Let Your Cat Hunt Down Its Food

Do you ever wonder how your cat can be so fastidious about cleaning her paws yet so untidy with her food? Many cat owners go through a variety of types of food bowls, searching for the one that won’t spill while their kitty plays with it.

Just forget about finding that ideal food dish. It isn't about the bowl. It’s about the innate feline impulse to play with their food. Instead of fighting it, go with it! That neat little pile of tidbits in the dish will be strewn around in no time by your cat, who is on the hunt for just the right nibble. Once she finds it, your cat takes it to a secure hideaway, maybe beneath a chair or behind a plant. Kitty might play with the tidbit for a little while before she consumes it. And that’s the way cats are, so it's best not to interfere with the ritual.

Your cat might have a comfortable lifestyle inside your house, but in her soul, she’s on the hunt. From food bowl to hideout, your cat looks at food just the same way as she would in the great outdoors. That is, if her interfering owner wouldn't keep putting her intended victim back in the bowl. Outdoors, cats will naturally hunt down and capture their next meal. Then they toy with it, letting it go briefly and then pouncing on it once again. Although this habit is objectionable to most humans, for a cat it's just natural.

When your cat gets her food presented in her bowl regularly each day by her indulgent owner, she misses out on the action that she intuitively longs for as part of her mealtime routine. So don’t get mad at her for having some fun with her food. Cats who always receive their food in tidy little piles will often surrender their instincts and turn into sluggish, overweight balls of fur. Although it might produce tidier mealtimes, it’s not optimal for cat health and well being.

OK, so you don't want to introduce mice into your house just so your cat can get some exercise and satisfy its inner hunter. However, you can purchase special cat toys into which you can hide treats. Put a few of these toys throughout your home so your cat can search for and hunt the treat. Because they roll, your cat can chase and overcome its prey, then dig out the food. Dry foods are preferred for these toys as they won't make a mess or go bad.

Because your cat has an instinct to hunt even inside the house, it's important that you keep plants off the floor. Some varieties like poinsettias, azaleas, ivy, and dieffenbachia are toxic to your cat if ingested, not to mention your children. It's easy to put these kinds of plants out of reach of a toddler, but your cat can easily jump up on the table to reach them. Your best bet is to select plant varieties that aren't poisonous, or find some realistic artificial plants to take their place.