Looking for more attention – change in behaviour/character
Gosh, you’re gorgeous; do you want a treat or some food?
Now is the time to start thinking about and looking at how we feed our cats. How many of us have cats that follow us to the kitchen as they think that room is only to give them food!
So, you are going to be around less. However, this doesn’t need to mean the cat will not know when its next meal will be. A suggestion would be to start introducing puzzle feeders. This is not only a great way for your cat to start working for its food and it also stimulates its mind. Cats get great stimuli when hunting, searching out their food, eating small meals and not always often, similar to that in the wild. In fact, cats can spend most of their day hunting for food. They do not always know how many kills they will achieve.
We think we are being kind giving food when they are cute or miaow, however cats get bored having their food just given to them. It’s a good idea to make them ‘work’ for their food, especially cats restricted to indoors only.
Start with a puzzle mat or a slim ball/treat ball and get them used to playing and when they get a reward i.e. treat or dry food this stimulates them to continue. It promotes great welfare. The treat ball does not just need to be filled with treats as that would be unhealthy, therefore while you are out, you could make all free-feeding food more of a challenge!
When a miaow no longer gets them what they want again could lead to unwanted behaviours just to get a reaction. A solution to help with this would be to no longer respond to all miaows. Give them a treat when they are quiet; re-train them and start doing things on your terms and not theirs. Get them out of the habit/behaviour you have allowed and created.