I think that the phrase, “don’t play with your food” must have been coined by someone watching cats eat. Mojoe has the “corner” on how to play with one’s food. He uses it as a source of amusement not only for himself but for me too.
I feed the boys dry cat food. It really is better for them because it prevents tartar from forming on their teeth. Occasionally, I will give them some canned food as a treat. However, they mostly get dry.
McGyver is all business when it comes to eating. He starts “calling” at about 5:30 each morning. When I say “calling” I mean that he is letting me know that he is up and it’s time to eat. He walks through the apartment making a noise that sound like what a human playing “Marco Polo” would use. He is determined to get louder until he wakes me up. If I don’t get up soon enough, then he starts jumping on and off the bed until I give in and get up.
I usually come out to the kitchen where I find the food bowl in the middle of the floor. I pick it up, empty and refill the water, which usually has little fish or chicken legs floating in it (more on this later). I also put more dry food in the other side of the bowl. I have a bowl that has two compartments, one for water and one for food.
I feed the cats Meow Mix. It comes with little fishes and chicken legs. When water is applied, they grow three times in size and become mushy. They are really not very appetizing to me or to McGyver but Mojoe loves them that way.
After McGyver has eaten his fill, Mojoe takes over. There is no fighting. There is no competition. It is an accepted process. First McGyver eats a little, then Mojoe gets to eat. That is when the fun starts.
Mojoe will put his paw in the dry food and extract a piece. This, he uses as a hockey puck and pushes it across the floor franticly chasing after it. First batting it one way and then the other. He pounces, he jumps, he throws the food in the air. Then, he will stop and “crunch” it. After a few seconds, he grabs another piece and the game is on again.
When Mojoe tires of chasing his food, he starts putting it in the water. There he lets it sit until it swells and gets soft. Then he “fishes” it out and eats it. He will even wait until I empty the water into the sink and fish the mortsels out of the drain.
When he tires of dunking his food, he then starts dragging the dish around the kitchen floor. I will find splashes of water here and there. I find bits of food all over. I am not sure why he moves the bowl. Maybe it’s because he wants a different point of view when he eats. Or maybe he just does it because he can. Or maybe he is imagining that he is actually hunting down prey before the “kill”.
Regardless of the reason why he does what he does with his food, Mojoe has playing with his food down to an art.
