[sharkysmommy]

HI guys! this is another one about the adorable but FOOD LOVING sharky cat..
So i've been reading up about food aggressiveness....and I see a lot of things about cats being territorial, angry or growling if people get near their food. THis is not the case with Sharky so I don't know what to call it...exactly and I want to know if your cats do this....

What he does is literally MUGS us for food...for example, i'm sitting on the couch, eating a sandwhich.....sharky will jump on the couch and crawl up on me and start eating the sandwhich from the OTHER end....or if my husband is eating cereal, sharky will balance himself on my husband's arm and start drinking from the bowl WHILE myhusband is eating the cereal or even trying to eat from the spoon itself as it's going into his mouth....he's done this since we adopted him (note; he was found outside starving and hungry in upstate NY eating twigs and sticks....so was acpparently witout food for some time...)

he's notmean about food, you can take food away from him and he won't care...he just gets overly excited about it.....he'll even use his paws to guide YOUR spoon to HIS mouth....

i want to know, is this "normal" do you guys have this issue with your kitties? do they bug you like this?

we have to blow on him to get him to stop... or say "NO" in a loud voice and then he understands....

he has his own cat food and plenty of water so he is by no means hungry...

would love to hear your thoughts, stories, anecdotes and what your kitties do!! thank you!

 

[Jacq]

I have no idea, Io's never been really needy or begging for people food. But then again, we don't give her our own food when we're eating it, so I don't think she knows its food.

Hopefully someone else will be more helpful for you.

 

[rightsaidfed]

My kitten did this from when I first got him. I think it was especially confusing because we usually eat in the living room on the couch/coffee table which are both places he's allowed to be at other times.

I wasn't going to fight the losing battle of keeping him off the couch and coffee table so I set about to teaching him that mommy's food is off limits.

You have to be very careful about feeding him only in his bowl. I even put treats in the bowl. This way he isn't used to eating off your plate and doesn't get confused.

Beyond that, it was a lot of trial and error. He still jumps on my lap when I sit on the couch with a plate of food, but I only have to push him away once and he seems to get the picture now.

How old is your cat? how long have you had him? If he was truly a stray maybe people eating outside would throw him scraps and he's used to that. If this behavior was positively reinforced in the past, it might take longer to break him of it.

 

[nicichan]

I have to put my cat in the hallway every time we have anything to eat, otherwise she will not leave us alone. I don't want my cat eating off my plate, especially not while I'm still eating, and I alway tried to keep her away.. She doesn't get it though. She just really loves to eat. If I'm just eating a quick snack and don't wanna put her outside, I usually eat it standing up now.

 

[Galathiel]

Sienna is the food inspector. My husband often sits on the couch to eat or have a bowl of cereal. She hurries to jump beside him and will paw his arm politely until he lets her see what he's eating. 99.8 percent of the time she just sits back and watches until he's through then jumps down. The other .2 percent of the time she will try to take a nibble. However, even if she doesn't WANT to eat it, she will still paw him off and on (delicately) to remind him that she might need to reinspect. She's really cute and not overbearing at all. The only extras she gets are cat treats (Pounce but usually only 2 or 3 in a week's time) and I break off a corner of the dog's biscuit (Natural Balance LID biscuits) so she gets a tiny morsel of the dry biscuit.

 

[jusjim]

I have no idea, Io's never been really needy or begging for people food. But then again, we don't give her our own food when we're eating it, so I don't think she knows its food.

I think she knows you eat, but also knows it's useless to ask for some. She can smell it. Cats, just like kids (little ones and those all growed up too), can learn bad habits.

 

[jusjim]

What he does is literally MUGS us for food...for example, i'm sitting on the couch, eating a sandwhich.....sharky will jump on the couch and crawl up on me and start eating the sandwhich from the OTHER end....or if my husband is eating cereal, sharky will balance himself on my husband's arm and start drinking from the bowl WHILE myhusband is eating the cereal or even trying to eat from the spoon itself as it's going into his mouth....he's done this since we adopted him (note; he was found outside starving and hungry in upstate NY eating twigs and sticks....so was acpparently witout food for some time...)


i want to know, is this "normal" do you guys have this issue with your kitties? do they bug you like this?

My suggestion is that he learned things while he was starving. Perhaps strangers would give him bits of food. I suspect he will always remember the starving days. It will take time, but you should probably try to break his bad habit. A soon as he tries it, you should shut him away while saying no.. It probably won't help if you shut him away before you start. He needs to associate it with his own actions.

This is just a thought off the top of my head. Others may disagree.

Is it normal? It is for your cat. :catsm

 

[sharkysmommy]

Thanks for your helpful tips!! our other cat (who never was outside and always had enough to eat is so finnicky and couldn't care less what we eat. she just eats cat food. that's it. and thank you for sharing your stories....appreciate that!!! my cat is a very loving, wonderful and needy cat...it's funny how cats like kids can be so different...

 

[Jacq]

I think she knows you eat, but also knows it's useless to ask for some. She can smell it. Cats, just like kids (little ones and those all growed up too), can learn bad habits.

I think you might be right.

I asked Andrew and he said he gave her some jalapeno once right after we got her. She was not impressed.

So she probably thinks anything we eat is horrible poison.