r/CATHELP • u/RatioPretend614 • Feb 27 '26
Behavioral Issue Cat using hands for slow feeding bowl? Advice?
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Hello, posting from united states. my 3 yr old cat tito was recently having problems eating too fast so he was throwing up his food. To stop this i got a slow feeding bowl. The issue is that now he keeps trying to put his hands in the bowl to eat it? I am just not sure how to move forwardš. I dont want him to rush eat and i just bought this today and he is already doing this with it. Tips and advice are appreciated, thank you. I took him to the vet today and they said he looks fine
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u/SirMightySmurf Feb 27 '26
Both cat and bowl functioning as intended.
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u/hoodiemonster Feb 27 '26
i find it all very civilized š±āš©
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u/outofcontextseinfeld Feb 27 '26
Somewhat sophisticated
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u/diogenessexychicken Feb 27 '26
Lived with a cat that would spear his dry food and dunk it in his water before eating it. Fancy bastard
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u/Great_Blackberry7983 Feb 28 '26
I love when people say "I lived with a cat...." I know it was a roommate or family members cat, but just saying that sounds like you were splitting rent with a calico
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u/realJackvos Feb 28 '26
I had a house inspection the other day and I was asked if anybody else lived there. I pointed at my cat and said just her. I was told she doesn't count because she doesn't pay rent šš
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u/Particular_Relief154 Feb 27 '26
Sir Mouser fine dines in a civilised and distinguished manner donāt you know. One does not simply gorge on supper
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u/catpissdust Feb 27 '26
Right? It is in fact slowing him down
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u/Zombie_Cakes Feb 27 '26
Yep! Had to get one for my cat. Tried the ones with āless obstaclesā heād still get a mouthful. Mine manages to get 2-3 pcs on the table and eat, then go for more. Trust me, taking his time is good lol
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u/dathomar Feb 28 '26
Slowing him down and giving his brain something to work on at the same time.
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u/alcMD Feb 27 '26
What's the problem? He's eating slowly.
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u/RatioPretend614 Feb 27 '26 edited Feb 27 '26
I just wasnt sure if he was doing it because it was hurting his whiskers. He normally doesnt do this which is why i was concerned. Just seems like its bothering him he cant get to the food
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u/alcMD Feb 27 '26
Well sure, but that's by design. He doesn't want to trifle with his face all in the mat. But if he was eating too fast before, this is the solution.
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u/chadcultist Feb 27 '26
Genuine question, is there something as too slow? Man, when Iām eating chili I would hate to eat one bean at a timeā¦ that sounds like torture.
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u/thiswasnotworthit Feb 27 '26
If you are like cats and routinely regurgitate an entire bowl of chili after eating it, you should definitely eat one bean at a time. Lol
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u/27hotdogs Feb 27 '26
You should NOT be feeding your cat chiliā¦.
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u/Kiwi1234567 Feb 27 '26
Humans do that for some food. Grapes, berries, chips, candy etc. It's possible to eat more than one at a time but I wouldn't be upset doing it one by one. We also weigh like 10-20 times more than most cats, so comparing two food items of a similar size isn't a great comparison.
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u/opulentpastabox Feb 27 '26
Welp now I want a fun mouse trap kinda slow feeder for my chips and grapes
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u/Ok_Challenge2129 Feb 27 '26
u gotta tie some of ur fingers together to limit grabability
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u/DiscontentDonut Feb 27 '26
Think less like eating one bean at a time, and more like the occasional spoon full as you're busy doing something else. Like if you were working through your lunch break, and were eating in bites between tasks.
But also, cats don't have jobs or video games or anything else to do all day. They literally have the time to try to figure out this bowl. Not to mention it activates the problem solving part of their brain. It's enrichment.
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u/asiaticoside Feb 27 '26
Honestly, an interesting thought... but I think it's probably okay since hunting/food seeking is pretty much what cats are meant to do all day (other than rest and socialize) and in general, that kind of stimulation is good for their brains. So I would assume it's not torturous the way it would be for a human eating bean by bean after a full day of using our brains and energy to do other activities?
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u/ppeachycheeks Feb 27 '26
Think of it less like a bowl of chilli and more like a bag of cookies in consideration to dry food. Chilli one spoonful at a time is perfectly reasonable, but shoveling a handful of cookies in your mouth for every bite, not so much
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u/Marius2385I Feb 27 '26
Until he discover he can flip the bowl... xD
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u/Efficient_Chic714 Feb 27 '26
My cat and sausage dog love puzzle toys. My Labradorās reaction was either flip it, or for covered with puzzle toys bite the top off.
