I actually robot-fed my kitten from day one, so they basically don’t associate me with food at all, just with cuddles and reprimands.

Obligatory “wet food is much better for cats if for no other reason than the moisture content”

Cats are apparently one of those species that’s used to getting most of their fluids via their prey, and can be bad at drinking enough water when fed a dry food diet (in my experience this is highly dependent on the individual cat: some are “picky drinkers”).