Learning the etiquettes of meal time....

So right around week four, I put out some Royal Canin 'Baby Cat' kibble and boy it didn't take long until my babies nibbled! I was fascinated to watch the learning process (fueled by curiosity). Around the beginning of week three, Indy shadowed mommy and would watch her while she drank and ate. It was no surprise to me that he was the first to try it for himself. A couple of times he would sniff the food and water but his balance seemed to be a little off and he would fall over. But the old adage 'if at first you don't succeed, try try again' seemed to come into play.

Water was first. It was adorable to watch him put his tiny paw in to guage the depth before trying to lick. Of course he stuck his nose under quite a few times but in no time, he had it down and his thirst was being quenched, big cat style!

[Here he delicately dips his paw]

[He's got the hang of it - now it's time to lap it up!]

Next food!

Again Indy is the adventursome case study (he is truly earning his name - Indiana Jones). First of all, he stepped into it but as soon as he figured it out, he dived in nose first and has hardly come up for air since.

He is a very good eater but messy! The others followed with trepidation and nibbled on the stray pieces around the bowl until they were all enjoying their latest entree.... Mommy's milk was still first choice (as you can see below) but she was perfectly happy to nose them over to the bowl and let them chow down to get a break.

Wet food was a little trickier.... the babies don't recognize the smell or the texture, so I'm mixing up a little formula (KMR 2 Next Step) which they happily lap out of a bowl. I'm slowly mixing in some AvoDerm wet food but so far, they haven't been too keen.

Learning etiquette doesn't happen overnight........

Eating with the paws is perfectly acceptable but we are still trying to explain to Indy that it's not polite to actually sit in the food bowl!

Maybe it's his dastardly plan to hoard all the lovely food for himself :-)

Simba has also taken to sitting in the bowl and growling at any kitty that comes near while he is feasting...

The secret life of kittens........ revealed :-)