New cat wants to eat my food - after being fed!

laprof

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I adopted a 1 year old male cat, Otis, about 2 weeks ago. He was a stray and not in the shelter long. I know the food obsession is normal, but I'm looking for some advice on dealing with it. Otis:

1) Begs for food every time I go into the kitchen
2) Tries to eat my food after being fed his own (which he devours)
3) Will eat the kibble I leave out all day, but usually when I don't notice and not instead of going for my food

I feed him 3 times a day: morning, evening (or midday if I'm leaving for a while) and before bed (after some play time).

I have a vet visit scheduled for about 10 days from now and will mention this. I also just got a clicker yesterday and am going to try to train him. I'm tempted to put him in the bathroom when he tries to eat my food, but fear a punishment like that would not work and would negatively affect our bond. Thanks for any advice you can give!
 

neely

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I'm glad you mentioned you're going for a vet visit in 10 days since that's always a good idea after adopting a cat regardless of their eating habits.👍 This way you will have a baseline should he need any medical treatment in the future. You can also make sure he's up to date on his vaccines unless the shelter took care of this before his adoption. Personally I wouldn't put Otis in the bathroom at meal time. I'd rather be consistent and not give into his begging. This way he will learn that begging does not get him human food. I'm guessing his previous home may have given him table scraps which is why he formed this habit. Best of luck, please keep us posted after your vet visit.:goodluck:
 

daftcat75

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Discipline doesn’t work with cats. My suggestion is to never feed him human food. The minute you do, he’ll think all I need to do is beg hard enough. His interest in your food may or may not go away with frustration. Always be consistent because cats will always test their training.

Ask the vet if you are feeding him enough for his age. Some cats keep growing past their first year and should continue to be fed like kittens. Large breeds like Maine Coon for example.
 
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laprof

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Thanks for the advice! I haven't been giving into the begging and I never give him any of my food. I'm trying to be consistent!
I'm glad you mentioned you're going for a vet visit in 10 days since that's always a good idea after adopting a cat regardless of their eating habits.👍 This way you will have a baseline should he need any medical treatment in the future. You can also make sure he's up to date on his vaccines unless the shelter took care of this before his adoption. Personally I wouldn't put Otis in the bathroom at meal time. I'd rather be consistent and not give into his begging. This way he will learn that begging does not get him human food. I'm guessing his previous home may have given him table scraps which is why he formed this habit. Best of luck, please keep us posted after your vet visit.:goodluck:
 
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laprof

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Discipline doesn’t work with cats. My suggestion is to never feed him human food. The minute you do, he’ll think all I need to do is beg hard enough. His interest in your food may or may not go away with frustration. Always be consistent because cats will always test their training.

Ask the vet if you are feeding him enough for his age. Some cats keep growing past their first year and should continue to be fed like kittens. Large breeds like Maine Coon for example.
Interesting, I'm giving him about half a can a day, which is what he got in shelter. I also leave out a bowl of kibble and he does eat it, but usually when I'm not around. He's an American Shorthair - do they keep growing after a year? I'll do some research, thanks for mentioning that!
 

daftcat75

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Interesting, I'm giving him about half a can a day, which is what he got in shelter. I also leave out a bowl of kibble and he does eat it, but usually when I'm not around. He's an American Shorthair - do they keep growing after a year? I'll do some research, thanks for mentioning that!
Is that half a 5.5 oz can or half the smaller can? What’s the calorie content? Look for the big ME (Metabolic Energy) number on the label. It is usually specified as kcal/kg. If you divide that by 1000, you get calories per gram. A wet food that is greater than 1 calorie per gram is going to be more energy rich and likely more filling than a food that’s less than 1 calorie per gram. Or put another way, a pate will be more filling than a shredded texture. I said likely more filling because carbs are not filling and that’s where most of the calories in dry food are coming from. You may find that with more wet meals, he’ll be satiated for longer and less interested in your food. Of course, because he was a stray, food insecurity may ingrained in him and this may never go away.

You may just have to share mealtimes (but not food!) with him.
8DFE76F0-4C7F-40BC-B21A-C6F85DCDA727.jpeg
(Not me or my cat. Just a screen grab from a Reel I can’t direct link here.)
 
