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this post was submitted on 24 Jul 2026
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In my experience, it's usually more about smell and freshness.
Food fresh out of the bag has a stronger scent than food that's been left out for a while, and most cats seem to prefer the stronger-smelling stuff. So they meow for it even if there's old food still left in the bowl.
Best solution I've found is to just dump the old food back into the bag, mixing it together, and then give them the 'fresh' food out of the bag. They'll get a bit of the old food mixed in, but they don't notice because it will have gotten some of the fresh smell rubbed off on it while it was in there.
And whisker stress. If your cat leaves food in a ring shape but eats the food in the middle then they may be experiencing whisker stress from contact with the sides of the bowl. Try a shallower bowl or a different vessel for the food (such as a toy or puzzle) or even hand feeding.