Begging

hank_n_angel

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My not such an angel cat Angel has taken up a new habit. Begging, and no not for cat food, for human food. Every time we sit down to eat dinner she sits at the side of the table and waits for food, and if you ignore her she will mew or paw at you
She also does it when I am eating chips or icecream or something, like for example I will be laying on my bed or the couch watching TV and eating Cheetos she will be climbing all over me like trying to get to the bag or to any food that I might have in my hand.

This is sorta my fault, because one time we were eating dinner and she came up to me and was watching me, then she meowed and hit me on the arm I thought it was cute and gave her a piece of what ever we were eating and she caught on....now its not really cute, its annoying. What to do? What to do? What to do?


Well, at least she doesn't drool like of the dogs LOL
 

hissy

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Turn it into a positive and use it to train her to do tricks. Sit on the floor with a safe human food. Be certain that whatever you are using isn't toxic to her. Teach her to high-five with you, it sounds like she is halfway there. It's pretty easy, you put a small amount of say chicken baby food in the center of your palm and raise your hand like you are high fiving, she will smell the food, and lick it off. Keep your hand in the same position, and she should knock it with her paw if it doesn't produce food. You have to be very patient. When she does this immediately reward her with a tasty treat. She will understand that this is the accepted response over time and you will have a high five cat. Doing this daily with her will let her know that when you are on her level (the floor) there will be treats for her. But when you are sitting in a chair or a table, she is to be completely ignored.
 

goldenkitty45

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I know what you mean - how do you resist those faces????? You can put the cat in another room when you are eating supper. And try not to eat snacks in front of her.
 

strange_wings

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Also, if you don't want her climbing on you - don't eat on surfaces that are ok for her to be on, like the bed or couch. It just confuses her more.
 

cattiew

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my babies do that as well especially my boy. he rush whenever he smells food around. yours is beging.mine is snaching! he sometime even use his paw to "push" me away from the food
however, i stand very still and never give him anything. then now he still do that all the time but not as bad as before. since i get used to it "fighting" for food and he gets used to not having it
l

Also, if you don't want her climbing on you - don't eat on surfaces that are ok for her to be on, like the bed or couch. It just confuses her more.
that is actually IF i have a surface where he is not ok to be on!! i should have set one of those surfaces up when i first got him. but now it's tooooooo late and he would simply ignore me and plays around anywhere he can reach
 

strange_wings

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Originally Posted by Cattiew

that is actually IF i have a surface where he is not ok to be on!! i should have set one of those surfaces up when i first got him. but now it's tooooooo late and he would simply ignore me and plays around anywhere he can reach
Put your cats down when they climb on your table while you're eating and tell them "No". Keep doing it until your cat is frustrated and wanders off for something more interesting to do. Hissing or making a "pssst" noise works too.

I'm usually left alone when I eat anything no matter where I'm sitting. I've snapped at Tomas (yes, with my teeth like another animal would...
) so he knows better then to get near my food. ...I sound a bit crazy, don't I? I blame growing up with cats, I've adopting some of their behaviors instead of the other way around.
 

persi & alley

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Originally Posted by Hank_N_Angel

This is sorta my fault,
I believe if a cat is begging for human food, it is the human's fault. It is certainly true of Persi. I wish now I had never started giving him stuff that he never asked for because he will now get right up and steal stuff off of my plate while I am eating. I recognize that it is all my fault and it would be hard to stop him now or scold him.
 

alleygirl

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Riley would take the food right out of my mouth if I let him


His foster mom always gave him table scraps, so he came to us with the habit. He has learned somewhat, and no longer tries to climb into my plate, but he does sit at my feet the whole time and occasionally reaches up to try to swipe a bite off the plate.
 

tab

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shinobi was a real beggar when we first got him, he has calmed down abit now but did teach milo the joys of begging.
i must admit it doesn't really bother me, i guess they will grow out of it at some point.
 

rosiemac

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I've been really lucky with my three because none of them have really took an interest in human food?. Although Sophie has been known to take nibbles out the edge of a pizza, and if i have icecream their there like a shot for a lick of it, of course i oblige
 
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