I now have two whiners, and the cats sometimes add their I do not reward whining, I ignore it or say What? in an irritated tone of voice, or point out that whining is not productive, and, in fact, can slow things down (food, walks, etc) If someone is whining, I always wait to feed, walk, whatever until the whining has stopped (they have a dog door, so I don't have to worry about whining meaning need to go out)
All that said, they still whine just as much as always. I have decided it is just they way they communicate.
And yes, I have seen the trick where two more ribs and the spine appear in order to get more food