We have always chosen to feed our cats both wet and dry cat food. Formal mealtimes are 6:00 AM and 6:00 PM. Times are approximate, but there are usually several furry reminders if I get behind schedule or try to sleep in. On weekends or vacations, I usually go back to bed after putting the plates down. But if I really want to sleep, I need to close the door, as play time immediately follows meal times.
By the end of the first season of collecting, we were feeding seven cats on two plates from two 5.5 ounce cans of Friskies cat food. After adding the next group, we expanded the protocol to four plates and three cans. When the economy tanked, Barb’s hours were cut, so we had to rethink much of how we live. Although we did not speak of it, I had some real concern that we would not be able to keep all of our little ones. Fortunately, by making some other concessions, we were able to keep the family together. It broke my heart to hear the stories of pets being turned into the SPCA or just left behind when their owners were forced to leave their homes. I did not want to put our gang through that pain. We did, however, cut back to two cans of cat food per meal again. It doesn’t sound like much, but it gives everyone a taste. As the last kittens grew larger, we expanded to six plates spread out over the kitchen and dining room, so that everyone could have a taste, if they wanted.
You could call our cats spoiled, and you are probably correct. I’ve found that most of them prefer “chunky” cat foods, not your classic ground styles. Since dry cat food is available almost all the time, I’m not concerned if some turn up their noses at the canned food choice. I know it will be eaten by at least one of them. But I do try to buy flavors they will all enjoy.
The biggest challenge at mealtimes is just moving around in the kitchen. I’ve learned to “slide” my feet, rather than step. It also helps to be shoeless, as you can feel the tails or paws before you step on them. Hermione loves to lie at the base of the kitchen cabinets, just where you are working. To avoid her, I have to shove her aside with my foot, as she doesn’t seem to understand the word “MOVE”. The crowd is a bit sparse in the beginning. They seem to know that I feed the strays outside first, and keep out of my way. Once that is accomplished, they begin to swarm. My old cats used to come running every time the can opener ran, thinking it was meal time. With the advent of “pop-top” cans, I rarely use the can opener for cat food (just tuna for some reason). The sound that gets their attention is the spoon on the plate. I always spread out the food so everyone can get to it, and that clinking sound is like a dinner bell. I don’t even have to call “kitty-kitty-kitty” anymore, although I do. I just pick up the plates, one in each hand, and say “Is everyone hungry?” That gets an immediate vocal response from half of them. Some stand up on their back legs to smell, others just mill about. Once the first plate hits the floor, it’s chow time.
View into the Kitchen
- View of Dining Room
As I said earlier, we keep dry cat food (Meow Mix) available most of the time. Several of the cats, including Waldo, Sunny and Pepper-Ann prefer to eat their kibble outside of the bowl. So they will stick a paw into the bowl and pop out several pieces to enjoy. I recall one time, I opened the bag of cat food, and it kind of “exploded”, making a mess of the floor. Immediately, a line of cats began devouring it, like little furry vacuum cleaners, they just moved along the spill until it was almost completely erased. It was so humorous, I’ve never forgotten it. I just wish they were all so neat. Sometimes they don’t eat the kibble, but decide to play hockey with it. We had to find heavy ceramic dishes, because the cats would play hockey or chase one another through the open kitchen, dining, and living rooms, and spill everything. We got tired of mopping the spilled water off floor. We still have to sweep the kitchen every day, and vacuum twice a week to keep the crumbs, litter and fur under control.
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