This article was co-authored by Russell Hartstein, CDBC, CPDT. Russell Hartstein is a Certified Dog & Cat Trainer and CEO of Fun Paw Care in Los Angeles, California. With over 25 years of training, nutrition, boarding, and daycare experience, Russell and the Fun Paw Care team provide the most current, humane, and science-based methods utilizing force-free positive reinforcement to train and care for pets. Russell is an author for PetMD, Chewy, and Dogster. He is also regularly cited in publications from various organizations, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA). He is a Certified Dog Behavior Consultant with the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants and a Certified Pet Dog Trainer. He received his bachelor’s degree in History and Economics from Binghamton University.
There are 7 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page.
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Feeding your cat doesn’t seem very hard—just set the food bowl on the floor, put some food in the bowl, and your cat will eat. Right? Well, not exactly. Cats have preferences for where they want to eat, and it’s up to you as the cat owner to know the right place to feed your cat. Feeding your cat in an ideal location will allow your cat to enjoy the eating experience.
Steps
Selecting the Ideal Feeding Location
Choose a calm, quiet feeding location. Cats wants to feel comfortable where they eat. If your cat’s food bowl is in a busy area of your home where there’s a lot of noise and foot traffic, your cat may not feel comfortable enough to eat her food.[1][2] Select an area of your home that’s quiet and calm. This area could be an unused bedroom, the living room, or maybe a quiet hallway.- Try to make this quiet location fairly close to where your cat usually spends its time.
Feed your cat away from the litter box. In the wild, cats eliminate away from their nests. Pet cats will not eat where they eliminate, and vice versa. If you put your cat’s food bowl next to the litter box, your cat won't know what to do—should it eat or go to the bathroom? Your cat may decide not to use the litter box, which could be problematic for you.[3]- To prevent confusion, put the food bowl in a completely separate area from the litter box.
- If your cat already has a litter box problem, moving the food bowl away from the litter box could help resolve the inappropriate elimination.[4]
Select a feeding location away from the water bowl. It seems logical to put your cat’s water and food bowls in the same place. However, in the wild, cats search for food and water separately. Setting the food and water bowls next to each other could prevent your cat from drinking enough water.[5] Wherever you feed your cat, set the water bowl in a different area.- If you have a double bowl (food and water bowls together), purchase separate bowls. Cats typically don’t like double bowls because the water can get contaminated with bits of food at mealtime.
Do not change feeding areas. Cats are creatures of habit and can become stressed if their environment or daily routine suddenly change. Once you have identified the perfect feeding area, do not switch locations. Only move the food bowl in certain situations, such as if your cat is old or injured and has difficulty walking to the food bowl.[6]- If your cat is overweight, consider moving the food bowl to a more distant location in your home. This would encourage your cat to get more physical activity.[7]
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Feeding Your Cat in a Multi-Pet Household
Feed your cat and dog separately. Dogs and cats have different nutritional needs. If you have a dog, create separate feeding areas to prevent your cat and dog from eating each others food. Also, your cat may not feel safe eating right next to your dog. As a result, your cat may eat as quickly as possible to get away from your dog, which could lead to digestive upset.[8][9]- If your cat feels unsafe next to your dog in the eating area, your cat may not eat at all.
- You do not have to feed your dog and cat at separate times. You can feed them at the same time, as long as their feeding areas are separate.
- If your dog eats only a little of your cat’s food, it may develop diarrhea. If it regularly eats your cat’s food, though, it could become very sick.[10]
Create feeding stations. If you have multiple cats, meal time could be an issue, especially if one cat is bullying the other cats. To make sure each cat gets their share of the food, create feeding stations in different parts of your home. That way, each cat can have its own safe space to eat without having to bully or get bullied.[11]
Use creativity when positioning the feeding stations. Feeding stations don’t have to be on the floor. For example, if you have a cat condo, put a feeding station on a flat surface of the condo. This location could work for a cat that is very shy or gets bullied by other cats or pets. The cat condo feeding station would also be out of reach of dogs and little children. Depending on where your cats spend most of their time, other potential feeding station locations are the:- Office desk
- Window perch
- Bathroom counter
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Expert Q&A
Tips
- Ceramic or glass bowls are ideal for feeding a cat. Stainless steel bowls could be a good choice, but your cat may get annoyed with the sound of its collar clanking against the bowl at mealtime.[12]Thanks
- Wash your cat’s food bowl with hot, soapy water each day.Thanks
- In a multi-cat household, cats may compete for basic resources (e.g., food and water), leading to aggression between the cats.Thanks
References
- ↑ Russell Hartstein, CDBC, CPDT. Certified Dog & Cat Trainer. Expert Interview. 12 April 2023.
- ↑ https://americatcompany.com/blogs/news/where-to-put-cat-food-and-water-bowls
- ↑ https://americatcompany.com/blogs/news/where-to-put-cat-food-and-water-bowls
- ↑ http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/cat-care/common-cat-behavior-issues/litter-box-problems
- ↑ http://icatcare.org/advice/making-your-home-cat-friendly
- ↑ https://americatcompany.com/blogs/news/where-to-put-cat-food-and-water-bowls
- ↑ http://www.vcahospitals.com/main/pet-health-information/article/animal-health/creating-a-weight-reduction-plan-for-cats/391
- ↑ Russell Hartstein, CDBC, CPDT. Certified Dog & Cat Trainer. Expert Interview. 12 April 2023.
- ↑ http://www.knowyourcat.info/info/speedeater.htm
- ↑ http://www.petful.com/food/keep-cat-food-away-from-dog/
- ↑ Russell Hartstein, CDBC, CPDT. Certified Dog & Cat Trainer. Expert Interview. 12 April 2023.
- ↑ http://icatcare.org/advice/making-your-home-cat-friendly
About this article
To choose the right place to feed your cat, scout out a calm, quiet location where your cat will feel comfortable. Cats prefer their food bowls to be far away from their litter box and their water bowl. Once you've established a feeding station, try to avoid moving the bowl to other areas, since cats tend to get stressed when their daily routine changes in any way. If you have more than one cat, create multiple feeding stations in different parts of your home so that each cat can have its own safe space to eat. For tips from our Veterinary co-author on feeding your cat when you have a dog in your household, read on!
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