Cat seems really picky? Testing me? Psychological warfare??

Ok, I have never had a cat before this one, and to be clear I never meant to adopt a cat, it just....happened and we have had her for over a year now, but I still feel like I am playing catchup because I never grew up with cats.

We have her and take care of another neighbourhood cat who comes and goes as he pleases as we cannot make him stay inside.

But my girl cat is just sometimes....impossibly fussy. Like, you would never know that I found her living on the streets and drinking out if my pool, because she has adjusted to a certain way of life, I guess. She isn't lazy, she is active and hunts mice if we have them, plays and zooms etc.

But like, the other night I was out of cat food. I usually give her some small servings of kibble during the day and then some wet food at night, and I was out of cat food, but I did have some salmon in water that was low sodium, so I added that to her kibble. WOLFED IT down she did, picking her lips, purring, all happy.

The next night I give her some salmon again....on no. Not interested, OFFENDED.

And tonight, I did have more cat food so I put (on a flat plate to make sure her whiskers are not fatigued) some of the chicken mince cat food, some salmon and some kibble, I even warmed it up a little thinking maybe that would help so it wasn't all cold.

Didn't want any of it.

I put her in a closed room with the plate, thinking that maybe she wanted a more secure place away from the male cat to eat (he ate everything except for the things that go towards the edges of his bowl, things in the edges seem to be functionally invisible to him) but no, she has just been indignant and bratty in there.

Like, she is definitely an unfriendly hottie. Like, she is somewhat affectionate to us, on her terms explicitly, but mostly has a lot of attitude (the male cat is currently drooling a pool into my nightgown as we speak, he is almost too friendly, he will butt his head against me when J am giving him food to get some lats FIRST which is cute but also results in me spilling things quite often).

She is a little ball of satanic energy, and I love that for her. But the fussiness seems to come and go and I do not know if there is something I am missing? Some secret cat thing I do not know because I have had dogs my whole life?

Plz help.