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laprof

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Is that half a 5.5 oz can or half the smaller can? What’s the calorie content? Look for the big ME (Metabolic Energy) number on the label. It is usually specified as kcal/kg. If you divide that by 1000, you get calories per gram. A wet food that is greater than 1 calorie per gram is going to be more energy rich and likely more filling than a food that’s less than 1 calorie per gram. Or put another way, a pate will be more filling than a shredded texture. I said likely more filling because carbs are not filling and that’s where most of the calories in dry food are coming from. You may find that with more wet meals, he’ll be satiated for longer and less interested in your food. Of course, because he was a stray, food insecurity may ingrained in him and this may never go away.

You may just have to share mealtimes (but not food!) with him.
View attachment 420931
(Not me or my cat. Just a screen grab from a Reel I can’t direct link here.)
Thanks, that is useful information! I'll check the can. I'm not doing the greatest job monitoring how much dry food he has. I just leave it out for him to graze if he wants, and for when I'm out at work or for an extended period. When I feed him, it's wet food, so I think that's the majority of what he's getting. Today I fed him just after I prepared my breakfast, but after he was done he came after my oatmeal! I didn't let him have it of course. I just bought this slow feeder bowl, so I'll see if that also helps: https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petco...KCONF|product_url&[email protected]
 

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I agree with never feeding human food. Also, I just clap loudly or slap the kitchen table when he jumps up. If he has already bonded with you, there is no risk he will hold that against you. The pick up and put down method can also work too, but you'll likely need incredible patience, as hundreds of reps may be required.

But do have some sympathy when eating foods that are particularly hard to resist, at least until you get him trained. Chicken (not smothered in stuff that blocks the smell), deli meat, stuff like that can be super hard for just about any young cat to resist. Eventually, when you get them trained and they get some age on them, they will be able to ignore that, but for now, you might just have to put him away. Work on training him when eating stuff like pasta, not fresh deli meat lol.
 

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Be sure your kitchen trash can has a secure lid. Use child safety locks if needed. Cats are known to dig through the trash to find yummy food scraps to eat. Cooked bones in particular are dangerous to cats because they splinter easily and the fragments can cause internal injury. Lots of other people food are harmful to cats. A list can be found here: People Foods to Avoid Feeding Your Pets

Along the same lines, don't leave dirty dishes in the sink or food out on the counter / table unless they are in cat-proof storage containers.

Try feeding more canned food and leave no more than 1 cup (use an actual measuring cup, not eyeball it) of dry food out at a time. Canned food can be left out all day in a programmable timed feeder. Discard any leftover uneaten canned food or dry food at the end of the day.

When the cat tries to eat your food or goes looking for food in the trash can or wherever, give a firm NO and move the cat to the floor or away. Keep doing this until the cat has learned not to look for food. Have patience as this will take awhile. There are other tips here: How To Set Healthy Boundaries For Your Cat – TheCatSite Articles
 
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laprof

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I agree with never feeding human food. Also, I just clap loudly or slap the kitchen table when he jumps up. If he has already bonded with you, there is no risk he will hold that against you. The pick up and put down method can also work too, but you'll likely need incredible patience, as hundreds of reps may be required.

But do have some sympathy when eating foods that are particularly hard to resist, at least until you get him trained. Chicken (not smothered in stuff that blocks the smell), deli meat, stuff like that can be super hard for just about any young cat to resist. Eventually, when you get them trained and they get some age on them, they will be able to ignore that, but for now, you might just have to put him away. Work on training him when eating stuff like pasta, not fresh deli meat lol.
He seems to want my food whatever it is. Today I was eating my breakfast oatmeal and he wanted that. So putting him away when eating meat is not too much of a punishment?
 

ArtNJ

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He seems to want my food whatever it is. Today I was eating my breakfast oatmeal and he wanted that. So putting him away when eating meat is not too much of a punishment?
Cats don't recognize time outs as punishment, so they dont learn from it. Essentially all cats do hate involuntary restrictions on where they can be, but would the cat be happier to have this agonizingly delicious smell and be repeatedly clapped at just for trying to get to it?

The fact that the cat is after *everything* including foods that dont trigger most cats indicates to me that its an ingrained habit. With maybe some curiousity mixed in. Cats definitely do get curious about smells that aren't things they eat -- like a cat may bite into an lemon peel. Probably just once.
 

