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My two cats don't appear to care what flavor food I give them so long as there's a lot of variety. Giving them the same flavor for a few days results in untouch

My two cats don't appear to care what flavor food I give them so long as there's a lot of variety. Giving them the same flavor for a few days results in untouched food. I have to cycle a few different brands and types to keep them from wasting a lot of food. Which I do, of course, because they're in charge.

candiddevmike 2y ago
Cats are so intelligent they managed to hack humanity's need to serve for their own self interests. My cats show me fleeting amounts of affection and it just makes me want to do more things for them. Compared to my dog, a cat's independence creates an unspoken understanding that they are only here as long as I keep them happy.
- notepad0x90 2y ago
  > unspoken understanding that they are only here as long as I keep them happy. This is a big misunderstanding people keep repeating. You expect cats to act like dogs and then assume the reason why that isn't the case is because you don't keep them happy, which is only partially true. Think of this differently, cats are like people, they consider themselves in a social relationship with you. If you have a friend over but don't entertain them, spend time with them or give them foods and drinks that are tasty, then they may not want to hang out at your place a lot in the future right? Also,similar to humans, they don't show you their personality right away, they are very guarded and won't reveal themselves and open up unless you do the same. Cats have a very high emotional intelligence compared to other pets. They are the only animals that have domesticated themselves. They consider themselves our partners not our servants (unlike dogs), and historically speaking they would be right, since cats living indoors has only been a thing since the cat litter was invented 40-50 years ago. Before that, they had lots of uses like chasing mice and other pests or keeping humans entertained,a mutually beneficial relationship if you will. in many ways they were useful to humans more than even most other humans at times. In short, you get from having a cat what you put into that relationship, just like with people and each cat has it's own personality. Don't compare them to your dog, dogs are domesticated by humans and heavily bred with a purpose. Think of having a cat being more like befriending a wild animal instead of having an obedient servant.
  - sonofhans 2y ago
    Beautifully said. Too many people look at cats as dumb, defective dogs rather than simply a different type of creature. The differences in the origin and agency of the domestication is lost on people. William S Burroughs wrote about cats too, and in similar ways. If you’re not familiar it’s worth looking up.
  - momerath42 2y ago
    Thank you for writing this, notepad0x90. I'd like to add that some cats have a much greater need for companionship and corresponding tendency toward demonstrating their 'love' when you've proved to their satisfaction that you care about them, whether or not they allow you to pet them (don't skip to picking them up). If you want a cat that acts more like a dog, first gain a whole lot of practice getting strange cats to like you[1], then adopt a young stray (~1yr max I think, though all cats are individuals), or (easier, but with a lower ceiling of 'bondedness') an older cat that seems friendly. It won't be quick or easy, but (in my experience) you'll get a very puppy-like relationship... without the barking and picking up **. I love dogs, and dogs love me[2], but they are the most malleable of mammal species in human history, and the most adapted to our need for companionship, as notepad0x90 touches on. In short, to me, cats (and dogs) _are_ people[3], and they can tell that I feel that way. 1. If you didn't have many opportunities to try and fail among friends and family, or with stray cats in your neighborhood, try working at a no-kill shelter (if you can find one), or a cat café (the rare ethical one like Cat Town in Oakland, or any other) - many different paths, all opportunities to learn how to socialize with cats. 2. I was once walking down the street, when a gorgeous woman came up behind me, led by her large mutt, who was very interested in me. She said something like "Wow, he's not usually interested in people; you must be very _aware_!" I promptly ran into a telephone pole. 3. Let's not get into diet, because I'm a hypocrite.
  - janalsncm 2y ago
    > Think of this differently, cats are like people, they consider themselves in a social relationship with you. Definitely. Although I wonder if they think we’re all just weird, bald cats. I do wonder about their theory of mind though. My cat knows how to close doors but not open them. Last time he closed the bedroom door while I was in there, and then realized he was trapped, so he came over to me, looked at me, looked at the door, and waited. I played dumb but eventually opened the door for him. So I wonder if he knew I knew what he wanted or was just hoping I did.
- JumpCrisscross 2y ago
  > Compared to my dog, a cat's independence creates an unspoken understanding that they are only here as long as I keep them happy I had a fussy beagle and have a gregarious cat. They both followed me around the house with similar frequency, were similarly food motivated and both enjoy(ed) tagging along with me in the car while I ran the day’s errands. There are certain fundamental differences between the species. But there is more personality variation within them than there is between, in my opinion.
chiph 2y ago
My elderly cat has to be on a limited-protein diet because of food allergies. Rabbit is commonly used since none of the commercial foods have it as an ingredient (it's stupid expensive). I recently added a new kitten to the household and she is being fed a good quality wet food with lots of variety. When the older cat smelled it, it was like the Best Thing That Had Ever Existed and she learned to push the kitten away from the bowl and eat it all herself. And naturally vomit it up shortly afterwards. I had to buy a couple of the microchip feeders to keep their diets separate. They work, but are expensive. But where they get you are the cost of the stainless steel bowls, because of course you need more than what came in the box. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Razor_and_blades_model https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Razor_and_blades_model
- ajb 2y ago
  Yeah, if those are the surepet feeders, I was shocked to see they had gone up in price by a factor of 2.5.

