Reddit cat
TLDR: cat only eats if I give her new food or sit by her and her bowl for 5 min.
Edit: Just saying that she's not fat. She's very active and weight about 4.5-5 kilos.
I love my cat. She's adorable and super communicative. But I have this issue with her - thought maybe someone here could help:
I got her as a tiny thing, slim as paper, eyes red from malnutrition. She clearly liked food. She was so excited to get it the first time. And the second. And the way she reacts to food has never changed since:
When she's hungry, she will meow loudly and repeatedly, following me anywhere in the house or just staring at me, meowing until I look at her. The moment she catches my eye, she jumps and starts walking to the room where she knows I keep the cat food, closed in a bucket, meowing in excitement. If I don't follow her, she will return to my side to keep crying-yelling at me. When I do follow her to the room, she meows happily, purr loudly and rub my leg and the food bucket, making her intentions well clear.
She then runs by my side to the food bowl while purring and rubbing my leg, until I pour her food into the bowl, pet her head-to-tail, and ONLY THEN does she stop meowing and start eating.
Trouble is, I'm unemployed at the moment. And it's been months, and she does that 4-5 times a day. She has a bowl full of food, and she does that anyway.
I thought for a time that she only likes fresh food, but it's not that. After some experimenting, I discovered that sometimes it's enough for her if I sit down on the floor near her food bowl. I wait, and sometimes it's working, and she starts eating, but I could take time - it usually takes her 2-5 minutes in this method.
Either way, she is still calling me every time.
Where does this type of behavior come from? She's healthy, 2.5 y/o, active, curious, wonderful. So why is this happening? What is she trying to communicate?