deep and the smaller ones don't seem to bother her. She still eats out of all of them and food winds up around the rims while she's eating. And here I thought it was just Deja. 
https://www.amazon.com/Thickened-Stainless-Whisker-Fatigue-Shallow/dp/B0FNRQ3X1V/ref=sr_1_100?crid=DU62VYICQBT&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.HsFB2GNdiO7dDeLlemV32iBi312XozZpLwUZyHxegojunHG99p1mjkaxTnI1lgjViko4MkBcAYC9wW9eZw2wHd44ZewwUahlToDCPvJPzOhA5LdY4ta7dZyHVl3hH78rxr9KoIDRLXlWl7Gg5O_Dug.SK7k3COeOFWak-Erd424gwI3WXdjSAE3yKHOovI2MAY&dib_tag=se&keywords=kayshon+whisker+fatigue+cat+bowl&qid=1777091978&sprefix=kayshon+whisker+fatigue+cat+bowl,aps,246&sr=8-100&xpid=qrNh_ZlKsBZkv&th=1
https://www.amazon.com/Thickened-Stainless-Whisker-Fatigue-Shallow/dp/B0FNRQ3X1V/ref=sr_1_100?crid=DU62VYICQBT&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.HsFB2GNdiO7dDeLlemV32iBi312XozZpLwUZyHxegojunHG99p1mjkaxTnI1lgjViko4MkBcAYC9wW9eZw2wHd44ZewwUahlToDCPvJPzOhA5LdY4ta7dZyHVl3hH78rxr9KoIDRLXlWl7Gg5O_Dug.SK7k3COeOFWak-Erd424gwI3WXdjSAE3yKHOovI2MAY&dib_tag=se&keywords=kayshon+whisker+fatigue+cat+bowl&qid=1777091978&sprefix=kayshon+whisker+fatigue+cat+bowl,aps,246&sr=8-100&xpid=qrNh_ZlKsBZkv&th=1
PeppermintPatty
🐢. 🐳. 🐢
- Location
- Canada
Its an interesting video seadoug.
Our cat ate whiskas to but we used a plate to feed her and she usually ate all the food. Maybe she didn’t get whisker fatigue by eating her whiskas..lol . I sure miss our cat.
Magna-Carta
Senior Member
- Location
- UK
I became aware of whiskers stress about six years ago from a vet when she was treating my very ill cat.
After some thought, when I was then leaving the vet's, I drove straight to Tesco supermarket to buy some large shallow plastic plates. But i found they were too light, as they would be moved around the floor when as my cat was eating.
I ended up going back to the store and buying an 8in glazed stoneware plate with a shallow edge. This one:
https://www.tesco.com/shop/en-GB/products/322587607
The cat I mention passed away a couple of years ago. My latest cats also eat from the same 8in plates (shallow rim), and drink from an 8in porcelain bowl. They seem happy enough:
After some thought, when I was then leaving the vet's, I drove straight to Tesco supermarket to buy some large shallow plastic plates. But i found they were too light, as they would be moved around the floor when as my cat was eating.
I ended up going back to the store and buying an 8in glazed stoneware plate with a shallow edge. This one:
https://www.tesco.com/shop/en-GB/products/322587607
The cat I mention passed away a couple of years ago. My latest cats also eat from the same 8in plates (shallow rim), and drink from an 8in porcelain bowl. They seem happy enough:
