# How do you spoil YOUR cat?



## Emrys (Feb 1, 2014)

Title says it all.

As an example, I have a cat, who does drink out of a water bowl, but still demands that we turn on the tap on a specific sink in a specific bathroom for him to drink. Its not good enough that we leave the sink full of water; no, he will only drink while the water is running, and will cry incessantly until someone turns it on. Aside from the problem of wasting water, he will also not allow me to leave. If I'm not watching him while he drinks, he will stop drinking and follow me, forcing me to come back and turn off the water.

What unreasonable things do YOUR cats demand from you?


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## Marcia (Dec 26, 2010)

This sounds like my Missy and Coco!!! Fortunately I can leave while they drink and I have 5 of the quietest cats on earth! Hardly anyone makes a sound except a quiet trill now and then. The other day I left the water on to dribble for over 8 hours - totally forgot about it. Ugh, my water bill is going to take the hit!!

As far as spoiling them - I exist therefore they are spoiled.


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## cat face (Apr 4, 2013)

Oh sheesh, how do I spoil my cats...
They dictate to me if they are going to take their meal in the kitchen or the dinning room.
They get to choose between two flavours of food everyday. They actually pick out the one they want for that meal.
They get a "treat tray' (a sampling of various little treats) each night.
They have posh sleeping spots.
Heating pad, set on low, 24/7 (for my lil Sadie Woo but the others have a go when she's not there)
A constant supply of kitty grass to munch on before meals just like they like.
They each get little massages at least 2 x a week. 
They get "cat nip" parties about once per month.

I think I'll stop there


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## MowMow (Nov 6, 2010)

Emrys said:


> Title says it all.
> 
> As an example, I have a cat, who does drink out of a water bowl, but still demands that we turn on the tap on a specific sink in a specific bathroom for him to drink. Its not good enough that we leave the sink full of water; no, he will only drink


I'll see you running to the bathroom to turn on the sink and raise you my ghetto water fountain for MowMow. He's the same way so I pulled the plug out of the sink drain (so it can't be filled) and put a small ramekin in the sink with the water on a fast drip. The water overflows the ramekin and runs down the drain. (wasteful, yes I know but if it keeps him drinking and no more blockages I'll lesson my footprint elsewhere to make up for it).


Let's see what else.... the backaches I wake up with almost everymorning because I have to contort myself around two cats at night. I'll also get out of the far side of the bed so that I don't disturb either boy.

They each have 'their' spot on the sofa so I keep their favorite blankets on those spots and I sit in the saggy middle of the sofa.

They always eat their meals before I get mine.

If someone sees a bug above reaching level I'm immediately summoned to lift them to the proper height to investigate. This occasionally calls for me to pull out the step stool to reach adequate height.

I eat nothing without letting them investigate first. If they aren't interested I'm free to continue with my meals, if they are then I'm required to share small bits.

and lastly (I'm sure there's more)... I have no nice things.


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## DaveMB (Jan 9, 2014)

MowMow said:


> I eat nothing without letting them investigate first. If they aren't interested I'm free to continue with my meals, if they are then I'm required to share small bits.


Ha ha so true, Gizmo actually sneaked up on me yesterday and stole a whole boiled egg off my plate, Of course he didn't eat it (neither did I after he'd had his grubby claws in it lol).

I have to be careful if I have things like ham or cheese on my plate or he will either steal them or sit there crying till I i give him some.


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## Emrys (Feb 1, 2014)

MowMow said:


> I'll see you running to the bathroom to turn on the sink and raise you my ghetto water fountain for MowMow. He's the same way so I pulled the plug out of the sink drain (so it can't be filled) and put a small ramekin in the sink with the water on a fast drip. The water overflows the ramekin and runs down the drain. (wasteful, yes I know but if it keeps him drinking and no more blockages I'll lesson my footprint elsewhere to make up for it).


He HAS a regular water fountain, you know one of those ones that use the same water but keep it flowing all the time? When he insists on drinking from the sink, I get the impression that it's more the fact that "I'm there" that he asks me to turn on the tap out of habit.


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## tweeters (Jan 12, 2014)

DaveMB said:


> Ha ha so true, Gizmo actually sneaked up on me yesterday and stole a whole boiled egg off my plate, Of course he didn't eat it (neither did I after he'd had his grubby claws in it lol).
> 
> I have to be careful if I have things like ham or cheese on my plate or he will either steal them or sit there crying till I i give him some.


