Food Dish Fury

Dear Sammy,

My sister is driving me nuts. At every mealtime, she sticks her face in my bowl and insists on taking the first couple bites. True, I do get served before her, but that’s because there are five of us and our person only has two hands. She can’t carry five bowls at the same time. But, there can’t be more than two meows between when she puts down my bowl and when sis gets hers. My brother patiently waits for his meal, but sis is apparently so hungry she can’t wait. She never steals from my other brothers, just me. then, if I try to snag anything from her bowl, she yowls so loud it brings our person running and I get scolded.

Just once, I’d like to eat my own meal in peace. Any suggestions? And yes, I’ve tried reasoning with her, but seriously, you know there’s no reasoning with any of us felines.

Fuming in Fair Oaks

Dear Famished,

Rather than fuming, you should be flattered. I’m guessing this is your older sister and that she’s never had kittens of her own. What she’s doing is quite common for a kittenless cat with younger siblings. She’s expressing her protective mothering instincts on you. She’s not stealing your food. She’s making sure it’s safe to eat. In the wild, which I hope you never experience, mother cats will taste the food before letting their kittens eat. This is to make sure the food is not rotten or, shudder, poisoned. Obviously, you are her favorite brother if she doesn’t do this for any of your other siblings. So, don’t give her a hard time about it, and if you’re really hungry, just grab a few bites from somebody else’s dish. Here’s a tip I don’t tell everyone. Hang out by the dinner table when your people are nearing the end of their meal. Even the strictest people can’t help passing a scrap or two to a hungry kitty.

Sammy