How do I teach my cats to stop being monsters around food

[clary7]

I have 5 cats and this is a problem with all of them, but especially 4 of them. Any time there is food, they turn into little monsters. I don't mean that they get aggressive, what I mean is that they have absolutely no manners. It has become a severe problem at this point.

Just to give some backstory, when I used to feed my cats kibble, they had no bad manners around food. They just ate their food and were happy. But when I switched them to raw food and canned food this year, they have become insane. They can't get enough. No, they are not skinny or underweight. They are all vet checked and confirmed to be perfect weights. But they are OBSESSED with ALL food now. Now they want to eat every single piece of food they can see. It's horrible, and I mean it. I can't feed my dogs without all of the cats climbing the counters and jumping over each other and climbing my legs to get the dog food. I can't give my dog his medicine without the cats trying to steal it. I can't mix food into my dogs bowls without being worried that the cats will eat the dogs medications in the split second it takes me to grab spoon or another ingredient. Any time i have a bag of unopened dog food, they will chew through the bag to get to the kibble. If I don't put a heavy object over the trash or dog food bin, they will figure out a way to get in. I can't even prepare their own meals without them climbing all over the counters and stealing the food. It's not too hard when its only one of them because I can just push them off, but it's a bad problem because of how many of them there are and that they are all doing this at the same time. If I push one cat away, another will jump up instead. And the more I push them, the more irritated they get with each other instead and resort to fighting each other while waiting instead. Due to current living arrangements, I cannot put them in a separate room while preparing their food or the dogs food. And even if I could, I can't put them all in a different room every time I need to carry a piece of food. I give my dog medicine x3 a day and I can't lock all my cats away every time I need to take out a treat for my dog. It's ridiculous. They are never satisfied. They follow me when I feed the chickens and do everything they can to steal the chicken food too. I have seen them catch squirrels and eat them whole in one sitting then walk around with a giant protruding belly and beg for more food. They will sometimes abandon their own food to try to eat the dogs food. They are all vet checked and healthy though, they aren't all acting like this due to any health issues.

However, this is only half of the problem... The second half is that they claw at my hands every time they think I have food. I started giving them treats throughout the day because it encourages them to stay around and not wander, and it definitely works. They won't leave me at all anymore, which i love actually because I love having them around, however now every time they think I have food, they claw at my hands. I dont mean that they chew on my hand, I mean that they reach out in a split second and grab my hand with their claws to bring it closer, as if its prey they are trying to quickly catch. Imagine the way they claw a toy when you dangle it in front of their face. That's what theyre doing with my hand, and they do it very quickly. When I DO have a treat, they claw at it. When I DON'T have treats, they claw at it if they think I have a treat. I could be moving my hand to grab a spoon and they will claw at my hand because they think I'm giving them food. I could be placing their food bowl onto the ground to eat and they will claw at my hand to get the bowl faster. They all do this, and I know it's my own fault because I started giving them treats, but now i have to fix this. I try waiting for them to sit patiently before giving them the treats, but they will just wait until the last possible second to claw my hand. They could be sitting nicely all the way until the treat is in their face and then when they grab it with their mouth they will simultaneously claw my hand. And the problem is they grab my hand faster than I can react. I think the main reason they do this is because they want to make sure the other cats dont get the food first so they are being possessive and trying to get it as fast as possible. So I'm gonna stop giving them any treats at all, but I don't think that will completely fix the problem. And what if I DO want to give them a treat? How do I do it now without them behaving like maniacs?

I thought that I would just have to come to terms with this until I saw a video a few days ago on social media of a guy recording his cats and dogs all peacefully respecting each others food boundaries. Nobody was going crazy and nobody was stealing anothers food. My dogs are trained to respect food boundaries, but my cats are not and I don't know how to train them to do this because most sources online just say 'you cant train a cat, just deal with it.' That's clearly not true though, if other people have been able to do it. So how do I fix these issues? I have 5 cats and it's a severe problem when all 5 of them are behaving dangerously and like maniacs around food. They are scratching my hands every day and making me bleed. I want to be able to keep giving my cats treats, but it's impossible to keep doing it if they behave so badly. Plus, one cat needs a daily treat anyways because of a medication she takes. So I can't stop the treats 100% either.

