Kitten always eats when I come home

[mlawsonii]

I don't know if this is a behavioral thing, a kitten thing, just a 'phase' or if it's bc of something else but I have a 5 month old kitten that eats ALL THE TIME! He seems to 'snack' a lot, instead of actually eating meals. I've read that kittens eat more often than adult cats so I'm not so concerned with that, but I have noticed when I come home, he runs immediately to his food bowl & starts eating! If I've been in my room for a while & then come out, he will do the same thing. I've seen him lying around, playing with things & even playing with his older 'brother' cat, but when he notices that I'm coming into the room after being gone for a while, he runs straight over to his food dish & eats. Is this normal? For a while, I thought he was up to no good when he would do this bc I've caught him SEVERAL times jumping off the kitchen table (which he KNOWS he's not suppose to be on!!) & ran right over to his food! I've seen other posts about other people's cats only wanting to eat while their owners are in the room but I don't think that's the case here.. he doesn't do it when I'm just in the room, only when I come home or come out of my room after being 'gone' for a while...
Any reason he does this??

 

[kitten dash 465]

Honestly it sounds like a behavior thing.. Your kitty sounds perfectly normal! If he starts not wanting to eat tho then that might be a problem.. If he's eating then he should be alright.

 

[littlecatt]

Definitely sounds like a funny kitten thing! My cat prefers to eat when I am home, especially in the kitchen with him. Like you said, I think some cats like eating in a social setting -- or maybe you just remind him he's munchy! Either way it doesn't sound like something to be worried about and I'd chalk it up to a cat quirk! Every cat has their unique habits, and I think this is just one of your cat's.

 

[basschick]

every kitten i ever lived with ate when i come home, as does 18 year old HK.  i suspect it's because they've been sleeping for hours and so are hungry when we come home and wake them.

 

[misterwhiskers]

Sounds normal to me, too, as cats are social animals. Your kitten feels safe when you get home and enjoys eating with his human around. Don't you enjoy eating with others too?