Most pets are unable to grasp that, so long as someone is around, food is guaranteed to be provided. And the fact that you probably leave for some length of time each day just amplifies that fear of going hungry, because they lack the concept of object permanence. To them, when you leave, you’re gone and never coming back. That’s also why they’re so happy to see you when you get home. It’s like a huge relief and they know they’re not going to die hungry and alone, trapped in this strange cave with no permanent openings that you live in.
So, the fact that _any_ food is provided _at all_, and with no effort, is the best thing to happen all day.
The reason domestic animals do anything is pretty much the same: they are domesticated. This means that they have been “artificially selected” by humans to evolve this behavior because it pleases humans. In the case of pets, this is often because it enables us to believe (regardless of whether it is true) that the animal “enjoys” some particular thing. Really, they have no conscious awareness of experiencing things or “emotions” in the way humans feel, they are merely reacting the way their genes and the resulting biochemistry cause them to react to any given stimulus.
They aren’t necessarily. Just like you and I, too much of a good thing can make you stop liking it. One of my cats had chronic diarrhoea for 12 months and had to be put on special allergenic food, which was the only thing she could eat for every single meal, every single day. She certainly stopped getting excited over meal time and just became really sad that she couldn’t eat what my other pets were given. Thankfully her condition eventually improved and we have been able to expand her diet slightly. She now refuses to go anywhere near the allergenic food because she’s so sick of eating the same thing over and over again.
Bigger question:
Why do people choose to feed them the same thing every day like they’re some lesser being or something?
Change it up.
Scramble an egg and toss it in once in awhile.
Buy that btch a steak every two weeks like they’re a valued member of the pack.
Be their variety friend.
Peace and love🤙
I raised cows as a youth, and whenever we’d open the gate to let them move from a pasture that was getting eaten down to one that they hadn’t been in for a few weeks, they’d run in there excitedly, kicking up their heels and bellowing with joy. It definitely seemed more in line with “let’s get this GRASS”. Also they loved reaching as far as they could under the electric fence, and a couple of them really liked certain weeds (most of the cows hated thistles, but one of them loved them. First thing he’d do in a new pasture was eat all the thistles, one by one.
Their favorite thing was when mowed the lawn if we dumped the trimmed grass for them they would often follow the mower waiting for the bags to get full.
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