My cat steals the food off of my plate - literally

kurayami

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My cat really loves her food. She will eat any morsel dropped on the floor, and she will actively try to steal the food off of my plate while I'm eating. I don't know how to stop her doing it.

Any suggestions?
 

kittens mom

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My cat really loves her food. She will eat any morsel dropped on the floor, and she will actively try to steal the food off of my plate while I'm eating. I don't know how to stop her doing it.

Any suggestions?
We broke our new kitten Mercy in a week by simply picking her up and putting her down. No words. No yelling, No squirting, No attention. Down , rinse and repeat. She sulked, got over it. We keep all food put away so there is no kitchen grazing behind our backs.

Our cats eat from their food bowls.
 

yayi

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How old is she? What is her history? Has she been checked by a veterinarian?

If she is a kitten, I am not surprised she seems always hungry. The vet can suggest the proper amount of food for a growing kitten.

If she is an adult and a former stray, she likely learned to steal food to survive. I had a few of those, but giving full regular meals, a few hisses from me and treats when they were good, stopped the habit.

And Kittens Mom advice on not leaving out food is definitely one to follow. 
 

misterwhiskers

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I can put up with a lot from Robin, but when I eat, the tables all mine, and he knows it. As a kitten, if he didn't stay off when I was eating, then he'd either go in his crate or the bathroom. It made dinner time much more peaceful, plus, I didn't feel like I was torturing the cat by eating in front of him. It must have worked, because if I eat at the table, he might beg a little, but he behaves himself.
 
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kurayami

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Montana is 3 years old. I got her from a rescue organisation, she was in a foster home that had multiple cats and kittens. Montana would eat her own food and then steal the kitten's food. I've had her for the last two years, and I've had her on a diet regimen, with a special Hills Science Metabolic food. Montana has lost a kilogram in 18 months. I'm careful with feeding both cats, and keeping an eye on them because Montana will bully the other cat, Lamington and will steal her food right her bowl in the same way she tries to steal the food off of my plate. 

I don't know anything about Montana's history before I got her, except that she had kittens during her first year, and she was listed for adoption for a while. Black cats seem to have a harder time getting adopted than other cats. I feed Montana breakfast at 8 am, and dinner at 5 pm. Both cats get a half a cup of biscuits a day. And they sometimes get a little bit of meat if I'm preparing dinner and they're around, which Montana always is. She's not starving, she's just a guts. Montana also meows constantly from between the hours of 3 and 5 pm until I feed her at 5. The meowing never works but I guess in her mind, she thinks that she eventually gets food if she meows, so she will meow flat out for hours. It's very irritating behaviour.
 

catlover73

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My cat's get human food as a treat once in a while.  I have had cats that had issues with stealing food off my plate.  When they would steal my food I would take it away from them when possible.  If they were not allowing me to eat then they would get a time out in a room while I was eating.  

 One of my cats does not try to steal food but he wants to be on the coffee table with the food.  He gets picked up and put on the floor when he does this.  It has taken some time but this behavior is decreasing drastically.

When I do give my cats human food as treat it is placed on a plate on the floor.  The plate on the floor is the signal that they can eat that.

I also make sure that no food is left out as Kitten's mom mentioned.

Has Montana had a vet check up since you adopted her?  This might be a good time for one.  You can talk to the vet and make sure the portions you are feeding her are correct for her.  

Have you tried anything to re-direct attention when she starts meowing at you at 3pm?  Perhaps that might be a good time for a play session to wear her out before dinner.  
 
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kurayami

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I have had her vet checked in January when she got her booster. The vet said she was fine, though she could probably stand to lose another 0.5kg, I think playing with her between mid afternoon and dinner is a good idea. She's not bugging me this afternoon for a change. She's lapping up the afternoon sun underneath my bed. I think she's doing some mixture of napping and waiting for birds or the neighbour's cat to rock up. I'll try the things mentioned on the thread and see how it goes.
 
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