It sometimes occurs to me ...

[xiphias]

... that I live with three cats, even if one of them is technically a human. I made Lis a beef stew the other day, the way that she likes it, and she hasn't been in the mood to eat it, so it's been in the fridge since. Because she only likes food if it's not what's prepared. This makes meal planning a challenge, since the only way it works is for me to wait for her to be hungry, then ask what she's hungry for. Making stuff ahead doesn't work. *sigh*

Comments

[gingicat]

This morning, my daughter asked for cheese sticks (she got to eat prepackaged ones at various events recently). I offered to cut her a cheese-stick-shaped piece of sharp cheddar, which she accepted and ate. Then I proactively cut a bunch more, wrapped them in plastic wrap so they wouldn't stick together, and put them in the refrigerator in a zip-close bag labeled "Cheddar Cheese Sticks".

About an hour later, she asked me for one, took a bite, and spat it out.

*sigh*

[browngirl.livejournal.com]

*laughs at you, not unkindly*

(You live with a cat. I live with two cats, as evidenced by your replies when I ask you what you want for dinner. :D)

[gingicat]

Well, that explains why yesterday's lunch had so many different things in it.

[navrins]

Our cat gets very confused when I feed her before she's had a chance to meow her fool head off about how starving she is.

[snippy]

Eh. I'm not a cat. But I understand being out of touch with what my wants are and needing time to think, because I've spent most of my life worrying about what other people want and stuffing my own wants and needs. That wasn't healthy for me, and I've worked on it in therapy, but I will always have trouble figuring out what I want in a situation (not just meals, either). It takes time and thinking out loud and sometimes a session with my therapist to help me filter the various messages from inside and out. Sometimes what works best for me is when people offer me options, then I can tell what I don't want and narrow the list down.

I also feel for you, because I will remember to the day I die the day my kids JUST STOPPED EATING SPAGHETTIOS. I had just shopped the day before and bought 6 cans on sale, and they were usually a good snack or stopgap while I fixed the real dinner, but one day they both (4 years apart in age) rejected them and NEVER WENT BACK. I eventually donated those 6 cans of Spaghettios to a food drive before their expiration date, but I never did find an easy substitute for them.

[rosefox]

The solution we found with our cats is to feed them all the same thing, at approximately regular hours, and they can deal with it. This doesn't work so well with people, though.