Who can explain my cat's behavior?

[Zeno Swijtink]

One of our cats wants to be petted before she start eating.

Who can explain this behavior? It comes and goes for periods of time.

[Philip Tymon]

My best guess--- cats are both predators and prey. As prey animals for larger animals, certain situations, such as eating, pooping, etc. make them more vulnerable. For the time they are eating, their heads are down--- so they have much less opportunity to be scanning the horizons and the sky. They are stationary--- so a predator can fix on them, and they have food in their mouth, so harder to fight with tooth and claw. In the wild, cats mostly live in little burrows--- often in the ground or in rocks or something like that. They will take their prey into the burrow, where they feel much more protected, and eat it at their leisure.

They have to adapt to live with humans and eat in the way we feed them--- usually standing in the middle of our kitchen. Cats, as with all creatures, have a great range of personalities. After thousands of years, most have adapted to living with us. But some may still have a sense of vulnerability while eating. So, they want to be assured that everything is ok and that the big giant lumbering thing they live with is standing by ready to protect from any lurking predators.

[Shandi]

Great answer, and very accurate!

[santoshimatajaya]

it could be that she has a hard time feeling like she has an appetite,
maybe due to anxiety,
mother cats lick their young
on the head
this may stimulate appetite

i went through this w/ one of my cats
vet gave me something to give her a half hour before eating
she eventually got her appetite back~

Best to you and her/him~

[Asa]

I've always relied on observation, communication, and intuition with my past cats. It seems hard to say based only on what you shared. And I'm no expert... it might be a common telltale behavior that a vet is familiar with—and certainly the suggestions already made seem like sensible possibilities.

With my disclaimer behind me, I'll add that it occurs to me that your cat might have a physical problem eating, at least when they exhibit the behavior. Perhaps a digestive or dental problem.

Hopefully some of the thoughts people have provided make sense, and perhaps you will notice additional clues.

I do recommend periodic check-ups, so if you are due for that or are especially concerned, getting a trusted-vet opinion could be helpful.

Good health and success to you both.

[gypsey]

Actually your cat's behavior is though not commonplace, frequent enough to be considered normal and totally not an issue. For more info, simply google your Q and for answers, check out vet.md among other sites.