Apr 29, 2014

You Know You Love Your Cat When...

Do you ever catch yourself doing something for your kitty and just stop and think, "Man, this is love." Even just the littlest thing?

Last night I had one of those moments. Pimp had decided he was done with his dinner, and I disagreed. As far as I was concerned, he had barely touched it (he likes to just lick the surface of his wet food... "bite" isn't really in his vocabulary, so he never actually takes a decent bite), so I decided to feed him.

Yes, feed him.

That brown belly needed feeding! 
I know he always likes his treats better out of my hand than from the floor, so I tried the same tactic with his wet food. I scooped up a small clump of a bite and offered it to him in my hand, palm up with the food near the tips of my fingers. And he dove in!

I'm not sure if it was the "bite"-sized piece or the fact that I was feeding it to him like that, but I've never seen that boy lick faster or eat that enthusiastically in a long time. So after about 10 licks when that clump was done, I grabbed another bit and did the same. And again and again.

With each bit, it seemed like he was getting happier and happier about it. My hand was absolutely plastered with smooshed down, licked over mushy cat food, but I felt like I was getting happier with every bit he ate too.

Man, this is love.

An old picture of me hand-feeding Pimp a catnip cookie. He loves to be babied. 
Together we managed to finish off a half a plate of food like that -- way more than he would have ever eaten on his own. It's not that he doesn't eat, it's just that Moo and Phantom end up cleaning up his leftovers before he gets the urge to walk over for seconds. Pimp likes to take his time with his food, a practice that doesn't really bode will in a house of piggies.

Now that I know how much he'll eat if we do it like that, and how much he likes it, you can bet I'll have a hand full of wet food way more often. Who wouldn't? It's just what we do for love.

I'm not sure why that was such a moment for me, but I wanted to share it with you all. I'm glad I shared it with Pimp! Pimp is almost 15 years old and my biggest worry is that he's almost 15 years old. Whatever he wants, however he wants it, he can have.

Do you have moments like this? What kinds of things do you do for your cats for love?


Man, I love this cat.
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24 comments:

  1. The BEYOND strangest thing I did one time, was when I was going to go to bed, and all 6 of my cats were already asleep on my bed, each of them in completely adorable positions. I just couldn't bear to make any of them move, so I slept on the couch that night. When I told my parents what I did, they said that they always believed I actually had a brain, but now, I clearly had shown them that there was no thought mechanism engaged when it comes to my furkids. But you should see the incredible pictures I took of that event!!!

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  2. or like when clearing your chair of fuzzies, you carry her to a spot in the sun or your $1,300 queen sized cat bed

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  3. Awww.....this is so great. I bet Pimp loved it as much as you did!!! Love to all of you!!! Have a great day!

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  4. Grayball likes drinking out of my glass if it is on the coffee table so I started putting a bowl or glass of water for her on the coffee table, for some reason she will drink more if it is up there. I know, nutty right? (me not her lolol ) Pimp knows food tastes better if hand fed!!

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  5. Hate to admit I hold the spoon for my kitty to eat out of it, I don't know what he likes the shape or the cool feeling but he loves to eat out of the spoon.

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  6. Just this morning I changed my whole routine because Nigel didn't want to get up! After waking me tiwice during the night for attention he was finally tired. I waited until just before I was ready to leave for work before I routed him from bed to make it. He then took off on a tear around my condo with his brother Henry. If we don't baby them, who will.

