Is it possible to spoil a cat as you can with a human? I believe it is. And if I’m correct it normally affects their eating habits.
This is how you might spoil your cat to the point where they become picky about the food they want to eat. You treat your cat occasionally. Your cat is very pleased about it. You like to please your cat. You give her more treats. You then give her standard cat food. She expects a treat. She rejects the standard cat food given to her.
Your cat has become spoilt! You leave the standard cat food in the bowl for quite a long time. Your cat becomes hungry. She decides to eat the standard cat food. Your cat is no longer spoilt!
I’ve simplified things but just like humans, cats can become used to conditions and “services” provided by their caregiver which can’t be sustained. Because they become used to them they don’t want to accept lesser conditions.
Becoming spoilt, as I see it, is about developing habits and routines concerning certain services as I’ve called cat caregiving. Cats are very good at developing habits and routines. As are humans for that matter.
It’s just a question of unlearning those habits or making sure they don’t develop in the first place. That’s if you don’t want to spoil your cat! A lot of people won’t mind if their cat is picky and perhaps spoilt. It’s part and parcel of a loving relationship. And what I am saying does not mean that you should be hard on your cat. Quite the contrary. Be kind and gentle and spoil her from time to time but not all the time.
Cats can equally develop a habit for standard conditions as they can for deluxe conditions. And they can learn to accept less than luxury conditions as do billions of humans.
It’s perfectly normal for a cat to become spoilt because there are millions of cat caregivers who love their cat companions. They want to give them something special. They want to treat them. They want to please them. They want to show them their love. All very normal but in respect of food (primarily) it can lead to a spoilt and picky cat.
I guess it’s about standard cat training using positive reinforcement. There’s a lot of informal training going on between cat and person in the home. And it works both ways because cats are pretty good it training humans although in that situation the human is a willing trainee.
In fact, in the instance of a domestic cat becoming spoilt it is partly to do with the cat informally training their human caregiver to give them those treats.
And one way they achieve this is to look at their human companion with those doe eyes while meowing like a baby. Irresistible. There’s nothing more irresistible than the cry of a baby and some domestic cats have learnt to mimic this cry by inserting the sound into their meow. Sometimes they purr with a slight hint of baby sound as well.
It’s all part and parcel of a conspiracy by domestic cats to get their way 😎💓! To winkle their way into their human’s heart. And they are very successful at it with the willing cooperation of their human companion.
