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Monet bit me!

post #1 of 10
9/28/11 at 4:21pm
Thread Starter 
Monet bit me for the first time. granted, not hard at all, but enough to give me a warning. I refused to give him a strip of roasted bell pepper. He climbed on my lap and started pawing at my dish. I moved to get him on the ground and he bit me! He tried again, and he started to bite me when I tried to put him down again, but decided last minute against it.

I don't like to give my cats 'people food'.. not just because it's usually bad for them, but because of bad manners like this I'd like to prevent!

Does anyone have any suggestions on what to do for the next time? There's certain food on my plate that he just has to have and he'd paw his way for it (sure, mostly veggies and grilled fish, but I don't want him in this habit!)

thanks in advanced!
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post #2 of 10
9/28/11 at 5:11pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Draco View Post
Monet bit me for the first time. granted, not hard at all, but enough to give me a warning. I refused to give him a strip of roasted bell pepper. He climbed on my lap and started pawing at my dish. I moved to get him on the ground and he bit me! He tried again, and he started to bite me when I tried to put him down again, but decided last minute against it.

I don't like to give my cats 'people food'.. not just because it's usually bad for them, but because of bad manners like this I'd like to prevent!

Does anyone have any suggestions on what to do for the next time? There's certain food on my plate that he just has to have and he'd paw his way for it (sure, mostly veggies and grilled fish, but I don't want him in this habit!)

thanks in advanced!
With two of my cats (Loki and Shadow) the only thing you can do its NOT eat near them.

So in the case of Loki the Savannah, I put him in his cat safe room when I eat. With Shadow the DSH who "believes" she is "wild", I put her outside or go in a room and shut the door to eat. They both will steal the food right off your plate or right out of your mouth . That is not an exaggeration.

Now old Momma cat and Panda are much easier. I just let them sniff a piece of what I am eating. if they are around (sometimes Momma cat is outside). Then nine times out of ten, they do not like the little tid bit of food and just walk away. Then I release Loki and he gobbles up the scrap of food like a dog.

As far as bad manners go, two of them have food related issues NO MATTER WHAT! The other two, as long as they can "decide" if they want the food or not are fine. If I deny them the "right" to "decide" that is when they will jump on you, the table, and so on.

Just my two cents and experiences .
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post #3 of 10
9/28/11 at 6:41pm
I never approve of harming a cat, however, I do approve of scaring a cat as negative reinforcement when positive reinforcement is inappropriate.

Luckily, these two have never bit me, but generally I would stand up big and in a loud deep voice repeat "NO!" And perhaps hiss and stomp with a foot loudly on the ground. Hopefully that should address any dominant type behavior and make it clear that you are bigger and that is not acceptable behavior. Then just ignore them for a while, and later you can be all lovey dubey again to show everything is ok and you still love em.

We have very few rules in the house, but biting in an aggressive way is a definite no-no to nip in the bud.
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post #4 of 10
9/28/11 at 7:01pm
Thread Starter 
It's just rough because he never tried so hard to take food from me. Most of the time he'd accept me pushing him gently away and he'd walk away, but he really wanted the pepper!
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post #5 of 10
9/28/11 at 7:47pm
When Peanut tries to filch my food, I hiss at him. He gets the message, usually, but sometimes he comes back for round two- and then he gets a loud, firm "NO". If that fails, then his furry behind is promptly removed from whatever room I'm in.
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post #6 of 10
9/28/11 at 8:45pm
I usually start off by holding my hand, palm towards them and telling them "NO!" firmly. If they progress, I hiss, loudly and sharply. If they come back, I hiss again. Works well for me.
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post #7 of 10
9/28/11 at 8:54pm
Blue will climb my leg when we eat dinner at the table (which is not all the time). LOL Generally I end up giving in by the end of the meal.

I had no idea cats liked peppers.

And I would love to be at some of ya'lls dinner tables when you start hissing at the cat! hehe!
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post #8 of 10
9/28/11 at 9:41pm
I was never a fan of animals begging me when I eat, it drives me crazy, so when I eat, Parker and Buddy are made to leave the room. They are not even allowed to watch from a distance. Granted, they do try to sneak in once in a while but they do not sit there and beg or try to steal food from me. If I do save them a bite, they get it when I take my dish to the sink and not right off my plate where I eat.

That is where a squirt bottle comes in handy. If you see the cat coming to beg, a quick squirt of water usually discourages them immediately.
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post #9 of 10
9/28/11 at 11:54pm
I find it works to shove 'em off my lap. If I'm persistent enough, they usually give up and go and sulk. Not that I didn't find Christy with her whiskers in the can of chicken the other day, but, ya'know, living with cats does entail a certain amount of food wasted due to one's reluctance to ingest kitty slobber. :P
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post #10 of 10
12/7/11 at 2:50am

I work from home, and when I am alone with Max (my 5-month-old Burmese) he is very interested in what I am eating at the desk. I let him sniff and and look at it, but he can't touch. He seems content to just sit there and watch, and he knows that if he makes a move to eat my food that I will physically restrain him. He's learning not to even try to eat my food but he seems to like to watch (and smell) what I am eating. So, in a way he gets to enjoy it with me. I've never fed him from my plate nor do I ever intend to, so I'm trying to be consistent (plus I am keeping him on his own satisfying raw diet so it's not like he's missing out). ;)

Good forum here it seems. 

Max

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