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  7. regardless what I'm doing, when Elle lays on the belly up to have me pet her, I stop where I'm doing and pet her until she's done. I put up with stuff from her, that I never even put up with from my children LOL

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  8. I do the same thing for my kitties! They like their dish of food, but two of them don't eat much and just lick at it or eat the small amount of kibble I sprinkle over the top (they love that carb-loaded 'candy') LOL. Each night as I'm prepping my older kitties snacks that are in a timer to keep her upset stomach stable between larger meals, the kits gather up on the counter (groan, I know...but I let them and clean it well after), and I give them some wet food out of my hands. They LOVE it and as you said, they eat WAY more that way than if it's sitting in their dish. Maybe it is that they feel special and closer to us, but it makes me feel happy to see them eat enough and enjoy the routine. I completely understand about Pimp's age--my older kitty is turning 11 this year and I hate every bit of it. Why can't they get younger? :) Or maybe just live longer. I'd do anything for my kitties, I've had them vomit on me, into my hand, on my clothes instead of the floor, pee/poop, etc on me when they're sick or scared. I don't care...I love them so much and although I don't have human children, I would imagine human mothers are willing and do the same for their children. Anything for love. :)

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  9. I have to feed my two kitties separately just because of that. The elder one - 12 - eats very slow and his sister is a piggy and takes out her bowl in about 2 minutes. She would eat all his food if she could. So they each get time in different rooms to eat.

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  10. I have three cats and two dogs: everyone has his/her own food, served in his/her dining room, because of prescription foods, meds, plus browsers vs gobblers, not to mention out and out food thieves and former starving orphans, who still, after all these years, don't trust that there will always be a next meal. Way different than the house I grew up in, where it was a "food's in the (one, big) dish on the porch; first come, first served." (I'm talking about the furry kids, not the human ones.) I tell myself this is all entirely reasonable. I mean, who wouldn't? Doesn't everybody know the world revolves around satisfied furry ones?

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  11. I have the same situation with my 14 years old Smoky.She also has the same thyroid problem like Pimp and is far away from being a big eater. I must feed her separately from the male kitty as he would eat her food in a blink. I'll try to feed my Smoky by hand tonight, will see if she, too, will eat more. That would be so great. Regarding their aging: Can only agree with you. But if we take good care of them they'll hopefully live a long, long life...

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  12. I cut a hole in my bathroom door for a cat door so my cat who needed to graze could have access to food when she wanted..

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  13. Where do you get catnip cookies? Or do you make them yourself? What a wonderful show of love to Pimp. You're the best!

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  14. I also have a sweet kitty who doesn't gobble his food and often sits there and looks at the dish then at me. Ok, now the spoon comes out, with me on the floor feeding him by hand. True love, for sure!!

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  15. 15 years old or not, I'd never be able to resist that face! He is soooo sweet!

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  16. When my Angel Mi Ping was sick and wouldn't eat, I would feed her like that. I think she sometimes refused to eat just to see Mom get messy by hand feeding her. Hey, it kept her going for 10 years, so if that's what it takes, that's what I will do!

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  17. I do it all the time with my old man TEHN. he is 15 come Sept. I baby his cat too. Yes, his cat EEK!!!!! a well earned name. I love them both so much. I tend to feed mr tehn with chopstick however and I sure get flack when my family catches me doing it. They're just jealous.

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  18. That's just the thing to do!

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  19. Oh, yes, absoMEWtely yes!

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  20. Since my 16 year old Tommie lost 6 teeth during his last dental, he only licks his food, won't bite into anything. Like your Pimp, he thinks everything tastes better from the palm of hand. I didn't think it was at all unusual (just messy) to feed him this way! The things we do for our beloveds!

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  21. Ohhh...this is just so sweet & special. That IS love, & it's obvious he loves you, too! Poor baby was probably hungry! I wonder though, why doesn't he bite? Has a vet looked at his teeth? They might need pulling, & be hurting! :~~ He is SO cute.

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  22. Hey! That's what hand washing's for! :)

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  23. So SHARE awreddy! LOL! we'd love to see!

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  24. I took Alafair on a camping trip (A dumb thing to do) and during the nite she took off. I searched to no avail, so I went to a grocery store and bought a lobster tail. I dragged it around the perimeter of the campsite getting closer each time. IT WORKED! I let her eat it afterwards. I got my baby back so who cares what people thought. ....I can only imagine. I think there are pictures. LOL!!

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