And just to clear things up, none of the scratching or insane behavior is aggression here. The only time it turns to aggression is when I start pushing them off the counters to allow me to prepare their food and they get frustrated and take it out on each other instead. But that needs to be fixed too. In the future when my living arrangements change I will be able to dedicate a room just for the dogs and I will be able to keep the cats away from the kitchen when I prepare their food, but at the moment it's not possible, so please dont suggest that I just try to figure out a way to keep them away. That's not possible. Should I just get line up a bunch of crates and force them to sit in there while making food? I would much rather prefer to train them to behave respectfully instead though. And putting them in crates also doesn't fix the 'clawing my hands' issue around treats too.

Also, I have never played with or rough housed my cats with my hands. They don't treat my hands like toys. They like being pet, they are all friendly, they love people. It's only around food that there are issues. The cats ages range between 1.5-3 years, and the issues only started happening after I starting feeding raw and canned, and after I started giving them daily treats.

So what do i do here? This is a bit of a rant post, so I apologize for that. I am just so extremely frustrated after this morning and their behavior and I am just so done with it. I need help here, I need advice or resources on how to train them. Im not expecting my cats to be super patient after putting their food bowls on the ground, but I do need them to be patient while I am preparing the food on the counter. And I need them to stop destroying my hands every time I have a piece of food in it. It's just ridiculous because I can't even train my dogs without the cats trying to eat the treats. I can't have any high value treats around my dogs because my cats will get their faces trying to steal it and thats dangers. Im just so frustrated and I need some advice on fixing these issues.

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi
No matter what the vet says, --there was a similar thread by a member not too long ago where the vet said the same thing but it turned out the owner, upon checking numerous feeding and adult cat body condition charts, was underfeeding her cat by quite a bit. There have been other similar threads.

Your cats, and not just one of them but every single one of them, are having to work way, way too hard to get more food.

I would suggest either adding a meal for them, bringing kibble back into their diets, or preferably both.

This isn't a training issue. This is a lack of appropriate quantity of calories issue.

 

[clary7]

Hi
No matter what the vet says, --there was a similar thread by a member not too long ago where the vet said the same thing but it turned out the owner, upon checking numerous feeding and adult cat body condition charts, was underfeeding her cat by quite a bit. There have been other similar threads.

Your cats, and not just one of them but every single one of them, are having to work way, way too hard to get more food.

I would suggest either adding a meal for them, bringing kibble back into their diets, or preferably both.

This isn't a training issue. This is a lack of appropriate quantity of calories issue.

Okay. I'll try adding extra food and see what happens. I would actually be so much happier if this was the solution. Feeding them extra food to solve the problem is sooo much easier than having to train them all.

A few months ago my neighbors cat started killing my quail and becoming extremely destructive on my property in the garbage bins, chicken food, and dog food. He looked like a perfectly healthy cat. When I told my neighbor she said he used to free feed in her daughters room 24/7 but her daughter had moved out and now the cat was only allowed to eat twice a day. We realized he was probably bored and hungry so she started free feeding him again and he stopped causing issues. Perhaps you're right that maybe my cats are just not getting enough calories ever since I switched their diet. During my latest vet visits I had specifically asked about the weight of my cats and they said they were perfect. But if there are other people dealing with the same situations then maybe you're right and they need more calories regardless of what the vet says. I appreciate the perspective.

 

[Furballsmom]

 

[FeebysOwner]

Maybe this body condition chart might be useful to you -

 

[Kris107]

I agree that maybe bringing back some kibble might be helpful. My cats are normally fine with their dry food but when I bring out something really tasty (chicken or tuna) they would fight someone for it. They just flip their lids for it. Perhaps can do that at least until you move and are able to put them in another room during meal prep or dog feeding time.

 

[clary7]

I am aware of what a healthy body weight looks like, but thank you anyways. This is good info for everyone to know.

I've attached a few photos of my cats below.

