Staring at me while I eat

This one's driving me bizarre. The cats know they can't have my food, but they will sit in a ring around me and just stare at me eating. I have an eating disorder, so it isn't easy for me to eat, anyway,and this drives me nuts.

I can't put them out of the room because they will of course have to get in the minute I close the door. I do pick them up and put them in another room and say No, but they come right back. They aren't hungry; I feed them just before I eat.

Any ideas? (I have stopped eating tuna fish altogether, lol).

I have a big comfy chair I like to sit in while I eat, because I can have a cat curled up in my lap and one behind me, not interfering with my food, as I eat. So maybe you can come with a way you could be social with them that comforts you, instead of intimidating you, as you eat.

I don't think you want them to ignore you all of the time, so I don't think you really want to change their behavior; just the effect of their behavior on your appetite. Do they sit around you in a circle when you aren't eating, as well?

One or two of mine does that, what works for me is I put something I know for sure they would never like, on my plate, they see me take it off the plate and I put a piece of it by their nose, so they think I'm eating that and go away. If they come back I do it again. Good luck.

Punkin used to always come in when we were eating. There is NO human food he likes, so all we had to do was put a piece of whatever we were eating on the floor, he smelled it, and then he went away.

You could try feeding them their wet food (if they get wet food) just seconds before you eat. That should give you atleast a few minutes of peace to eat.

heh my two cats do the same thing!

except they just jump on the table and walk over to my plate and help themselves to anything that looks good. if there isn't anything they want to eat then they sit on the table and stare at me. I think they just like the company and maybe they figure that since I watch them when they eat (to make sure my tiny little tilly gets food) that they should watch me too!

OR maybe its a friendly thing ya know family meal time!

in any case when they get really annoying I usually shoo them away or just ignore them.

What is a REAL problem for me is my morning coffee. Moo is obsessed with coffee he comes running when he hears the bean grinder and the MINUTE I pour it into the cup and set it on the table he has his head in the mug just smelling it. He never drinks it (most likely because its too hot) but he will sit by the mug smelling it. Its really funny.

Mary is my only cat that does it. But it is my fault because I share my steaks and chicken with her. Sometimes when I am eating Italian food she does it. I thought by putting a piece of pasta next to me that she would be turned off but nope.
I think they are watching you because they find it entertaining. Since they are not interested in eating then you must be the main attraction.
I would put them away while you eat because I think they are just too fascinated to quit.

Originally Posted by Siggav

You could try feeding them their wet food (if they get wet food) just seconds before you eat. That should give you atleast a few minutes of peace to eat.

Click to expand...

Shoot that doesn't work with Popsie. If I give him food and then start cooking something or eating something, he completely abandons his food in hopes of getting what I have.

Sometimes when I want them to leave me alone, I will throw one of their favorite toys on a hard floor surface so it makes noise and then they go running for it. Usually they'll just come right back, but maybe if you have a stack full of toys that would give you more time

And try to remember, they're animals and they aren't judging you or anything. They're probably just interested by the smell or the movement of the food from the plate to your mouth or something lol

I just give in and give my cat a little sliver of food and you know what he likes it or not but then I don't mind because he is like one of the family...but at least he knows somehow when I am going to the bathroom (too much info? sorry) to leave me alone! Lol

Mine don't mind if they hate what I'm eating. I guess they just want to sit on the table and stare at me.

The toilet, oh, yes. Two of mine will rush me and sit on it, just looking at me. And if I want to a shower - watch out, they will jump into the bathtub and sit looking at me with that innocent cat look, as if they want to tell me that they were there first. They just have to know I'm going to shower and it's their job to give me a hard time.

Thanks for responding, everyone,

Seaturtle

My two girls hardly ever get human food and yet the one is so curious whenever I eat or drink. I found that if I give her a smell she's hapy. I think she just wants to know what it is I have. However, I do have to watch her if I have pizza or spaghetti with tomato sauce, she loves it. I don't let her have more than a taste.