Unless it's within two hours in either direction of the cats feeding time, in which case "I wuv u, have u noticed ur poor kitty is starving and the food bowl is empty? Here let me get all up in your face in case you've forgotten about me..."
My cat rarely bothers us about food. But if we've not played with him, or toured the (exterior, communal building) hallway in the last few hours...he doth scream.
And I'm pretty sure he uses his abs when meowing because the boi can project!
Yeah you're supposed to put their food on plates, that's also why they often won't drink from water bowls, hence the market for little fountains for them to drink from.
Cats would literally rather die than rub their whiskers against something. I can almost relate.