 

[Furballsmom]

What a handsome furry crew!

 

[clary7]

What a handsome furry crew!

Thank you! Here are two more, my calico and tabby. The calico is my most 'skinny' cat, but I think that is partly due to being pretty lanky compared to the rest. She's the one cat I know could probably gain another pound or even two, but she is the one I have least problems with surrounding food.

These aren't really the cutest pictures or anything lol but I just wanted to share pictures of their body conditions.

 

[clary7]

Okay I got some pictures of all of them from the top. Let me know if you guys think they are too skinny. To me they look fine, but I did give them an extra meal this afternoon and right now before dinner they are a looot calmer than they usually are. I’m gonna start adding an extra afternoon meal of raw food and see how they do. From what I’ve heard most cats are able to regulate their appetites just fine on raw food so I think if I just add more raw they will know if it will be enough or not. I just don’t want to add more canned or kibble because I know way too many overweight cats that don’t know when to stop eating canned/kibble.

 

[Furballsmom]

right now before dinner they are a looot calmer than they usually are. I’m gonna start adding an extra afternoon meal of raw food and see how they do.

I'm glad

The dilute calico, the dark tabby with the greenish collar, this one I pictured and possibly the second one as well, are too far to the slim side.

know way too many overweight cats that don’t know when to stop eating canned/kibble.

My angel Poppycat was a self-regulated commercial food kitty, and I got very spoiled from that attitude of his regarding food.

Mr Captain, however, not only has a carry-over issue from one of his previous people (he was found on the street by the same animal shelter three times since 2017) ... of being far too interested in a certain brand of potato chip (which he doesn't get now that he's with us), and also either from his street life or maybe just because, he really likes his food.

 

[clary7]

white/tabby pictures are all the same cat

Can I ask what is making them look too skinny? They look exactly like 4 and 5 to me on this graph. Their ribs are not visible and they don’t look like hourglass figures from the top. I’m just not sure what you guys are seeing that I’m not that would label them as underweight. The calico I can sort of agree with, I was gonna start feeding her a bit more but the vet said she was perfect so I didn’t. But the others I don’t understand why they would be labeled as underweight.

 

[clary7]

just to add, none of them are bony and all have a small layer of fat over their ribs and bones. I can understand if they are on the lower side of healthy but I don’t understand why they would be considered underweight. I’m still planning on adding an extra meal every day but I want to understand what I’m not seeing here because my cats looks exactly like 4-5, and that’s exactly what the chart considers ideal

 

[Furballsmom]

white/tabby pictures are all the same cat

lol, that's kind of funny how a photo can make critters look different, I stared at the photos for a few minutes and could have sworn the pattern on that white coat was different.

To me the white one in particular looks like a youngster who is less than a year old who isn't getting enough calories. You're right that there are cats who have a very slim/trim physique, but on the other hand, their behaviors are reflecting that they are ravenous. That extra meal will help a lot.

Hopefully they continue to relax, stop clawing at your hands and become more peaceful around food in general. If not, you may need to increase their caloric intake a bit more.

 

[clary7]

Lol yes different angles can make them look like completely different cats!

The white one is just a really small cat. She came from a family of small cats so I’m pretty sure it’s just genetics in her case.

But yes overall with this convo I agree they could probably be eating more.

The topic of weight is definitely not something I want to be ignorant about. I have to be super careful with my dog because of his health problems. In the pet community unfortunately many people refuse to acknowledge that their pets are overweight or obese, but I’ve also come across the opposite spectrum. I found two accounts in particular on social media that pretty much have skeletons for dogs. Everyone in the comments is telling them their dogs are too skinny but the owners just reply back saying that because so many pets are obese, people just aren’t used to seeing dogs that are healthy weights. That’s true unfortunately, but you also can’t go the opposite extreme and make your pet a skeleton just because you don’t want it to be fat. These people are so afraid of their pets being fat that they have turned around and starved their dogs instead and claim that it’s healthy. That’s absolutely not something I’m trying to do with my cats. So I’m glad this was pointed out because I didn’t correlate their behavior with maybe not having enough food.

