Cat's weird obsession with human food

I was used to some of this from my old cat, but usually he would just want to smell it & walk away.  This one is a little bizarre.

So of my 2 cats - the picky eater (who turns down blue buffalo and other high end foods) - actually started licking a roasted brussel sprouts on my table, and then - grabbed it between his teeth and took it under the coffee table to finish it!  I thought he lost his mind (and I don't know if brussel sprouts are even remotely safe) so I took it away from him.  But, this is not the first time.  He was licking mayo off of a sandwich wrapper (though he literally has a buffet of dry and wet food).  He jumps on my kitchen counters and I catch him licking god knows what.  He licked a takeout order with sauce from Chicken vesuvio (garlic and butter, basically).  

I don't know if this is safe, but it's also really annoying.  I'm not sure if something is wrong with him nutritionally or if he can be "trained" some how to stop.  I got him at 8 months (per the shelter, though I forgot to ask my vet the estimate).  I think he looks older due to his size.  His former owners surrendered him due to allergies, and I suspect they gave him their own table food constantly.  In my experience, cats have limited interest in prepared food for humans (like brussel sprouts and mayo) but would eat chicken and turkey... though this guy is crazy about human food and not cat food.  He will reluctantly eat it after stalking my dinner plate.

Anyway, I am new and scrolled through a bunch of things and used the search but sorry in advance if this question (and my other one) were asked before.   I didn't find much, but I figured different people have different ideas anyway even if it was answered in the past.  Thanks!

In terms of if this is safe, it's not really 'healthy' (since cats are obligate carnivores and so really anything but meat is not in reality going to do anything for them and may give them diarrhea or stomach upset) but most of the time   I wouldn't go so far to say that it's actually unsafe in the sense that it's likely to harm the cat long term. HOWEVER, there are exceptions to this, since certain foods can be extremely harmful or even poisonous to cats. These articles should help you identify most foods that are likely to be a serious problem, but because foods can be so dangerous to cats, it's really better if you can try to minimize his behavior as much as possible.

http://www.thecatsite.com/a/common-foods-that-are-harmful-to-cats

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/174854/101-things-that-can-harm-your-cat

In terms of if this is weird, in my opinion no not really. It is a bit strange that he'd be so picky about the cat food and not at all about human food, but many cats are 'into' human food and some cats are extremely food motivated and are willing to go to great lengths to try to get it.

Regarding what to do about it, the simplest and most effective advice I can probably give you is that if your living space has doors, make use of them. Close them on the cat when you eat so he just flat out doesn't have the opportunity to try to get to the food.  Also make use of trash cans with secure lids, and never leave food just laying around. Quite simply, you are going to have to be vigilant. Using these techniques it more likely to work than trying to train the cat not to want something he identifies as food, and also would be a whole lot easier and less aggravating. 

If you do feel training the cat is your only option, see this article for some tips on that.

http://www.thecatsite.com/a/cats-and-discipline-dont-mix

Originally Posted by JenLeeds  

this guy is crazy about human food and not cat food.  He will reluctantly eat it after stalking my dinner plate.

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From what you describe, it doesn't sound like kitty likes the cat food being offered to him.  Have you considered possibly changing kitty's food or maybe adding a meat only topper / treat (e.g., Whole Life, Pure Bites, Origin) mixed in or on top of the food you are currently feeding?

The more nutrient dense a food is (high meat content for obligate carnivores), the greater the likelihood that the cat will feel sated and less inclined to go after the food on your plate.

I have a cat with a similar problem as yours - wanting our human foods despite her nutrient dense diet, however, she has malabsorption due to IBD and is always hungry.  B12, per our vet, will help with this issue.

Good luck.

Are you feeding your cat enough calories daily to keep his tummy happy? Hungry cats will seek out food to eat, even if that food happens to be your dinner.

Garlic and onions and many other people foods are harmful to cats so please be aware of what your cat is eating. Here is a list of things to avoid feeding to your cat: https://www.aspca.org/pet-care/animal-poison-control/people-foods-avoid-feeding-your-pets

JenLeeds said:

. though this guy is crazy about human food and not cat food.  He will reluctantly eat it after stalking my dinner plate.

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Maybe your cat would do better on a raw or home cooked diet than on regular commerical dry and canned cat food. Have you considered that?

Maybe try some regular cat food that looks more like people food? Things in slices and shreds and minces. Weruva is a good brand that looks good enough for a person to eat

Hi - Thanks so much for the replies.

I noticed that when I gave him Iams white meat chicken breast (the grain free one) - the finished that 100%. I think I am noticing he hates pates and likes more "realistic" food like you mentioned.   I have two here (4 and 8 mos) - and they also both agree on royal canin kitten instinctive as well which looks like slices.  He wouldn't eat fancy feast slices, though.  The 4 month old is much less picky about everything, and he's not interested in what I am eating.  I am going to really try to avoid the pates and pay attention to "flaked" or shreds (etc).  

He's always had plenty of calories.  Since I got him from the shelter recently, I have let him still free feed (and he eats dry food fine) - but ideally he will be on (under) 50% calories from dry and then the rest wet, and possibly lower dry depending on schedule/budget.   I think he's eating more calories per day than he should right now...but the two play so much that he might be under the limit still.  (It's like a kitty racetrack / jungle gym / wrestling forum in here).   

I took the chicken vesuvio and brussel sprout right away just because I didn't know if it was harmful or not.  That list is helpful.  Thank you. I have sort of taken on the "everything is bad that isn't for cats" approach for now.  

I considered home cooked a while ago, but I am not sure I have enough time to do it.  I can read about it more, but I barely am that much of a cook for myself.  

I could eat and put him in another room, but the kitchen is open without doors, and he loves roaming round there (on the counters... I forgot the benefit of my old cat who was too fat to jump up there).  I think he smells food residue, even when I clean it...it's hard to avoid - he was licking my forks and knives because i left them near the sink and forgot to put them straight in the DW. 

The topper is a good idea.  He wouldn't eat one kind of soft food, and I was getting annoyed - so I put forti-flora on there.  I got concerned he might only eat with fortiflora, so I just did that twice.  It worked pretty well both times.  I got this idea off a website that talked about transitioning cats from dry to wet (she also recommended Parmesan cheese, but I don't want to give him cheese really). I can buy the other ones the next time I am out at a pet store. 

Oh P.S.  I haven't seen Weruva, but there was a merrick can (thanksgiving I think?) that I literally wanted to eat.  It looked even better than cambell's chicken soup!

Here's the web site for Weruva: http://www.weruva.com There are 4 different canned cat food lines. The BFF one is mostly seafood based so don't feed that too often. Too much seafood is not good for cats. You'll find Weruva at independent pet stores and various online shopping sites like Amazon and Chewy.com. The company also makes Soulstic which is sold only at Petco stoers and Petco.com and DrsFosterandSmith.com

Tiki Cat is another similar brand with slices and chunks of meat. The original line is mostly seafood based but the Gourmet Carnivore line is mostly meat based. You'll find this brand at independent pet stores as well.

Here's info about home cooked diets: http://www.thecatsite.com/t/264153/home-cooked-cat-food-resources A really easy way to make home cooked diet is to use the U Stew pre-mix with cooked ground or chopped meat. It looks like you need to add raw eggs as well now. The web site has more detailed instructions on how to prepare the food.

@LTS3's suggestions are great: our cats love Weruva (the chicken-based Cats in the Kitchen cans) and Tiki (also chicken-based).