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He's still kittenish at 1 year old. This behavior can change over the next year or two as he becomes more of an adult. And 2 weeks together is nothing to either of you. It takes months for you to learn each other's routines. How big of a problem is this? Are you in danger? Is he in danger? Or is it just persistent and annoying? Is there a consolation prize you can offer? Like feed him first and then you eat. If you gently push him away, does he get that? Eventually? I would say unless either of you are in danger of physical or dietary harm, give it some time and don't rush too quickly to confinement or discipline (doesn't work.) Cats are persistent but forgiving. Meaning I've pushed many a cat off a counter or a table or my lap and they get it and move on. No hard feelings. They'll try again tomorrow and they'll get pushed again tomorrow. As long as no one is in danger of being harmed, it's one of the joys of cat companionship.
 
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laprof

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He's still kittenish at 1 year old. This behavior can change over the next year or two as he becomes more of an adult. And 2 weeks together is nothing to either of you. It takes months for you to learn each other's routines. How big of a problem is this? Are you in danger? Is he in danger? Or is it just persistent and annoying? Is there a consolation prize you can offer? Like feed him first and then you eat. If you gently push him away, does he get that? Eventually? I would say unless either of you are in danger of physical or dietary harm, give it some time and don't rush too quickly to confinement or discipline (doesn't work.) Cats are persistent but forgiving. Meaning I've pushed many a cat off a counter or a table or my lap and they get it and move on. No hard feelings. They'll try again tomorrow and they'll get pushed again tomorrow. As long as no one is in danger of being harmed, it's one of the joys of cat companionship.
Thanks, you're right, no one is in danger. FWIW, I do feed him first, but after he's done he comes after my food anyway. I will try pushing him away as you suggested. I also bought a "slow feed" bowl, so maybe that will help him take more time to eat.
 

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I adopted a 1 year old male cat, Otis, about 2 weeks ago. He was a stray and not in the shelter long.
Stray eat when food is available since there is no guarantee of a next meal. He will learn that he doesn't need to eat every time any kind of food appears.
 

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He needs security, food security. After living as a stray it may take a long time for him to learn that there will always be next meal. It seams to me that he is not feed enough he is the young cat that may need more then he gets right now. Instead of half of can give him whole to see what happens. Also, all of my cats do quality control of my food for me. If I put something in my mouth … doesn’t matter that they can be on the other side of the house, they will sprint over and I will hold the peach low so they can sniff it. And then it’s; oh ,it’s not bacon?!?? And off they go. I think it’s more FOMO than anything else, no harm of letting them smell it.
 

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Just to give you some hope, we took in a stray cat who was also obsessed with getting our food. We like to eat on the couch while watching TV and she was constantly after our plates, begging in the kitchen, jumping on the counters to get food. It was clear to us that whoever raised her let her eat off their plates and gave her table scraps. She is much more manageable now. Most important is we never let her have anything off our plates. I know this is frowned upon but it was so very bad that I kept a spray bottle next to us at dinner time. We only had to use a few times, then after that just seeing the bottle sitting there would deter her. Now she can actually sit with us while we eat, spray bottle is completely gone, no problem. If I want to give her “people food” like plain cooked meat, sardines, or tuna as a treat, I put it in her food bowl at her normal eating spot. I keep dishes washed and don’t leave any food on the counters so that she won’t be “rewarded” if she counter surfs. We bought those air pressure cans for the counter and that really helped. They are annoying for the people so we don’t use them full time anymore, only when she goes through spells where suddenly she wants to be on the counter. As for begging in the kitchen, I clap my hands, herding her out, saying “all done girl” and she runs out. I think this works because at regular mealtime, when one of the cats wants to keep eating but they need to be done, I say and do that same thing so the cats have learned it means no more food and time to walk away. (I never limit her food, she can eat as much as she wants, three times a day, lots of wet food, to keep her satisfied. It’s the other cats who I have to monitor for various reasons.)
 
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So I’m going to suggest free feeding him dry food (at least for the coming months or year, until he learns there will always be food.) I would also suggest locking him in a room whenever you eat ..... with his food, water & litter. If he was dumpster diving he may have developed a taste for people food. (If you feed him cat safe people food, do it where you feed him (on a saucer or cat bowl) and do it after you finish eating.) If you give him wet food, timing his meals so he is fed in his room while you eat, might be ideal.


My cat years and years ago escaped. I found him 2 weeks later in the alley behind the fence, dumpster diving. So feral or stray cats eating out of trash can is more common then you may think.
 
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