I can't eat in Peace!!!

My 1 year old cat April had 7 kittens 8 weeks ago. I don't know if that's relevant but it's true. She started about 3 weeks ago on my food. Every time anyone in the house eats (no matter what we eat) she is trying to get our food. She jumps on the tables and will eat right off the plate unless you put her down first. She will come back again and again and again etc. There is always food in her bowl, so I know it's not that she's starving. I have to lock her up every time anyone in the house has a meal or snack! I feel awful about it, but mealtime has become a major argument between my husband and I as he is majorly annoyed by her trying to eat his food.

What can I do to get her to leave our food alone? I'm also worried that her kittens will start doing this using her as an example since they are now starting to jump and climb on furniture. Please help me bring peace to mealtime at my home!

I have the same problem, I can't eat anything that they aren't all trying to get in my lap, my plate doesn't matter. I guess you can maybe try and put her in a room with a treat when it's time for the family to eat, Good luck

We were having a bit of trouble that way with Bijou. We fixed it by cutting up into small pieces a bit of the meat we were eating and carrying him over to it where we placed it away from the table. We had to remove him a number of times from the table but would always steer him to his own plate on the floor. It took some patience but he stopped getting up on the table when we are eating and waits for his own plate to be put down for him.

Also, you could try supplementing her food with a little bit of boiled chicken or fish to give her a little extra caloric and nutritional "oomph". If she's still nursing most vets reccomend you give her kitten food because it is higher in calories. Our Emma used to be a bit of a beggar but we used a similar technique as Yosemite to get her to learn that the table is for two legged folks only!
Good luck!

I always give Rosie and Sophie some wet food when i'm sitting down to eat, then normally they've finished first but straight after they give themselves a wash so i can eat no problem.

Rosie, 9 times out of 10 sits on my lap when i have my toast in the morning but just sits patiently giving me headbutts, but theres a reason for her doing this and thats because she gets a couple of treats right after i've finished

I've tried giving April treats. I've also tried giving her a little of my food on the floor, but when she's finished eating it she immediately gets up on the table in my plate. I give April and my kittens 2 cans of wet kitten food a day and often when I do this she will growl at the kittens who're trying to get some. She has also been found in my garbage can several times lately. Is it possible that she's hungry all of the time even though she is on kitten food and it's available to her 24/7 because she's still nursing her 7 kittens regularly at 6 and a half weeks?

I read about a training tequnique with a water bottle. Basically it says to squirt her indirectly with water when she is doing something undersirable until she stops doing it. I am now trying that. We'll see how it goes.

I had to do the water bottle thing with my kitten. He is so determined to eat off my plate no matter how many times I put him on the floor or tell him no. So I keep the water bottle at the table with me and I had to squirt him a few times. He seems to be getting the message. Now when he puts his front paws on the table all I have to say is no and he backs off. He is not so aggressive about getting on the table. He is a willfull one!!

Originally Posted by tourmaline

I had to do the water bottle thing with my kitten. He is so determined to eat off my plate no matter how many times I put him on the floor or tell him no. So I keep the water bottle at the table with me and I had to squirt him a few times. He seems to be getting the message. Now when he puts his front paws on the table all I have to say is no and he backs off. He is not so aggressive about getting on the table. He is a willfull one!!

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my kitten loves to be sprayed with the water! LOL I've never seen a kitten LIKE water but this one does! She jumps in the shower with me!

The water method worked for all of 3 days. It doesn't bother her anymore now, and I'm back to square one. Any more suggestions? DO you think it's due to hunger? Will it get better when the kittens are gone and she has her food all to herself again?

A friend of mine told me that kittens get worms from eating human food, is this true? I'm not a heathy eater and i dont eat meat soo i cant figure out why my kitten wants to smaple my food. Shes almost 6 months so i guess shes not THAT much of a kitten. but still...it annoys me and im also afraid for her heath

Originally Posted by flowerchild

A friend of mine told me that kittens get worms from eating human food, is this true? I'm not a heathy eater and i dont eat meat soo i cant figure out why my kitten wants to smaple my food. Shes almost 6 months so i guess shes not THAT much of a kitten. but still...it annoys me and im also afraid for her heath

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your friend is incorrect. Kittens do not get worms from eating human food unless the food is rancid and full of bugs. But it is better for your kitten's health if you keep her on a quality kitten food and not let her sample human food because a lot of it is unhealthy for her in other ways even toxic.

Is she getting as much attention as the kittens? How long have you had her before she had the kittens? I think it's a possibility that, if she actually likes her food, and eats it, that she's not hungry, but attention-seeking.

the kittens nare definately getting a lot of attention, but April was never a lap cat. She very rarely wants to be held although she does enjoy being petted.