candiddevmike 2y ago

Cats are so intelligent they managed to hack humanity's need to serve for their own self interests. My cats show me fleeting amounts of affection and it just makes me want to do more things for them. Compared to my dog, a cat's independence creates an unspoken understanding that they are only here as long as I keep them happy.

notepad0x90 2y ago
> unspoken understanding that they are only here as long as I keep them happy. This is a big misunderstanding people keep repeating. You expect cats to act like dogs and then assume the reason why that isn't the case is because you don't keep them happy, which is only partially true. Think of this differently, cats are like people, they consider themselves in a social relationship with you. If you have a friend over but don't entertain them, spend time with them or give them foods and drinks that are tasty, then they may not want to hang out at your place a lot in the future right? Also,similar to humans, they don't show you their personality right away, they are very guarded and won't reveal themselves and open up unless you do the same. Cats have a very high emotional intelligence compared to other pets. They are the only animals that have domesticated themselves. They consider themselves our partners not our servants (unlike dogs), and historically speaking they would be right, since cats living indoors has only been a thing since the cat litter was invented 40-50 years ago. Before that, they had lots of uses like chasing mice and other pests or keeping humans entertained,a mutually beneficial relationship if you will. in many ways they were useful to humans more than even most other humans at times. In short, you get from having a cat what you put into that relationship, just like with people and each cat has it's own personality. Don't compare them to your dog, dogs are domesticated by humans and heavily bred with a purpose. Think of having a cat being more like befriending a wild animal instead of having an obedient servant.
- sonofhans 2y ago
  Beautifully said. Too many people look at cats as dumb, defective dogs rather than simply a different type of creature. The differences in the origin and agency of the domestication is lost on people. William S Burroughs wrote about cats too, and in similar ways. If you’re not familiar it’s worth looking up.
- momerath42 2y ago
  Thank you for writing this, notepad0x90. I'd like to add that some cats have a much greater need for companionship and corresponding tendency toward demonstrating their 'love' when you've proved to their satisfaction that you care about them, whether or not they allow you to pet them (don't skip to picking them up). If you want a cat that acts more like a dog, first gain a whole lot of practice getting strange cats to like you[1], then adopt a young stray (~1yr max I think, though all cats are individuals), or (easier, but with a lower ceiling of 'bondedness') an older cat that seems friendly. It won't be quick or easy, but (in my experience) you'll get a very puppy-like relationship... without the barking and picking up **. I love dogs, and dogs love me[2], but they are the most malleable of mammal species in human history, and the most adapted to our need for companionship, as notepad0x90 touches on. In short, to me, cats (and dogs) _are_ people[3], and they can tell that I feel that way. 1. If you didn't have many opportunities to try and fail among friends and family, or with stray cats in your neighborhood, try working at a no-kill shelter (if you can find one), or a cat café (the rare ethical one like Cat Town in Oakland, or any other) - many different paths, all opportunities to learn how to socialize with cats. 2. I was once walking down the street, when a gorgeous woman came up behind me, led by her large mutt, who was very interested in me. She said something like "Wow, he's not usually interested in people; you must be very _aware_!" I promptly ran into a telephone pole. 3. Let's not get into diet, because I'm a hypocrite.
- janalsncm 2y ago
  > Think of this differently, cats are like people, they consider themselves in a social relationship with you. Definitely. Although I wonder if they think we’re all just weird, bald cats. I do wonder about their theory of mind though. My cat knows how to close doors but not open them. Last time he closed the bedroom door while I was in there, and then realized he was trapped, so he came over to me, looked at me, looked at the door, and waited. I played dumb but eventually opened the door for him. So I wonder if he knew I knew what he wanted or was just hoping I did.
JumpCrisscross 2y ago
> Compared to my dog, a cat's independence creates an unspoken understanding that they are only here as long as I keep them happy I had a fussy beagle and have a gregarious cat. They both followed me around the house with similar frequency, were similarly food motivated and both enjoy(ed) tagging along with me in the car while I ran the day’s errands. There are certain fundamental differences between the species. But there is more personality variation within them than there is between, in my opinion.

chiph 2y ago

My elderly cat has to be on a limited-protein diet because of food allergies. Rabbit is commonly used since none of the commercial foods have it as an ingredient (it's stupid expensive). I recently added a new kitten to the household and she is being fed a good quality wet food with lots of variety. When the older cat smelled it, it was like the Best Thing That Had Ever Existed and she learned to push the kitten away from the bowl and eat it all herself. And naturally vomit it up shortly afterwards. I had to buy a couple of the microchip feeders to keep their diets separate. They work, but are expensive. But where they get you are the cost of the stainless steel bowls, because of course you need more than what came in the box. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Razor_and_blades_model https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Razor_and_blades_model

ajb 2y ago
Yeah, if those are the surepet feeders, I was shocked to see they had gone up in price by a factor of 2.5.