My boy likes to investigate my food as well...but he NEVER eats it when I try to give him a little piece. Even if it's meat. He'll push it around a bit but then his sister will come and chow down. She eats anything I give her, but is never pushy when I'm eating. Jack, on the other hand, will shove his little nose into everything. I feel like I'm constantly moving my food around to avoid him.

As far as spoiling goes, I actually feel like I lucked out here. Both my cats are very easy-going, and Jack in particular becomes "flop-cat" when he's tired/sleeping so I can move him around any way I want and he'll just snuggle in. I do indulge Rosie in a lot of her "fling the hair-tie" game where I have to get up a lot to get the hair-tie she dropped just out of reach, but since playing with your cat is part of ownership I don't really consider it spoiling her. 

I do buy a lot of toys that end up not being used, so I guess that counts as spoiling!


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## Bill the Cat Guy (Dec 25, 2013)

Inky walks up on my chest at night and wants me to pet him. It can be anywhere from 11:30 PM to 5:00 AM. Sometimes it's more than once during the night. Some nights I'm really tired and it feels like I'm petting him forever. A lot of times he doesn't do it at all. If I'm not laying on my back he'll bat at my leg with his paw until I roll over. 

Sometimes when I'm in the basement getting stuff ready to pack and ship Patches jumps on the table. Sometimes he'll stand on the computer keyboard. Or he'll climb up on me and want me to hold and pet him for awhile. So when he does that I drop everything and do that. He also likes to chew on my packing tape. If I pick it up and move it he'll go there and start chewing again. So I'll have to put it somewhere he can't get to it.

When I'm in the bathroom Inky will jump up on the sink and want me to let some water drip. If I'm upstairs during the night I'll plug the sink and fill it with water. He usually sits in front of the sink and waits for me to put him up there. If he goes out of the bathroom a few feet it means he wants me to carry him into the bedroom. So when I get there I'll plop him on the bed near my wife's feet. He'll wait for me to get covered up before he walks up on me.

Inky jumps up on the sink and wants to be groomed when my wife is in the bathroom getting ready. She turns on the faucet and lets water drip so he can drink when he's being groomed. Once she stopped combing him when he was drinking so he stopped, turned around, and meowed at her to keep combing him.

Patches will jump up on the sink and want to be petted when she's in the bathroom getting ready in the morning. When she gets out of the shower he meows at her because he wants to be wrapped up in her shower tower. He doesn't care about my shower towel because I'm not his primary human.


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## bibiak87 (Aug 3, 2013)

Ohh my. Here goes.

For Coca - she needs her "medication" in the morning along with the dogs. Every morning she gets temptations treats while I give my dogs their pills.
She requires 5 minutes of undisturbed patrol time around the house before the dogs are let out. She will jump up on the chair next to you and give you the stinkiest stink eye ever if you don't move the plate towards her so she can pick her own little piece to check out.

Whisper is the most laid back cat I have seen. He goes with the flow but in the run of the day he says he needs to be brushed 2 a day and given at least an hours worth of snuggles. 

Gizmo is the queen. Anytime I come home I need to follow her highness around the island for 2 laps asking her to spare my head for leaving her, she then puts me out of my misery and let's me pick her up for kisses and only then may I go bring in the rest of the groceries. If I dare having her wait, there will be h**l to pay for everyone in this house for at least an hour! :?

It doesn't matter where in the house she is or what she is doing - if I need to spend more than a second behind closed doors anywhere - she needs to be picked up and carried there with me. If not she is relentless at the door and mad as heck at me for trying to sneak behind her back.
She doesn't drink from water bowls, she needs glasses tucked away everywhere! 
She needs to play a game of "you better not step on me while I try to be in your way" every night! As soon as the dogs are put to bed, it starts. And while she follows me I need to be careful and NOT look her in the eye! If I do that she will give me her cutest little mix of a meowing/purring while inhaling and I will have to scoop her up immediately for snuggles and belly rubs. 

Finally make it to bed and I will have to lift the sheets for her to look under, wait for her to find her spot and then I may continue and actually get in.

There is way more but these are kind of the ones that stand out every day. :wink


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## NebraskaCat (Jan 15, 2013)

I remain silent and even content during the 4 a.m. singing tribute from Penny and Nala's 5 a.m. springboard activities off my chest and other more sensitive places.


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## cat face (Apr 4, 2013)

nebraskacat said:


> i remain silent and even content during the *4 a.m. Singing tribute from penny* and nala's 5 a.m. Springboard activities off my chest and other more sensitive places.


lmao!!!


