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For years now, my cat Josie has eaten out of a little salsa bowl. She likes to tip it on its side and eat it that way. Kind of like it’s being dispensed, I guess?
Other than the fact that this leads errant pieces of kibble scattered ina radius as big as five feet across — kibble which I will inevitably step on at least once every three days — this setup has been working just fine for years. So I should’ve dismissed Aaron’s suggestion that I get her a proper upright food bowl.
But I didn’t.
I blame owner guilt. Most people get their pets various toys to keep them engaged and active. But Josie never really shows much interest in toys.
She liked a plush ball that jingled — until I accidentally stepped on it and it jingled no more. Oops. I felt terrible and tried to replace it, but I couldn’t find that type anymore. I got her some jingly balls in round plastic cages — and they’ve been completely ignored for the past two years.
The plush ex-jingly toy still mysteriously moves around on the house, so I assume she still plays with it some. But otherwise, she is just sorta meh on the toy front. Heck, she wasn’t even that interested in the laser point I got. After a minute or two of staring/batting at the dot on the floor, she looked up at the pointer in my hand like “I know what’s going on, human.” She’s surprisingly canny sometimes.
Thus I don’t invest in toys the way most owners do. And I’ve always felt slightly bad about that. So when Aaron told me there were actual bowls made for her preferred setup, I felt like I should get one.
I looked around online and, while there weren’t upright bowls per se, there were ones that were elevated and tilted. I guess it’s supposed to be easier on their neck?
I got one with both a food bowl and one for water for $14.11 on Amazon. (As an Amazon affiliate, I am compensated for purchases made through my links.) It got here the next day, and I set it out the following morning.
The target audience was… unethused. She looked at it, looked at me and meowed. I gestured at it. She sniffed it and meowed again. I told her that she’d figure it out and went about my day.
But every 15ish minutes I’d hear her meow, and I’d look over to see her staring at me by the food bowl. I shook my head and figured she’d suck it up and try eventually.
About two hours after I set the bowl set out, I finally heard her using it. I looked over triumphantly and… She was using her paw to fish out a few pieces of kibble at time. She’d trap the kibble between her paw and the edge of the bowl, then guide them up until they fell on the floor. Then she’d eat them off the floor. She did this twice before I just shook my head and looked away.
Surely, she’d get it.
About 20 minutes later I heard a clatter and looked over. She had knocked the bowl completely off the stand and all of the kibble was now on the floor. Despite her feast finally being at ground level, she didn’t make a move. Just watched me. I’m not sure if she was being smug or worried I was going to be mad.
I sighed, grabbed the salsa bowl and scooped the kibble off the floor and into the bowl. Then I got her old water dish and filled that as well, in case she tried to knock that bowl off too.
Shortly thereafter I heard the sound of the salsa bowl being tipped on its side and, presumably, all was right in Josie’s world again.
I was debating whether to return the item or just give it away, since I figured return shipping would eat into a good chunk of the $14.11; but happily, Amazon is giving me a refund without the need to ship it back.
So thankfully, this little financial faux pas (faux paw?) cost me nothing. And it’s a good reminder that if something you already have is working just fine, there’s no need to buy a different/better version.
Still, all’s well that ends well, I guess. Was really looking forward not to stepping on any more kibble though.
What’s something you’ve tried to improve on needlessly (and with bad results)?
P.S. Mom and I were discussing my giving the stand away on the Buy Nothing Facebook group I belong to. She said #PayItForward. I replied #PawItForward. She dared me to use that in this post. And I have now fulfilled my duty. You’re welcome.
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I have learned with all our pets, new and improved is a false statement in their world. I agree-it it is not broken, do not fix. My dog has a pet bed that is a hand me down, but he hated the new one we got. his second spot is an old comforter stuffed inside a pillow case-again, hated the alternative mat we tried to use. Jose likes what she likes.
