Seriously. Its MY food!

meowers

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I love my cats very very much, but there is a line that has been crossed.

Holly cannot stay out of my food! It is beyond curiosity. if I turn my back for a second, she is licking my yogurt. Answer the phone and she is eating your dinner. Tonight she was the worst. She tried to eat my cheese and crackers, and I reached out to put her down off the table. She went crazy and splayed out her legs and knocked my full glass of (of course) red wine all over the floor! I was furious and yelled at her. Of course I know that is bad, and a very rare occurrence indeed, but seriously.

My plan is to have me and SO not feed her any human food, not allow her on living room table, and feed treats on the floor only. What else can I do?
 

missymotus

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I never leave food or drinks unattended around here.

They know not to come on the counter or table when I'm eating, but I keep an eye on them at all times.
 

rosiemac

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Originally Posted by Meowers

I was furious and yelled at her. Of course I know that is bad, and a very rare occurrence indeed, but seriously.
Yelling doesn't get anyone anywhere no matter how rare it's done.
Originally Posted by Meowers

My plan is to have me and SO not feed her any human food, not allow her on living room table
If you've been letting her do this for a while along with feeding her human food then she's only doing what she's used to.

The only thing i can advise is feeding them just before you have yours because this works for me.
 
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meowers

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It's just that Kitty has spoiled me. She does'nt even like human food, so I keep forgetting that Holly loves it so much. Maybe she will outgrow it? Yeah
 

junior_j

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In the same situation over here. The second we have food all four kittens will be on the sofa waiting.. and if you ignore them (Which we do) they will literally sit on your plate and start to eat your food , on two occasions Jackson has stole my corn on the cob , and i have video fottage some where of him being aggresive with it , too the point i was worried about getting it off him

The only think i recommend is to have them out the room when you eat but that can only really be a temp sitatuon , cos u may grab a snack in the kitchen , eat meals in the dinning room ect ..so..

Also i recommend feeding them before you.. but even if its with snacks like cracker and cheese then i dont know what else to do , we change the ton e of our voice and say to them firmly , not your good leave me alone and they tend to walk or stare at you like 'yeah and give me some' lol little stinkers
 

goldenkitty45

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Holly's the Oci, right?
Oci's are one of the smartest breeds. Charlie loves to sample most anything you are eating. If she cannot learn manners (Charlie will sit patiently on the chair or next for a hand out but do NOT turn your back or leave your plate cause he will sample)..............then she will have to be put in another room while you guys are eating.

You might try feeding her first, but that doesn't guarantee she will not want a sample of what you are eating
 

cococat

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Originally Posted by Meowers

My plan is to have me and SO not feed her any human food, not allow her on living room table, and feed treats on the floor only. What else can I do?
Good plan. Stop feeding her, i.e. encouraging that behavior you no longer want. Add to that list never leave food unattended. I know a lot of people don't agree but I would get a water bottle and keep it by my food for manners teaching. Watch out for her ears/face. Cats are not dogs, they can't be trained so easily as most just don't care anyway what you think and don't care for rules. They are looking out for their own best interests and pleasures, despite whatever ideas you may have.
I feel like you can't get mad at your cat if you have been feeding her. She is the pet after all. What makes this time so different than the others ya know? And being a cat person you know that getting mad at a cat is useless anyway
 

GoldyCat

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She never said she had been feeding the cats people food. All I saw was that this was a new behavior that had gotten out of hand.

Meowers, you may have to shut Holly in another room while you're preparing and eating your own food. After she gets used to this, start letting her out for short periods to see what happens. The moment she tries to get at your food, she goes back into lockup.

Yelling, squirting them with water, and tossing them halfway across the room does not work as a deterrent, at least for my cats. (Now how would I know that?)
 

siddymeowmy

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Originally Posted by GoldyCat

Yelling, squirting them with water, and tossing them halfway across the room does not work as a deterrent, at least for my cats. (Now how would I know that?)
lmao

funny.... doesn't work for mine, either
 

salsanchips

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I quickly learned not to turn my back on my food when I'm eating; my two cats will be on it in an instant, regardless of whether they've been recently fed or not.

Also applies to not leaving food out in the kitchen. I learned how to "cat proof" that area, but sometimes still forget. Like last night, left one of the cabinet doors open and awoke to a bag of instant grits chewed open and all over the counter top
Whatever, they're just being cats.

The water bottle sort of works for me, I keep one out in the kitchen at all times and if they get up on the counter, all I have to do is reach for it and they scatter. Of course, if I'm not in the room...
 

alleygirl

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I'm afraid that I let Riley get away with bad manners


He will reach up and snatch food right off your plate if you let him, because he can just reach his paw over the edge of the table
We simply don't leave food unattended.
 
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meowers

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So, glad I'm not the only one with food problems!Just to clear things up...We never let Holly (the Ocicat) eat off our plates or anything, and she rarely gets human food. The exception is maybe when we are eating plain chicken and we'll tear off a small bite and put it on the floor. All her food gets fed to her on the ground.She is just too smart and determined for her own good. It's a very small problem compared to how wonderful she is.
 

rang_27

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I honestly don't have any suggestions for help because a little over a week ago I had to chase Jordan down & take chicken (with the bones of coarse) right out of his mouth. It was a dangerous move on my part but it worked. I turned away from my plate for a second & he snached a huge piece of my chicken. If it weren't for the bones I might have let him have it, but I know chicken bones = a serious medical problem. One time a few years back he bit my lip trying to steal food right from my mouth.

Basicly what I'm saying is that I have not figured out how to make them leave my food alone.
 

usameisje

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Keep her in a separate room when you are eating or have food out. That is really the only way to keep her from getting at it.

My parents adopted a stray kitten that had survived on fast food dumpster burgers. It took about a year of shutting him in a separate room while we ate before he got over the desperate need to steal human food. Of course he was with cat food, water and litter while he was in the other room.

He is 18 now and hasn't stolen food in about 17 years. Very sweet loving kitty and I don't think keeping him in the separate room for our meals hurt his kitty psyche at all
 
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