How are we going to do this..?

Ok I know this is our fault but when Sleeves was really young we let him be around us while we ate, Mark even gave him meat from his plate.
Now he is very strong, almost a year old and making meal times hellish.
I don't eat meat so he's not as interested in what I have but Mark spends most of his meal, standing up with his plate so that he can actually eat.
Sleeves will climb all over him and actually grab at things and pull them off the plate onto my CREAM carpet. Obviously this is bad behaviour and I take full responsibilty for it but I really want to know if there is anyway of changing it now or are we too late?!
Some of the things he gets a hold of cannot be good for his tummy either. We spend mealtimes pushing him off the table, lap, sofa etc etc. We don't have a dining table to usually eat off our laps or the coffee table. He's allowed on there normally so how the heck is he supposed to know not to go up when we are eating?

They normally say the parents teach their kids bad habits

Rosie sits by my side while i have my breakfast and usually puts her paw on my face and makes little chirrup noises. She does this because she knows she gets a couple of treats once i've finished and not before no matter how much she looks cute

Other times such as having a proper meal i always make sure they have a little bit wet food to eat, even if it's only a teaspoon!, but i always give them it just before i eat

Tried feeding them but Sleeves just wolfs it down in minutes. Im going to worm them this weekend because he's recently got considerably worse with food and just about chokes he eats so fast. You would think he is never fed.
He just doesn't let up. I love him though

Sophies terrible for gulping her wet food down as well, and sometimes she gives what i can only describe as a burp?, but really i think she's nearly sick, so this is why i only give them a litte wet food at a time because she goes for Rosies as well before she's even finished hers

Originally Posted by rosiemac

Sophies terrible for gulping her wet food down as well, and sometimes she gives what i can only describe as a burp?, but really i think she's nearly sick, so this is why i only give them a litte wet food at a time because she goes for Rosies as well before she's even finished hers

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Sophie and Sleeves must be related. No wonder Nismo is so small.

Monty has the same problem. It used to be really bad. Everytime we would pick him up off of the table we would put him on the floor, and as we were picking him up he would wave his paws around in the vicinity of the food and try to take something down with him. It is hard to train him because we are not fast enough sometimes so he actually has some successes with this misbehavior. We don't give him our food while we are eating it, or let them eat on the table. It's actually getting a little better. Just picking him up and putting him on the floor every time is starting to annoy him perhaps and he is quicker to give up.

Originally Posted by furbum

Everytime we would pick him up off of the table we would put him on the floor, and as we were picking him up he would wave his paws around in the vicinity of the food and try to take something down with him.

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I'm sorry but thats creased me up!

Originally Posted by furbum

Monty has the same problem. It used to be really bad. Everytime we would pick him up off of the table we would put him on the floor, and as we were picking him up he would wave his paws around in the vicinity of the food and try to take something down with him. It is hard to train him because we are not fast enough sometimes so he actually has some successes with this misbehavior. We don't give him our food while we are eating it, or let them eat on the table. It's actually getting a little better. Just picking him up and putting him on the floor every time is starting to annoy him perhaps and he is quicker to give up.

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This is exactly what Sleeves does. So persistance might work?

Wow, I really wish I had some suggestions for you!! I guess Oliver's got really good manners - his kitty mom must have taught him well! He's always around when I eat (and I'm in college so I'm usually eating on the floor or at my desk, haha... he's not allowed on the kitchen table, but does have his own chair) and he will ALWAYS check out my plate. If something interests him, he will put his paw on the edge of my plate. If it's something he could have (spice-less beef or chicken, etc) I will offer him a small bit... he'll often bat it around and "kill" it for awhile and then snack on it... now drinks are a different story: no one can take the first sip when Ollie sees a glass without him checking it out first... if it's milk or water, he'll help himself to some - I and my parents don't mind... my recent ex did mind and would just shoo him - then he'd run to mommy as if to tattle on my ex, lol

I really wish you good luck fixing this and hope someone here can offer training advice!

I generally eat with three cats around me attempting to everything that's on it's way into my mouth!

Tibby also does the flailing paws to grab things!

If it's not appropriate for them to do that, I vigorously play with them and give them some food before I settle to eat! They will be tired and full, so generally go to clean themselves and go to sleep!

Otherwise, you can continue trying to pick Sleeves from the table and put him on the floor, as this has worked with a few things like my kitties being on the (tiny) coffee table!

Couldn't you just put him in a bedroom while you eat

I am laughing hysterically over this thread. I've been reading things to hubby. We have the same problem with Swanie, have spent many evenings standing at the kitchen counter with our plates. If I sit there in the morning with a bowl of cereal, I can be sure I'll have his head in it pretty soon.

Yes, we created the problem (or rather, hubby did), oh isn't he cute, I'll just give him a little bit of this turkey.

We are gradually teaching him that he isn't going to get anything from us, but yes he's still trying (and I think succeeding when I'm not here, hubby is a real pushover).

Good luck!

Lilly does the same thing, and after removing her from the table a couple times during a meal, I put her in her carrier until we're done eating. She really likes her carrier (it sits out all the time, and she'll hop in on her own for a nap sometimes), so she doesn't mind being in there... and we can finish our meal without any feline "help"!

I hate to say it, but I have resorted to the dreaded water spray bottle. Really hacks them off really fast if it is something they have to stop NOW, and works especially well if they don't see it, they just say "what the heck was that, and why does it do it everytime I (fill in the blank)?" (For us, it was sharpening claws on the screens). If you're desperate, might work, but I would try the constant putting him down on the floor first, or removing him while you're eating, or just when he starts the bad manners, remove him. I have a cat that this works with, and now I just have to put her down once or twice because I finally won the first few,and she has actually decided I mean it!

The funny thing is, Nismo isn't bothered at all. I think she must be watching her figure It's just Sleeves the eating machine. Last night he was taking peas and brocolli from marks plate, which he obviously didn't even eat, it just ended up on the floor.
He just went and shut them both out so that he could eat. We had to listen to them scratching at the door. It is easy to shut them out but I don't feel we should have to. I think we should be able to train him so that he knows he is not allowed to do certain things. I don't like shutting them away, they don't understand it either.