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## bobbycos (Aug 5, 2013)

Mia wants to help make my lunch for work and she demands to be official taster of most of my foods

she loves to try and get at my cold cuts but i have to keep her awy from them as i do not know how she will react long term to them, other than that she loves the milk from frosted flakes


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## BrittyBear (Feb 4, 2014)

I have to buy every flavor of temptations treats available when i get them so that they can each pick the ones they want for the day. 
Mystery gets to sleep in more of my bed then i do xD idk how many times i end up half off the bed with him pressed up against me. 
Ashes likes to drink out of the sink too. And he has a cushion we placed on the table for him to nap on during the day because thats where he enjoys napping. Shadow spends most of his time outside... but he normally gets his own little bowl of food because he dont like eating near Ashes. We keep a towel on the counter in Shadows favorite spot in the bathroom. Mystery is allowed to sleep where he wants... which is usually on me and results in alot of achyness when i wake from bein unable to move xD and most everything i have that can be converted into a toy has been. 

Not to mention im not allowed to wear necklaces or bracelets because they annoy Mystery when he is trying to cuddle with me or im petting him. 
And of course my food is always shared with them. 

And anytime i get any kind of money it goes towards them xD which says alot considering i never get money and theres quite alot of stuff i could really use for me. Im getting a job soon and guess whose getting my first paycheck? xD lolz


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## Straysmommy (Dec 23, 2010)

This morning after the Ibuprofen, I said that's it, I've had it with the backpain - I'm not letting Cuchi lie on my chest and suck on my lip for hours anymore, however guilty I may feel about having touched him before searching his mother cat and thus making it impossible for him to return to her that day when we found him at 4 weeks old. And Princess sleeping between my ear and my neck - just not going to happen anymore (till tonight, that is, hehe).


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## Jetlaya67 (Sep 26, 2012)

I guess the better question would be how don't i spoil my cats! Let's see. If they don't like the food I give them I will open a different can. I use a fluffy throw on my lap even in the middle of the summer heat (I live in southern New Mexico!) because Winston won't have it any other way, I have no privacy, at least one cat has to follow me everywhere, even the shower. I am the door person, they will come in and out all the time, they expect me that as soon as they show their little faces in the window I will leave anything I am doing and let them in, same for going out. And of course they don't all want to go in or out at the same time.


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## emilyatl (Sep 9, 2013)

NebraskaCat said:


> I remain silent and even content during the 4 a.m. singing tribute from Penny and Nala's 5 a.m. springboard activities off my chest and other more sensitive places.


LOL. Monkey likes to practice all of his meows around 2AM (usually while banging the blinds against the windows while looking outside, followed by a mad dash around the bedroom looking for an invisble something-or-another). 

Scout is pretty laid back and doesn't get upset to easily. The only time I'd say I "spoil" him is when he's sleeping on me and some part of my body is asleep (usually arms or legs), I just deal with the pain so I don't wake him. He's so cute when he sleeps (especially when he's snoring).


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## 21Rouge (Jul 20, 2013)

Every time I leave the house for work in the morning (and often other times ) I have 2 hard cat treats in my hand which she waits for patiently; waiting for me to throw them down the hallway for her to either catch or chase after.

(In fact she anticipates this event as soon as I get my coat on!)


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## dt8thd (Jan 7, 2013)

Like Emrys, I also have a cat who insists that I turn on various taps for him to drink out of, rather than drinking out of one of several water bowls or the cat fountain that are placed throughout the house. It's not that Dante won't drink from a bowl or the cat fountain--he does when he doesn't think anyone's around; he simply has a preference for running tap water, and he wants your attention while he drinks it. :roll: I put up with it because I want him to drink water and because I'm a pushover.

I let Galileo sleep with me when he wants to and, subsequently, get in and out of bed 5 or 6 times during the night to let him in and out of my room and hoist him up onto the bed because it's too high for him to jump.

Rather than displace a cat, I'll "share" (aka sit with my butt hanging half off the chair) the seat or sit somewhere else, even when I was just sitting in that spot and only got up for 20 seconds to get something from the next room.

I spend way too much time flicking bits of dry food across the floor from the kitchen into the dining room or down the basement steps for Autumn and Ramona to chase, despite the fact that I'll have to sweep up anything they don't eat and that Ramona rarely does eat it.

I play with Choco-cat in the mornings while I'm supposed to be upstairs getting dressed for work, even though doing so means that I'm going to be in a rush. Choco-cat loves to play, and she usually brings her 'Cat Catcher' downstairs in the mornings while I'm eating breakfast to ask for playtime. And, anytime I go upstairs, she's right there asking to play too. I almost always give in because I feel badly if I don't and then head off to work for the whole day.

