Great story!
My daughter's cat was a lovely lover of a cat. UNTIL I brought my dog with me on a visit. He, the cat, now gets right in my face and yells at me. He drew blood on my last visit. Very scary! I am planning a visit without the dog largely to repair my relationship with this cat because, just like you, I love him.
Hey, I just learned that cats do not want to eat near water. Perhaps that's why you find his food all over the place - he might be depositing it in "safer" places. Apparently, food near water sources in the wild is often rotting flesh and dangerous to eat. Try moving his water at least six feet away from his food.
Hey I think I said that wrong - rotting food near water holes contaminate the water, so the water is unsafe to drink. He might be protecting his water from stupid human contraptions.
Just read your answer :)) Was on the phone with my daughter when I was posting the response. It's the water, not the food :))
I finally found where I saw it.
That's a great video! Some changes have already been made. That food bowl pictured in the blog? It has been converted to a water dish. The cat now has two water dishes and a flat dish for food--still too close at a foot away. In the daytime when the dog comes up the food dish is actually in another room because the dog steals the food :))
He has plenty of climbing. Dressers, window seats, cat hotel. And two scratch posts. He doesn't have to worry about me cleaning too much :)))
It's a good video. A little alarming, and also sad. We had a female rescue that was not spayed. She died of mammary tumor. However, the choice not to spay her was necessitated by physical reality. My daughter found her in a car engine when the kitten was just a week or two old. The animal's leg was broken, irreparably. She never really thrived. Always was underweight, and a little simple minded. We once asked about amputating her leg and spaying her, but the vet could not assure us she would survive the operation. So she lived a short, but happy life as a lame animal.
Anyway, good video. A lot to think about. Not that many modifications necessary here. The cat rules!
I never knew about the water! Great idea, certainly worth a try. I tried cutting the food into smaller pieces and that seemed to cut down on the debris significantly, but who wants to add that chore (mincing the cat's food) to my list?
I'm not very surprised about the cat's reaction to the dog. A few weeks ago I was walking with my daughter and her dog when I grew tired, really tired suddenly. I had to stop and sit right there on the curb. A cat lived at the house I randomly chose. The dog stood next to me. The cat walked up to the dog, sniffed him, and gave a gratuitous scratch on the nose :) :) :)
I love a cat with spirit, but that was a bit much.
Don't take the dog back with you. That is a very funny story (even with the blood).