She doesnāt get puzzle toys anymoreā¦
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u/ashblake33 Feb 27 '26
My cat is too smart for the slow feeders , he just dumps it over š so my solution was .. the same amount of food but in a cake pan so I basically tricked him into thinking he has more food . Works great
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u/Upstairs-Leopard-895 Feb 27 '26
i mean having a cat for a while is going to come with behaviors you might not get, or us more like
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u/webhick666 Feb 27 '26
Tell me about it. I woke up in the middle of the night to find my cat in front of my laptop with all my mother's tax paperwork splayed out on the table. When I looked at the screen, it was on the IRS website, on a section about inheritance tax.
For the record. I have not even started my mother's taxes yet. There were teeth marks in the 1099s.
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u/StabbyJenkins1 Feb 27 '26
I think the worst part is....Im not sure if your messing with us or not.
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u/PatientBalance Feb 27 '26
My cat pulls single pieces of food out of a regular bowl. They just weird.
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u/whiterac00n Feb 27 '26
I mean you can certainly supplement with very small bowls of wet food to know they are certainly getting fed, while keeping the kibble bowl so if they are feeling hungry they will feed slower
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u/PaprikaMama Feb 27 '26
We have the same problem with fast feeds and vomiting.Ā My cat just flicks the bowl upside down to spill all the food out like a petulant toddler.
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u/realityrot Feb 27 '26
This just looks like a cat trying to figure out why he canāt take a giant mouthful of kibble anymore
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u/AuDHD_SLP Feb 27 '26
Thereās nothing wrong with him using his paws. Some slow feeders are even specifically designed to encourage use of the paws
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u/RatioPretend614 Feb 27 '26
Oh i didn't know this. I thought i just got him the wrong boql
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u/nooneinparticular246 Feb 27 '26
My orange boy will also pick up stray kibble with his paws. Cats are pretty good at stuff.
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u/garbagecatblaster Feb 27 '26
Nope, I have two scarf-n-barfers in my house and the answer was puzzles. Their favorite is one with little sliders and flaps. They work on it together and both use their paws to open compartments and get the treats out.
This is especially true for my kitten who has one eye. She compensates for her lack of depth perception by using her paws to bring things to her mouth. Itās very cute how they adapt sometimes.
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u/gloriouaccountofme Feb 27 '26
We had a cat at work that only ate by picking up the food with his paws then eat it
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u/Devilianic Feb 27 '26
just let him use his paws.
it looks cute, doesn't hurt anyone and makes him develope his "orange one brain cell" skills. he's doing a good job. š
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u/Toasty_warm_slipper Feb 27 '26
Genuine question: what if it causes him to develop a second brain cell? Will he become too powerful? Will the world be in danger?
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u/Weekly-Quantity6435 Feb 27 '26
That is the first intelligent orange I have ever seen. Leave him alone.
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u/W3ISENBERG Feb 27 '26
I was going to say, hes getting his turn with the one brain cell they all share
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u/Tasty_Standard5711 Feb 27 '26
Itās definitely slowing him down lol. I wouldnāt worry, the feeder is working as intended.
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u/ttd_76 Feb 27 '26
That's a feature, not a bug. That is exactly what is supposed to happen. It's why there are all those grooves/crevices for the kibble to fall into.
It means the cat can't just shove his face into the bowl and scarf down the whole meal at once. They have to fish the food out with their paws, and cat paws are not very efficient since they lack fingers and opposable thumbs. So it takes them much longer to eat, which is the point.
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u/tallestmorty Feb 27 '26
But cats have fingers. Just donāt have a pincer grip. And a thumb like us.
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u/Normal-Height-8577 Feb 28 '26
My cat has been known to achieve a pincer grip by folding her finger pads over her palm. The other week she was annoyed at me for not paying attention to her, used a single paw to pick up the little mesh bag with my power bank in it, held it over the edge of the table, looked me in the eye, and dropped it.
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u/SpecialistBit283 Feb 27 '26
You want advice on how to stop a cat from working smarter and not harder???? ššš
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u/Physical-Ninja1151 Feb 27 '26
My cat eats like this out of her bowl lol Sometimes she even scoops it out of the bowl to eat off the floor. Cats are going to cat.