Also one more thing I forgot to mention, the dark tabby just came home from a 2 days ‘adventure’ aka idk where he was. I don’t like that but once my living arrangements change he won’t be allowed to wander anymore. But anyways since he probably didn’t eat much while he was gone he looks a bit more slim than usual right now.

 

[tiggerwillow]

Are they certain they are going to regularly get fed?

Reason for asking is my Tigger was a bit like you described when she first came to me, she'd try to steal any food she could, she had come from a home with 15 or more cats, plus loads of dogs, idk what else, as a result she could not be sure she would get food every time any was available, even now she still gets worried if she thinks there's not enough food

 

[clary7]

Are they certain they are going to regularly get fed?

Reason for asking is my Tigger was a bit like you described when she first came to me, she'd try to steal any food she could, she had come from a home with 15 or more cats, plus loads of dogs, idk what else, as a result she could not be sure she would get food every time any was available, even now she still gets worried if she thinks there's not enough food

Yes, I feed them on a very strict schedule. They are very aware exactly when they will be fed. However, I think introducing treats during random times of the day is what made them more frantic, because now these are small pieces of food that they get randomly throughout the day that they are forced to share with each other. My guess is that they think the other cats are getting more than them, which is probably why they started clawing my hands and trying to get more. Like I said initially, I think they are being possessive of the treats from each other, but after the insight here it might be rooted in the fact that they are probably just really hungry in the first place. Otherwise they probably wouldn’t be so crazy when they see food in my hands.

 

[lisahe]

Are they certain they are going to regularly get fed?

Reason for asking is my Tigger was a bit like you described when she first came to me, she'd try to steal any food she could, she had come from a home with 15 or more cats, plus loads of dogs, idk what else, as a result she could not be sure she would get food every time any was available, even now she still gets worried if she thinks there's not enough food

We have two cats who came from a situation like Tigger did. One of ours isn't food-motivated at all (she's skinny) but the other is still insecure about her meals even ten years later despite being fed regularly and well. She's finally started getting a little better this year because I've started leaving out food at night (in dishes and autofeeders) for what I call mediated free feeding. That has finally started to reduce her anxiety. It's still there but it's not as bad as it used to be.

C clary7 , all of that is to say that I think you're doing the right thing by feeding more meals! If your cats are rescues/strays, it may take more time for them to start behaving better. I also have to say that it can be very difficult to gauge how much to feed a cat, even if you calculate calories! Your cats look very sweet... I hope they continue behaving better.

 

[Meowmee]

Wow, sounds like a difficult situation I am glad feeding them more seems to be helping, maybe they are just hungry.

In the past I have never had trouble with my cats being overweight, they free fed dry mostly with some canned and treats…for a long time they were indoor outdoor, and they regulated their own weight very well.
It was when I had cats being indoor only that the problem started because they’re not getting a good activity level compared to being outside.

But I also think it was more with the actual cats. My Merlin is overweight, and he started being overweight outside. He was part of my outdoor colony, and he was being overfed, partly by me because I was feeding other cats too, and by other people and he was hunting.

He’s very anxious about food, and It’s almost impossible to get him to lose weight, in fact it impossible. I’ve tried several times and all he does is hound me all day for food. Every time I walk in the kitchen he’s there screeching at me.

Now it turns out two of the other formerly Outdoor cats are also overweight. Fred got very constipated ,and they said he was obese at the Dvm, and cinnamon another dvm already told me when I took him inside, (I thought he was thin), but they said he’s overweight too. I’m not sure if it’s because of them being outside and being insecure because they were very well fed outside but I guess they never got over that fear.

However a lot of my other cats were in similar situations and they didn’t have the food anxiety at least that Merlin seems to have. I’m trying to feed them less now and Fred and cinnamon have been switched to dehydrated raw and canned food, so hopefully they will lose weight over time. Assuming nothing else was wrong with Fred.

Zena also seems to have a lot food worries now, more so than when he first came in, but I’m afraid he’s going to get overweight too.

