Food-Agressive Kitten

I recently got two kittens (from different litters)... one is named Shinobi and one is Parrot. Both of them took some time to get used to our household, but Parrot seems to have an ongoing issue with food. Human food, in particular. Our roommate once fed him some sort of human food (don't remember what) and since that point, Parrot has been absolutely nutty over it, and he seems to know no boundaries. During mealtime, he'll jump directly onto our plates and start eating, no hesitation... if he smells food in the area, he will hunt relentlessly until he finds it... (For example... a plate of corn dogs was sitting on the computer desk two full days ago and he caught the scent. He's still looking for it).

We've tried a number of methods to deter him, but nothing seems to have an effect. We tried simply moving him away and distracting him from the food (or giving him his own), we tried a water gun, we've even moved on to swatting him on the tail with DVD case (or whatever's handy and not too heavy). He pays no attention to any of it, just stays right where he's at, eating (or if we've moved him, he runs straight back to the plate).

Parrot is by no means underfed, he's got a constant supply of food and water, but he doesn't show much of an interest in his cat food (we've tried a few different brands as well). He is young, I'd say about 9-10 weeks now, but I've had kittens before and none of them have been this... desperate.

Any suggestions on this?

Charlie's hardheaded too when it comes to eating - thinks he should sample EVERYTHING you are eating

I would totally ban the kitten from the room during meal times - put him in the bathroom, bedroom and SHUT the door - ignore his crying/whining

Then after you eat, you let him out. Our guys, dog and cats get fed AFTER we eat dinner. Unless we are going out to eat, they get fed later. Usually they will then get a little extra treat in with their food

Originally Posted by GoldenKitty45

I would totally ban the kitten from the room during meal times - put him in the bathroom, bedroom and SHUT the door - ignore his crying/whining

Click to expand...

I had to do that to one of my cats and it did work eventually. I would also put her in the bathroom and close the dor while I fixed her food because she would get so excited that she would climb up you.

Once I got her changed over to a higher quality cat food though she got to where she wouldn't eat anything but cat food. Funny cat.

That's weird - Charlie eats premium food and still wants to help you out