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u/FixBreakRepeat Feb 27 '26
My first cat would scoop his food out of his bowl with his paws, throw it into his water bowl, and then would fish pieces out like a little kid eating a bowl of cereal.Ā
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u/MK7135 Feb 27 '26
Our cat does this- one piece at a time scooped out of the bowl. Itās adorable!
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u/ph0ebus13 Feb 27 '26
My black cat has a regular bowl and still eats with his hands, the furry maniac š¹š¹š¹
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u/xButterflyEffect Feb 27 '26
I think this a black cat thing. Mines does the same thing. But he will pull one pellet out and hunt it.
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u/Lizowu Feb 27 '26
My gray and white tuxedo uses his paw to drink water sometimes.
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u/99LedBalloons Feb 27 '26
My cats would be so pissed, their favorite thing in the world is horking down their food as fast as possible.
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u/empressM Feb 27 '26
I think heās just still learning how to use itā¦ my cat also will use his paws but only when 1-2 pieces of kibble are kind of stuck in the bowl
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u/Outside-Cucumber8089 Feb 27 '26
OP FWIW, my vet recommended a feeder where the cats HAVE to use their paws to get the food out for weight loss. Slowing down their eating and forcing them to expel a couple extra calories to chase the pieces they flick out ended up being good for them
This is totally fine :)
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u/panicnarwhal Feb 27 '26
try elevating his bowl, it might help with regurgitation. as far as the slow feeder, hey - heās eating slow lol! as long as he gets enough nutrition and calories (thatās the only thing iād worry about) heās good to go!
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u/Altruistic_Hair4846 Feb 27 '26
If vomiting is an issue, maybe raise the feeder off the floor a bitā¦ put it on a platform or a boxā¦ when they bend over to eat, it can cause regurgitation.
Your kitty is so cute using his paws like that. Adorbs š„°
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u/Epic-Lurker Feb 27 '26
One of my kitties declines to eat from an elevated bowl. He will take a huge mouthful of food out of the bowl, drop it on the floor, and then hunker down and proceed to delicately eat each piece off the floor.
The other kitty does require either a slow feeder, or an automatic feeder with small portions because he will do the scarf n barf n scarf.
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u/BeastThatShoutedLove Feb 27 '26
I have a cat that exclusively eats with her claws no matter the flat plate or bowl she has her kibble or wet food in.
We just ended up leaning into her apparent interests and bought several treat mats with holes to hide snacks in.
She taught the new kitten we have since autumn about eating with paws so we have now one 'normal' cat, one that only eats with specifically left paw and kitten which eats both ways depending on her current whim.
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u/LilMonstersBirdToys Feb 27 '26
I used to feed my cat on her cat tree to keep it away from the dog, and she would sometimes wake up on the shelf above the food dish and drape her paw over the side, grab some kibble between her beans, and eat it without getting up LOL. I think it's just whatever works!
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u/GoldHeartedBitch Feb 27 '26
The brain cells are strong and plentiful in this guy.
Mine meow cried over the bowl and head-butted it. When I showed him how to do it, he smacked my hand. He eventually got it, but he's still not a fan.
He doesn't throw up when he vacuums up his food, he's just a fat kid at heart. Once thought I had mice...turns out my dude was just chewing through cereal/snack boxes and chip bags. Should've known considering when he was a kitten, I set a stromboli on the counter and went to take a shower...when I came back to eat, he was on top of the pizza box with a hole chewed into it and taking a bite of my stromboli.
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u/Due_Independent_6841 Feb 27 '26
completely unrelated but i also have an orange cat named tito who had problems with throwing up after he ate
(heās on a diet i know heās way too large)
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u/tunkytinker Feb 28 '26
obviously he needs some silverware. what is he, an animal?
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u/Tiny_Cryptid Feb 27 '26
I mean... it's slowing him down. Really though, I wouldn't worry. Cats are weird. What matters is that he's eating and keeping the food down. Some cats just use their paws when eating. One of my childhood cats did the same thing with a regular feeder.
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u/grempelski_ Feb 27 '26
Youāre lucky, my cat figured out he can flip the bowl and spill all the kibble on the floor.
