I feel like a racist if I don't treat my cat with care?

I believe you are overthinking situations.
First of all, kitties tend to be assertive about their likes and dislikes. If she were unhappy she would let you know.

Secondly, in the wild, cats are ferocious about sharing their food. Considering that, she is probably grateful that you share food with her.

Cats are not appreciative about such accessories as tableware. Their instinct is to grab their share quickly, and drag it away to eat without contest.

Cats are a species not a race.

Animal treatment and racism are in ways analogous.

When you feed her off of a plate, is she at the dinner table, or on the floor?
Why not just put the food in her cat food bowl?

It sounds like you are treating your cat with great care. Nothing there to worry about.

I do relate to all of those considerations. To me, they imply a person who cares for the well-being and experiences of animals, which I think is wonderful.

However, I think that it also sounds like you are going a bit overboard and projecting your notions even when they may not apply from the cat’s perspective. I see some signs that you have patterns of unjustly shaming yourself, which I think you could be much happier if you got to the bottom of those and healed them (q.v. Healing the Shame that Binds You by John Bradshaw.), which is something most people in modern cultures unconsciously suffer from, but this is a good insight into a hook for you that I’d encourage you to look at.

As for the cat, I would say that as long as you don’t hit the cat, many cats tend to prefer immediate food flying near them to humans taking the time to prepare a plate.

But I do agree that it is very valuable and important to relate to animals as beings worthy of respect and good treatment, not to be abused, ignored or neglected. They appreciate communication, respect, attention, affection, good treatment, and so on. Many cats though will also become demanding and manipulative to get what they need, and they generally don’t understand/care what many of your needs are. Learning to actually relate and communicate with animals though can be extremely rewarding both to people and the animals.

You are not racist. You are speciesist.

Thank you @Zaku. It sounds to me like she is sometimes pampering it beyond what is healthy out of some sense of guilt, or something.

@Zaku When it comes to shame, I feel it very open in waves. I also have major depression. Worse in the very early morning. I was shamed and abused as a kid, maybe that has to do with it.

@dopeguru I totally get that. For those of us with abuse in our formative years, animals are a safer alternative. Just don’t go too overboard, they are animals…lol

Honey, that has everything to do with it.