HAHAHA! There’s more than a nugget of truth to this. But seriously, I know some cats that will only eat when someone is standing guard over them. By instinct, cats that have closely bonded will guard one another when eating or toileting because they’re at their most vulnerable during these activities.
One of my cats would meow in alarm when I would take a shower. She wasn’t stupid but couldn’t grasp the concept of a human being not able to bathe themselves in the same manner as cats. She had the most pitiful and strident meows protesting my decision to shower.
Mine was an alarm cat, but for baths not showers. Showers she was happy to lick the water off my legs afterwards and demand hugs. Baths became scary to her as she got older, for some reason.
She was definitely active in her need for me to guard her while she ate though. I miss my grumplump.
cats can learn, if the human has doors protecting the bedroom-fortress and loud fans because it’s too hot anyways and also sleep under a sheet because they will do weird shit to your toes when they break in
The one I often read is cats do this because they want fresh food. Auto-feeders are pricey but seem to be a decent solution to all the above - my cats stopped meowing through the night and knew food was eventually coming, portioned, during the night. They’re a little loud but brief and better than caterwauling.
My old cat used to do this and would tuck into “old” food with gusto when I sat down next to her: I figured out that it was her wanting someone to watch over her while she was vulnerable while eating.
I get why people do it (and I do too, cleanup and access) but I do wonder if putting food at floor level near a heavily trafficked area like the kitchen (which also tends to have multiple entrances/be open concept) would contribute to need to be watched over while eating. It’s not really practical to, say, stick a cat’s bowl up high, but I do wonder if they’d eat more freely as a result.
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