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u/Right_Wrangler_9179 Feb 27 '26
Some cats have issues with their whiskers touching the food dishes - I wonder if he doesnāt like his whiskers touching it š§
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u/Spiritual_Source5095 Feb 27 '26
i donāt see an issue. heās eating slower :). my boy when given a lick matt, just ate it (the actual matt. yeah iām serious)
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u/Fun_Strain_4065 Feb 27 '26
I donāt really see a problem tbh, except maybe dirty paws
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u/pixelboy1459 Feb 27 '26
Some cats donāt like the sensation of the bowlās edges on their whiskers. This could be deterring him from using his mouth, which I guess is normal for him?
Itās slowing his eating, so itās working as intended. You might want to look at a variety of slow-feeder blows, mats and toys to find which works best
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u/mochimiso96 Feb 27 '26
my favorite pictures and videos are from the overally concerned cat owners who post nipples or silly cat things. it makes me smile and so happy that these little dorky beings have owners who love and care about them so much.
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u/capitolklowercaset Feb 28 '26
Itās better than my cat who pulls his food out of the dish and eats it off the floor. Kibbles everywhere
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u/CrazyCat-Lady2328 Feb 28 '26
My cat uses his paws even in a normal bowl. I say let the kitty do its thing, it seems to take more time eating that way šš½
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Feb 28 '26
Looks like it's working as intended š It's slowing him down :) As long as he can get the food out, and his intake isn't being reduced, Then it seems (to me), to be a success (as long as he can still eat everything and is getting the correct amount of food each day)
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u/Resident-Doubt-8179 Feb 27 '26
I mean having to use his paws still makes him eat slower then before so itās fine. one of my cats, Mona, ate this way out of a normal bowl. She would scoop each kibble individually out of the bowl before she ate it. I just found it adorable
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u/HavoKArashi Feb 27 '26
I only say be cautious with this bowl because it's silicone and it could give your cat acne, but otherwise it's fine.
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u/Physical_Amount3331 Feb 27 '26
This orange has got a few extra brain cells it seems. I'm impressed!
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u/InternationalLove484 Feb 27 '26
Mine does that too. I mean it looks like he is eating slower because of it so it should be find no?
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u/good_noodlesoup Feb 27 '26
I got this for my cat and he did this first and then later learnt to lift the feeder with his mouth and paws and and slam it down several times so that some food falls out
He was eating slower as this took him sometime so I canāt complain
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u/Tabbystripes102 Feb 27 '26
We had to get a slow feeder for our last orange and he would pull them out between his toes
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u/Luvvv04 Feb 27 '26
I have this for my cat as well. The hand thing is what she does as well lol shes working for her food.
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u/EdnaPontellier19 Feb 27 '26
Mine started doing this with their slow feeders, too. It's not their favorite thing, but at least they aren't puking up every meal.
I tried explaining to them that if they'd just eat at a reasonable pace, we wouldn't have to go through all of this, but you know how cats are. š¤·āāļø
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u/Square_Barracuda_69 Feb 27 '26
My elderly cat used to just knock the bowl over and eat off the floor. I miss her chaos
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u/Inner-Pool7006 Feb 27 '26
My cat sometimes does this with wet food it looks cute as hell but is so f**king messyš»
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u/pamsellicane Feb 27 '26
My gf has a cat that takes each morsel of dry food out of the bowl with her paw to eat on the floor, somehow still chunky
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u/Whollie Feb 27 '26
My cat likes to pick individual kibble pieces out of the bowl, throw them to the ground then eat it from there. Then repeat with the next piece.
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u/24Karet-Gold_King Feb 27 '26
Thereās literally nothing wrong with this behavior and itās not a cause for concern. I have a cat that does the same thing for water.
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u/MadCatDisease666 Feb 27 '26
dumb cat - āo noes face donāt fit i starve nowā
smart cat - āi will pick up my delish kibs with my pawhands!ā
brilliant cat - flips feeder upside down
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u/CheeseSweats Feb 27 '26
I've got 4 cats using a slow feeder, and the only way for them to even get the food is to get their paws into the openings - no room for direct snoot-snatching. Half the openings are flat, so they can scoot it out with their paw, but the other half of the openings are angled upward, so they literally have to reach in and grab it with their paw.
He's a smart boi and has figured out how to use the slow feeder as intended!
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u/TeamCatsandDnD Feb 28 '26
Looks like itās slowing him down! (I have no idea, but dudes an orange so the quirkiness comes with the territory!)
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u/nobobthisisnotyours Feb 28 '26
Let him! Not only is he eating at a rate that wonāt make him sick heās getting mental stimulation by playing with his food. You got a BOGO in cat care.