Have you tried other foods? You know how finicky cats are - maybe she hates her food? Oh, you know what they LOVE? Gerber meat baby food - maybe you could do like Yosemite did with Bijou and feed her a little baby food when you eat to distract her. My cat also likes the kitten milk replacement.

I'll bet it's a little of both. My cat had 8 kittens, and I think she felt a little passed over for a while.

Well, I decided that I would start giving her a little milk replacement mixed with a little kitten food. I put the bowl up on my desk where the kittens can't get it and showed it to April. She loves it! When she gets up there to eat/drink it I pet her a little, and so far she hasn't been back to the garbage or trying to steal our food! I think she's just starving for nutrients due to sharing her food with her 7 kittens. Also she's still nursing on a very regular basis. I've posted about this several times and still no answer so I'll ask again: is it ok for her to still be nursing regularly at 7 and a half weeks? Will the kittens be ok when they leave if they still haven't stopped nursing?

Well, my cat had 8 kittens, and they were definitely nursing regularly at 7 1/2 weeks. It's pretty hard on the mother, and my cat definitely had her resources tapped. She got really sick when the kittens were about 11 weeks old. So make sure she gets lots of quality nutritional food.

You won't want to let them go until about 12 weeks, and by then they should be eating kitten food, and if nursing, mostly for comfort. That said, before I "knew better," several years ago we got a kitten at 6 weeks and she did fine on kitten food. But what she wasn't fine on was her manners. She attacked hands and feet and had a couple of litterbox issues. This is why they need to stay with mom for 12 weeks or so, not just the nutritional issue.

Originally Posted by Robyn_Fresh

My 1 year old cat April had 7 kittens 8 weeks ago. I don't know if that's relevant but it's true. She started about 3 weeks ago on my food. Every time anyone in the house eats (no matter what we eat) she is trying to get our food. She jumps on the tables and will eat right off the plate unless you put her down first. She will come back again and again and again etc. There is always food in her bowl, so I know it's not that she's starving. I have to lock her up every time anyone in the house has a meal or snack! I feel awful about it, but mealtime has become a major argument between my husband and I as he is majorly annoyed by her trying to eat his food.

What can I do to get her to leave our food alone? I'm also worried that her kittens will start doing this using her as an example since they are now starting to jump and climb on furniture. Please help me bring peace to mealtime at my home!

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Dear Robin,
My one year old Jack, is also GREEDY! Shortly after I got him, I made a pb&j sandwich, put it down to answer the phone and found my sandwich on the floor and Jack with peanut butter and strawberry jam on his face! I couldn't get mad at him because he gave me the sweetest "meow". However, now he wants to check out what I've got at breakfast and dinner. He's gone so far as to put his paw in my (or my daughter's) plate, taste it from his paw and deecide whether he likes or not. He loves my pot roast,fried chicken, and Long John Silver's Batter-fried fish and chicken. I have also found meat packages I have taken from the freezer to defrost for dinner in the bathtub and in his "secret forbidden toy stash". I haven't solved that problem yet. However, at meal time I put Jack on the porch to get some morning or evening sun, depending on the time of day. When I'm finished, I let him in. As for the kitten's behavior, if they look like they want to jump on furniture, spray them directly in the face with a water gun or thoroughly clean an old spray bottle and fill it with water. Cat's hate that and it's a good house training tool. Good luck

is it better for the kittens even if mom isn't very well behaved herself? How is her added help in teaching them behavior going to help if she's not well bahaved?

I think it's more cat behavior, rather than people behavior. Like you might not notice it, but she teaches about the litter box, and my cat spent a lot of time disciplining them while they were playing, and some of this training (I've heard) also has to do with catching prey and other "cat stuff."

I'm by no means an expert - my cat started doing this kind of disciplining at about 8 or 10 weeks. She'd really go after them, and you really couldn't tell what they were doing wrong, but I think they were playing too rough with each other!

Originally Posted by renee44

Dear Robin,
. As for the kitten's behavior, if they look like they want to jump on furniture, spray them directly in the face with a water gun or thoroughly clean an old spray bottle and fill it with water. Cat's hate that and it's a good house training tool. Good luck

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Please DO NOT spray your cat with water directly in the face. If you get water in the cat's ear you are looking at some major problems, and some heavy vet bills. If you have to use water, use it and spray it away from the cat- into a potted plant or a corner so that the cat will think prey is around and go for that instead of doing what you don't want them to do- but NEVER spray a cat or a kitten directly in the face-