At times, cats behave differently when it comes to their eating habits and the time of food, they eat. This eating habit creates different gestures for the cat whether the pet is sitting down or laying on the floor while eating. If you have noticed your cat lying down while eating, there are different reasons why do cats lay down when they eat.
Why do Cats Lie Down when they eat?
Depending on what you feed your cat in terms of health, how you feed your cat has become important of demonstrating its behaviour and gestures. To know why do cats lay down when they eat, the following reasons mentioned below:
Sickness
Cats lie down when they eat due to sicknesses such as kidney disease, orthopaedic disease, neurological disease and diabetes. Cats who carry one of these sicknesses will either eat or drink while lying down. If this is the case with your feline friend, you need to take your cat to your vet and make some changes with its eating schedule. This sickness changes the posture of eating and drinking.
Changes in social interaction
Cats like to have social interaction with humans and other animals in the house. Changes with these interactions may indicate a sign of eating while lying down such as disease, fear or anxiety. This may also signal a pain, which creates aggression. The cat may attack a person who is causing the pain such as combing the cat’s fur or brushing a diseased tooth.
Changes in their activity
As cats grow older, their behavioural pattern changes, which is the reason for eating while lying down. If your cat feels any discomfort or any signs of arthritis, this is the time to make some changes in their activities.
Changes in sleeping patterns
Cats eat or drink while lying down due to the changes in sleeping patterns. An average adult cat sleeps around 16 to 18 hours a day. If your cat sleeps more than usual, it indicates that your cat may be carrying an underlying disease. This change in sleeping patterns may cause one or multiple illnesses.
The proportion of food and drink
Cats who have hyperthyroidism, diabetes, intestine problems and digestive disorders tend to eat and drink large quantities. This large eating quantities leads to the disturbance of the stomach and would create further health problems. Fearful cats eat large quantities quickly to avoid coming into contact with other cats. This is the reason why do cats lay down when they eat.
Changes in food and water consumption
Cats are food grazers by nature. They eat smaller meals throughout the day. Cats with diabetes or hyperthyroidism eat frequently. Felines with dental pain, intestine pain, kidney disease, bowel syndrome or cancer may eat once in a day. These changes in food and water consumption cause the cat to lie down while eating.
The location of eating and drinking
Why do cats lay down when they eat? Cats are very energetic when it comes to the location of where they want to eat and drink. Cats normally jump onto counters or perches around the table to eat and drink. Those cats who have a loss of vision, diabetes, diseases and arthritic pain have difficulties of receiving an efficient amount of food and water intake. These sicknesses are the main reason for eating while lying down.
Why do Cats Lay Next to Water Bowl?
Now you know the reasons of cats lying down when they eat. But lying down next to water bowl has such reasons behind this unusual behaviour. If you have noticed your cat lying down next to the water, there are several reasons behind it.
Such reason mention below:
Dehydration
Dehydration is the main cause of cats lying down next to the water bowl. If your cat feels hydrated, it is a sign that your pet is always thirsty.
There are certain signs you need to observe if your cat has dehydration:
- Check her skin – the skin plays a major role in staying hydrated. To check her skin is to pinch gently the extra skin between the shoulder blades. The skin should go back to normal after you let go. But if the skin does not drop back quickly. This is the sign of hydration.
- Check her eyes- take a look at your pet’s eyes. If they are sunken or lacks focus, this is the sign of losing moisture around the eyes.
- Check her gums- your cat’s gums should be pink and moist. If the gums are dry, sticky and pale, this shows dehydration.
Kidney disease
Your cats need a sufficient amount of water to keep the kidneys functioning properly. Even healthy cats suffer kidney diseases as well. There are such certain symptoms that no owner notices the signs of kidney disease.
If your cat lies down next to the water bowl, check for any indications of kidney problems:
- Your cat drinks a lot of water
- Frequent urination
- Bad breath and smells like ammonia when breathing
- Weight loss
- Loss of appetite
- Vomiting, diarrhea and blood urine
- Bacterial infections in the bladder and kidney
Diabetes
Diabetes is a concerning condition which occurs such felines that are going through overweight or cats who eat high carbohydrates foods resulting in obesity. If your cat has diabetes or does not receive sufficient water intake you need to check these certain signs:
- Excessive urination and thirst
- Increased weight loss
- Loss of appetite
- Inability to jump or loss of interest in doing so
- Feeling lazy and vomiting
- Lack of proportion of the diet
How to Address the Behavior?
There are various ways to address the problem if your cat lies down next to the water bowl. If you notice your cat does not drink water or does not get sufficient food intake, it is time to fix the issue of your cat’s food routine. You can do two things to notice this strange behaviour:
Monitor your cat’s drinking habit
It is important to notice how much water your cat is drinking daily. A cat drinks water 3.5 to 4.5 ounces of water daily per 5 pounds of body weight. If your cat weighs 10 pounds, the cat should drink between 7 to 9 ounces of water daily. Do check the level of water in the bowl and how much water left during the day. This will give you the idea of whether your cat consumes normally or if there is a change in her water intake.
Take your cat to the vet
If you notice that cat does not drink enough water and continues out of the ordinary, this is the sign of severe dehydration. You need to take your cat to the vet as quickly as possible. The vet will carry out several tests and will provide with further treatments.
Conclusion
Here are the possible reasons why do cats lie down when they eat. You can see these reasons will help you to identify whether your cat is eating properly or not. There are definite reasons why do cats lay next to the water bowl; such reason could help you if your cat suffers thirst.
If you experience these issues with your cat, it is time to have a word with your vet. Do refer to these reasons above and change its eating and drinking habits.
So take good care of your cat!