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By Lucy Notarantonio
Senior Reporter
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Sometimes, pet owners have to get creative when they have a mischievous animal. One couple thought they had perfected a method to prevent their rescue kitten from tipping over her dinner, but it soon backfired.
In a viral video shared to a TikTok account dedicated to four cats (@yukiandtheboys), Ellie, the 1-year-old feline, can be seen walking while underneath a laundry basket. But don't be fooled; she isn't there on accident.
The onscreen text reads: "We've been trapping our cat under a laundry basket so we can make her dinner without her flipping the plate. She still flips the plate and now she's incredibly strong from dragging increasingly heavier items across the floor."
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Her owner Mary Jane, 25, told Newsweek: "She is a very food-motivated cat, and we had issues with her eating too fast and getting an upset stomach. We got her some slow-feeder plates and bowls to fix this and she was not a fan!"
"She isn't patient enough to eat her food slowly and flips the bowl so she can eat as fast as possible and have time to get to her brothers' food before they finish."
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Jane and her wife were advised to lock the cat in a bedroom while preparing her dinner but this was unsuccessful.
The video is captioned: "Do NOT recommend. And we cant lock her in another room, she throws herself into the door trying to escape."
"We also received many recommendations to feed her by scattering her food on the floor. That is actually how we feed her breakfast because that is dry food. Our dilemma came with her flipping plates of wet food, which is not as easy to clean up," said Jane.
At the time of writing, the clip has received more than 724,000 views since it was shared on February 14. At the time of writing, the clip has over 117,000 likes and 350 comments.
Jane added: "Ellie is incredibly strong; she is 7 pounds and is able to easily push containers weighing 15 to 20 pounds to get where she wants, and she easily bosses around her 17-pound brother.
"We accidentally started strength-training her because she needed to be trapped under the laundry basket while we used the stove or she would nearly burn herself trying to eat our food as it cooked.
"She saw it as a challenge, and we've quickly run out of heavy enough items to keep her contained," Jane said.
"She's truly the sweetest cat; you can hear her purring from a room away. She just needs a little extra attention to her safe from herself."
In the comments, the owner said: "We compare her to a ferret a lot so that's funny, they just do things and there is NO preventing it."
"I'm screaming y'all for real just made her stronger," wrote another user, while a third comment read: "You've just given her mandatory strength training."
"Cats are always trained but NEVER in the ways we want or expect," added a fourth comment.
How to Feed a Cat
The American Association of Feline Practitioners has said how feeding a cat can affect the animal both physically and mentally.
Many owners feed their pet once or twice per day, but this doesn't meet their need to eat many small meals daily. Instead, owners are advised to create meal plans that mimic a cat's natural feeding behavior. This should reduce begging for food, feline frustration and inter-cat conflict.
Owners are advised to divide a cat's daily food into multiple small meals and feed them throughout a 24-hour period. It is unclear why Ellie flips over her plate at dinner time, but it could be out of boredom. Owners can prevent this by investing in a puzzle feeder and hiding kibble throughout the house. This will increase activity and provide mental and physical stimulation.
For homes with multiple cats, group feeding isn't always a good idea. It can lead to feeding aggression, weight issues and can cause gorging. Cats may not show signs of anxiety, but sometimes eating too quickly could be a sign of stress. They may be scoffing their food to return to their safe place away from the other felines.
Update 02/20/23 10:30 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with comment from the owner, Mary Jane and original content.
Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures of your pet you want to share? Send them to life@newsweek.com with some details about your best friend, and they could appear in our Pet of the Week lineup.
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