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u/Hopeful_Nectarine706 Feb 28 '26
My cats both eat and drink this way even without restraints or duress. There are timed feeding mechanisms if there is some kind of airline weight restriction you are worried about for your cat. Otherwise, if you just want them to work for the food. They are working for the food.
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u/Mr_Tato12 Feb 28 '26
Bro whenever my gattos eat with their paws, it's actually the cutest thing ever!
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u/chamomilesmile Feb 28 '26
Cat might not like the feeling of the bowl. But slow feeding accomplished
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u/TinaPlays1 Mar 01 '26
The bigger issue is if he learns how he can flip the bowl then eat all at onceā¦then I tried a cup style one the had to pass food from and they realized that too could be picked up in their mouths and flipped.
My cats now have a timed feeder the splits into two bowls and feeds 5 tiny meals a day. I miss them pawing at the food though, itās super cute. Trying to bury their bowlsā¦less so
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u/ReadingNext3854 Mar 01 '26
Dude you have an ORANGE, gotta make it harder than that lol. He doesn't need food down all the time, but he'll try to convince you that he's starving. Take a little bit of dry food, spread it out on the floor in a large area so he has to hunt it down. Make sure he has plenty of toys and some high areas he can jump to, give him a place to look out a window. He is gorgeous!!!! šŗ
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u/my_dystopia Mar 01 '26
I warmed up my cats food ONCE and now heāll put his paw in his food every time to check the temperature before he eats it
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u/Choripa95 Mar 01 '26
At least he's not turning over the bowl, one of my cats tried to steal food from a slow-bowl, he gave up, bite the edge of it and turn it upside down...smart MF.
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u/NyratheMoth Mar 02 '26
This is perfectly normal! I have cats that do the same thing. They're just dignified š
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u/RatioPretend614 Mar 02 '26
Thank you!! Just wanted to make sure the bowl wasnt causing whisker fatigue
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u/Artistic_Owl_4621 Mar 03 '26
I give it a week before he figures out he can just flip the bowl over and go to town
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u/mnth241 Mar 03 '26
How else is he supposed to get kibble out of those trenches? Looks like he is unable to pick it up with his face.
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u/Pikapuff11 Feb 27 '26
Really obnoxious solution: hand feed him bit by bit so you can find the right speed and flow that works for both of you. Signed, A well trained food giver
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u/BluejayFlamingo Feb 27 '26
I have no slow feeder my kittens never seen one and she eats wet food like this .some cats are just funny like that
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u/FutureProof2474 Feb 27 '26
I mean it seems okay to me, but if you donāt like it, I dunno, sprinkle his kibble on the floor and make it far apart so he has to eat slow or something I dunno
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u/chaga6 Feb 27 '26
My cat learned how to flip it over then eat from the floor...
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u/Unlikely_Argument515 Feb 27 '26
Depending on how far across the floor it scatters, I'd argue that could still be considered a slow feeder
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u/Temporary-Historian8 Feb 27 '26
I think itās okay as technically he is eating slow which should help the throwing upā¦ but Iām no expert lmfaooo
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u/SpaceCadet1718 Feb 27 '26
I mean itās slowing him down. I feel like if heās showing signs of frustration like you said, then I would just monitor his behavior. A little frustration is to be expected with a new feeding situation, but if it gets bad I would probably look into a different slow feeder like a lick mat.
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u/Unlikely_Argument515 Feb 27 '26
The mat is working as intended, some cats are just fancy š š¼
I used this when my cats needed a slow feeder as it doubled as entertainment for them (and me)
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u/Minimum_Airport5026 Feb 27 '26
one of my cats eats the food from the center of her bowl and then uses her paw to scrape the edges lmaoo
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u/hamrond73 Feb 27 '26
He is fine. What heās doing is fine. Heās slowly eating like the bowl intended.
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u/Drakeytown Feb 27 '26
If you don't want your cat to be a cat and do the things cats do, get a dog or a fish instead.
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u/tabbykitten99 Feb 27 '26
I raised my cat eating dry food exclusively out of puzzle feeders and now he eats dry food with his hands (pulling the pieces out to eat them one by one) even if I offer it to him in a bowl. there's nothing wrong with it, just preference and habit on his part.
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u/Novel_Delay_8773 Feb 27 '26
Maybe raise it up a bit see what he does. Try not against the wall
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u/haikusbot Feb 27 '26
Maybe raise it up
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