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Yuuuup. We tried to give her Pandora’s old bed because it was nice and cushy and soft. I don’t know whether it was because it smelled like dog or she just didn’t care, but she’d plop on the floor in direct eyeline of the thing. Contrary lil furball. I guess we should be happy that they’re so easy to please.
Clearly part of the enjoyment of eating involved getting to play with her food.
Cute story. I miss having cats.
Apparently, yes, floor-level food is best in her world. Strange gal, that cat. But hey if that’s her wish, so be it. Since I got the refund for it, I’m going to give it away on Buy Nothing. Hopefully THAT person’s cat can appreciate nice things.
Cats gonna cat.
Donna Freedman recently posted…Our daily bread.
My scalp is really irritatingly dry. I tried regular old dandruff shampoo and it did not help. In a rare (pre-pandemic) haircut, I mentioned it to the stylist and bought extremely pricey (for my standards) $40 shampoo she recommended. It smelled lovely, at least, but did not solve the problem at all. I have finally run out of it and tried another type of shampoo, and while I like how it to smells, I am having no luck.
So this isn’t so much a “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” so much as a “if it can’t be fixed, try cheaper “solutions”” story.
Sorry nothing is working. Maybe a dermatologist would have ideas? It’s still skin right?
As a new cat owner this year i would venture to say you got the wrong type of food bowl
https://www.amazon.com/URWOOW-Waterer-Fountain-Di… i was thinking something more along this lines because it seems that she like to self dispense food but it is hard to teach an old cat new tricks(?) and if you did things a certain way it will just stay that way.
Yeah i was considering trying one of those. My luck, she’ll still knock it on the floors Mr. eat it there.
Stop beating yourself up for trying to upgrade your cat’s dining experience. That was a one-time cost (which was refunded.) You save money with every bag of kibble. My daughter’s first cat acquired a taste for Fancy Feast or as we called it Finicky Beast. Those $.59 cans add up fast and if she didn’t eat it all in one sitting it had to be tossed because it attracted flies. We have learned never to give a cat the taste for the good stuff. We now pay about $1 a week for food.
I’m not really beating myself up too much. I thought it was a funny anecdote. I was annoyed with myself when she initially eschewed it, but even before the refund, I got over it.
Cats are funny. I have a feline barfer. He throws up most cat foods and cat treats. I tried several expensive cat chows for cats with delicate stomachs and no dice. The only thing he tolerates is Purina Gentle. The two female cats could care less and will eat any brand served so we buy it in huge bags. I emailed Purina when I couldn’t find it during the pandemic and they suggested a few alternatives and even gave me some hefty coupons (yay!)
I love it when companies give out coupons when you contact them! Sorry to hear he’s a barfer. Josie usually only pukes when there are hairballs at play, so I try to use the Furminator regularly. But seriously, thank goodness for tile floors. Cleanup is sooooo much easier.
My cat had one of those sticks with the ball on the end and a feather attached to said ball…..(kind of like a kitty fishing pole) — I’d fling it around and she’d chase it. Sometimes in the middle of the night, she’d drag it around the house.
The ball (golfball size) finally fell off, and the insides came out…she STILL plays with the cloth that was covering the “ball”, feather still attached…looks like an old small piece of rag/ garbage….its her FAVORITE toy.
Cats are so weird. It’s a good thing they’re adorable. Because yeah the mental picture of a cat playin with a piece of rag is absolutely cute!
I serve Bartholomew his third of wet canned food twice a day on a beautiful little saucer. The beast then grabs the whole chunk and moves it to the linoleum. I have to clean the leftover gunk off the floors regularly. I think to myself, if only there was a way to protect the floor and I arrive at…. A plate. Sigh.
Hahahaha, I’m glad I’m not the only one whose furball prefers to eat off the floor. (Though Josie then proceeds to ignore food that has fallen too far from the bowl. So every day or two I gather it up and scoop it back in.
We… we ARE the ones that own them, right?