Whats up with my cats? They are different!?

Question

There are number of things wrong with my cats! [Martha and Tigger]
#1 - Okay, well my cat is "offended" by the bowls we give him. Plastic bowls that are small. Yeah we always gave him a big bowl but he's now obese so we changed the size of the bowl to a smaller one. Now that he saw the smaller bowl he meows constantly and wont eat out of it at all. What if he dies of starvation?! Plus we replaced the big bowl and made it his water bowl because he drinks out of the bathtub and toilet. [Gross] But it just makes me sad when hes meowing constantly. 

#2 - My cat Martha scratches her face like everey cat does. WEll she scratched theh top of her eye until the fur is now gone [on her eye] What should I do or should I just forget about it?

S · Accepted Answer

Your cats are having some serious issues with the changes you made with their food and water. (obvious I know, but bear with me) Put food back in the big bowl, but don't put very much in there. Tigger will probably eat out of it then without too much fuss, and he may lose weight. Use the little bowl as his water bowl so you aren't giving him... recycled water from the bathroom.

As for Martha, cats obsessively groom themselves if they're really stressed out. My female cat wears patches of fur off on her belly occasionally, even though we haven't made any changes to our home since we moved out of our slum apartment. Just give Martha lots of loving. Maybe switching the food and water dishes back the way you had them before will help out her anxiety too.

Anonymous · Answer

Don't worry, your cat will not die of starvation!  Cats are total fuss-pots and yours is just protesting about the change in the food bowls.  Give them a couple of days to 'get over it' and they'll be eating from the new bowl.  The only way your cat could possibly die of starvation is if he/she isn't well.  Your cats will eat when they're hungry, honestly.  The chances are that they are eating the food when you're not watching :)

About the bathtub and toilet drinking, be consistant in stopping him drinking water from these places and ignore the meowing.  It might take a while but he'll definitely stop so long as you don't give in.  Cats sometimes prefer drinking from flowing water.  Have you considered buying a cat fountain for your cats to drink from?  Here's a website which sells them for you to have a read up if you wish:

http://www.petplanet.co.uk/product.asp?dept_id=364&pf_id=3249

It sounds like Martha might have an allergy causing her to scratch at her fur so frequently that she rubs off the hair.  The most common is a flea allergy.  If your cats are up to date with their flea treatment and Martha's scratching is persistent, you might want to take her to your vet to see what's causing the scratching.  I'd have thought it's nothing to worry about, allergies are just one of those things.  Like people, some are more prone to being allergic to things than others.

rrm38 · Answer

#1 - Put the old food bowl back.  Just don't put as much food in it.  Cats love their routines and can be really odd when we switch things up on them.  Besides, plastic bowls harbor bacteria and can cause them to get feline acne.

#2 - If she's scratching more than normal then she's probably got some sort of problem.  If she's scratching the top of her face or near her ears then she may have ear mites.  Or, it could be fleas.  Either way I would take her in for a quick vet check.

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Whats up with my cats? They are different!?

3 Answers