@hellomiakoda @jstevenyork
Anecdote from someone I know with cats, make of it what you will.
He at first did the usual people food on the table and cat food tin in the bowl routine and the cats were not happy.
Now he prepares the cat food and people food on the same counter (cat food is kept a bit apart for sanitary reasons) and he adds some freshly cooked human food into the bowl for his feline buddies. A bit of chicken pie, a few hot cooked veggies, bit of brown rice, and the rest is cat food. And they watch all the effort he puts in to preparing the food. He says his cats appreciate and are very snuggly after dinner, or at least that's his story.