I put up with the discomfort of lying in an uncomfortable position and/or having various extremities fall asleep on me, so as not to disturb a cat that has decided to sit on me.

And, I spend ridiculous amounts of money on my kitties (and kitties in general). They're more than worth it though!


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## cat owner again (Dec 14, 2012)

I am not sure my cats asked for all the things I do or I just started to do them.
I double cover my sofas so they can go under the top kitty attractive fabric and lay under them and still have my sofa covered. 
I set up different kitty interactive ground in my home each night with different tunnels, boxes, large bags and toys.
One cat insists I open the shower door so she can jump in and I take a tooth brush and play with her around the door but she seems tired of that.
But then I realized she liked to rub her face on the faucet in the bathtub so I open a drawer that is just the right height so she can get a good kitty rub.
Each morning is the kitty massage.
IF my male sits on me in the evening, I hold going to the bathroom as long as I can so I don't have to move.
I also will stop working at times and let him have my lap.
THE FOOD is the big issue. You can often see me looking at them (mostly him) pleading with him to eat his food, trying cheese topper, ground up dry food seasoning.
Oh I keep moon roof open in my car in the attached garage because one cat likes to go in my car (seat now covered), but I always have to check to see to let her out. I think she can get out but I don't want to go to bed with her in there.
I am sure there is more but now it is just a way of life.


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## snowy (Aug 23, 2012)

Hubby thinks I am spoiling ET:

1) *Feeding so many variety of wet food and kibbles* but I wanted a healthy kitty eating different formula and different protein.

2) *Buying too many toys* but beside being physically healthy, I also wanted an emotionally healthy kitty too and having some toys that he can play on his own and scratch and bunny kick to his heart's content.

3) *Playing as and when ET prompted* but he used to be such a laid back kitty until I bought da-bird. If that can help him lose some weight, keep him physically fit, why not?

4) *Putting up too many cushion all over the house, having too many sleeping location/basket/bed* but that's ET's style, he likes sleeping all over the place, I will not deprive him.

5) *Giving so many supplements* oh well, Probiotics is for his guts; Proden Plague Off for his dental health; L-lysine for herpes prevention; Pysillium husk/egg yolk lecithin/slippery elm bark (vomiting) for hairball prevention and Chia Seed for omega 3/6/9. Too many?


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## Stef (Mar 1, 2014)

I am definitely in the how do i not spoil them....
We have the whole house with toys...
They have two drawers of a cabinet all to themselves to explore....
They get bunches of new toys at christmas, halloween, and their birthday month and when i have extra money....
They get canned foods 3 times a day (lil bits on the plate, not the whole can) and only the ones they like, i do try to get new ones for them to try....
I get them treats and lately been trying to keep up with just freeze dried....
I do free feed kibble but try to keep up with just grain free....like orijen and acana.
And they have full run of the house and i try to make sure they have play time too. Our lil one likes to try and eat my fingers and kill my hand (he actually bites the wrist and shakes, SO CUTE)
For me life is all about the babies, what can i do to make their life more enjoyable
:kittyballrcat


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## 10cats2dogs (Jun 16, 2013)

Hi Steff! 
Your place sounds like mine! Toys everywhere!! 
When you mentioned your lil one trys to eat your fingers and bites and shakes your wrist...
Well, I know how Cute that is Now!
But later on it won't be! 
This is a really good time to take one of his favorite toys and distract him when he starts doing that!
The sooner he learns fingers and hands are not toys and for biting, the happier you both will be in the future! 
I just wanted to mention this because one of my newest adoptees, I think was played with that way when she was young...
So I am trying to 'Reprogram' her with a toy I keep handy to distract her from my fingers and yes I can tell she thinks she's playing, unfortunately, she never learned not to bite so hard!


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## Stef (Mar 1, 2014)

*Hey there*

Yep i realize that i should start doing it since i am not sure he will be like otis and realize it hurts...
He is just so adorable when he does it.
We have this stuffed pumpkin (got it for halloween) he likes so i am starting to replace my hand with it.
Cats are just so adorable with everything.
I even get them to help me make the bed after i laundered it, and just hope they haven't just gone to the bathroom.
And my babies even have their own couch.
But yeah i realize i should be replacing my hand more with the pumpkin or the lil mice we got them. His teeth are getting a bit sharp.....
rcatrcat


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