I think they associate getting fed with love and attention from me maybe, but I guess they must be hungry too obviously. I don’t know it’s very strange, but I have heard that when you switch cats to a raw diet or canned etc , they tend to want to eat all of the time so there must be something about it that makes them hungrier maybe. They need to eat more of it than dry.

They don’t claw my hands when I feed them though and none of them really likes treats that much. Merlin likes the lickable treats. They’re actually afraid of it at times so I usually end up squeezing it on a plate. They will claw at me me other times but they’re playing when rubbing Zena’s tummy, or grooming them but they’re not being aggressive either.

As for the claw issue what I would recommend doing is don’t give them the treats if they don’t stop that and make sure to clip their claws if you don’t want to stop doing that. I try to clip every couple of weeks so they can’t accidentally scratch me because I just had a big infection on my hand from one from Xena, which is finally starting to heal.

None of my guys come on the countertops, except for Quinn, he will steal food occasionally but he’s not like your cats at all. He’s a meezer, and he can be quite a little hooligan, but not in that fashion lol, but in just about every other fashion.

I don’t think your cats look too thin. I had cats who were thinner than that and they were in perfect condition and they never acted like they were hungry at all…my Wizardun, who was part oriental shorthair, and part Siamese, but I rescued him from outside. He was very thin and muscular. He really didn’t have an ounce of fat on him, he had one of those long, thin bodies and an angular shaped face etc. and he had the meezer meow. He was so beautiful.

Like you said different cats have different body types.

The most aggravating thing for me is Merlin and Zena screeching at me. It’s so funny because Quinn, if he knows I’m aggravated with them, will actually jump on top of them and start biting them to try and get them to stop bothering me.

Yesterday when I got up, they were trying to get me up to feed them and Zena came in the bathroom with me- while I was trying to go to the bathroom I had him meowing at me the whole time because I was taking too long to feed him. It was driving me crazy.

Fred, and cinnamon on the other hand. They are coming closer to me now that I switched their food and they’re not getting quite as much food but they’re not touchable so they’re scared of me and will run away from me, so they would never try to claw food from me or anything or scratch me unless I approached too close or tried to touch them.

I’m stunned that your cats will actually eat the food that your dog’s medication is in, they must be very easy to medicate! I kinda wish I had cats like that, lol, but I wouldn’t want them scratching my hands if I was trying to give them a treat.
When I was a child, we had a cat and a dog, and the dog was always eating the cat’s food. It was the other way around.

Some people here have done clicker and other training for their cats so maybe you could try training them. I did train some of my cats in my past group of cats, to do things like touch my paw, jump through hoops, and stuff like that, hi-five etc. they were food motivated for treats, etc.

When I feed my guys, the dishes are on the counter… usually I just put it on the plate and then I put the plate down for them but sometimes I will actually just spoon the food into the dishes where they are or the dry food if there’s a dish already there and it doesn’t need changed. I will just put some in it with the scoop and no one claws at me. I think that would drive me crazy.

maybe you could get a plastic box and make holes in it and just put the food on the plates ahead of time inside the box, and wear gloves to put the plate down for them….lol I guess that would be too much trouble though… So hopefully feeding them more will help

They do do their devious little things to get food from each other though… for instance, my cats like to share plates, Merlyn and Zena will share one plate. Quinn will go and eat from their plate, even though he eats on the kitchen table, and then he will eat his own food later. and Merlyn is so overbearing that he would not even let anybody else eat the food, but he’s gotten better now.

Really I should give Merlin and Zena separate plates to make sure Zena gets more of his. However, lately I just gave them a larger plate and it seems to work and cinnamon and Fred always shared a plate outside and they like to do that inside too. They will also share a plate with Zena who is now the only one allowed in their room with them.

Clicker training never worked for me however, you could try it. Maybe you can get them to only eat from their own designated plate. If you still want to give them a treat, I would put it on a plate first for them and give it to them that way instead of from your hands. Good luck!

 

[Furballsmom]

had him meowing at me the whole time because I was taking too long to feed him.

Lol, Mr Captain is like this. I tell him he's such a talker, just hang on buddy, I'm on my way