People Food As First Resort?

[LadyLondonderry]

This is not a serious problem, just something I'm observing. If I plate my own dinner around the same time I dish out Sylvie's, she will invariably ignore what's in her bowl and come sit/crouch/lie next to me while I eat what's on my plate. Only when I am clearly finished and there is no hope of her getting some people food will she give up and go over to her bowl and eat what's in it. (I do share some of my dinner with her occasionally, if it's something like a blandly prepared piece of salmon.)

Is this par for the course for cats?

 

[marmoset]

I've seen this more with cats who were going through a growth spurt or those who have learned bad habits due to someone feeding them people food. I'd try feeding Sylvie her dinner before you eat. Cats can also be curious even if they don't have hunger at the moment. I have pictures of my Matty sitting in a chair at the dining table in front of an empty plate. He wasn't hungry or used to getting table scraps- he just wanted to see what was going on. When you think about how much hubbub goes on to get dinner on the table it's no wonder they are curious and approach. Feeding them scraps will just strengthen the association between human mealtime and reward- so stop.

If you want to give occasional treats of salmon (no seasoning) then give it to Sylvie on her dinner plate/ bowl at her normal feeding time.

 

[LadyLondonderry]

I've seen this more with cats who were going through a growth spurt or those who have learned bad habits due to someone feeding them people food. I'd try feeding Sylvie her dinner before you eat. Cats can also be curious even if they don't have hunger at the moment. I have pictures of my Matty sitting in a chair at the dining table in front of an empty plate. He wasn't hungry or used to getting table scraps- he just wanted to see what was going on. When you think about how much hubbub goes on to get dinner on the table it's no wonder they are curious and approach. Feeding them scraps will just strengthen the association between human mealtime and reward- so stop.

If you want to give occasional treats of salmon (no seasoning) then give it to Sylvie on her dinner plate/ bowl at her normal feeding time.

Well, Sylvie is 11 years old, so presumably done growing , and receives very little people food. She does not routinely get scraps, only a tiny bit of plainly cooked salmon or turkey burger when I make those things. If she knows they are not forthcoming, she troops off to her dish and eats her own food, so it's not an issue.

I'm just thinking maybe she's drawn to whatever has an appetizing smell -- sometimes I'll be eating peanut butter on toast and she'll hang around and pester me to let her sniff it, but when I do, she really has no interest in eating it.

 

[RajaNMizu]

My cats enjoy sniffing people food. Since they have never once attempted to taste it, I don't mind. Only once have I given them a few pieces of boiled chicken in their bowls that I was using to prepare something so I don't think they're interested in the sense that they want some of what we're eating, I think their sense of smell is how they explore the environment. So when there are a lot of scents coming from the kitchen, they join in to see what's going on via their noses.

 

[KarenKat]

Nothing will distract Olive from her cat food. She will, however, investigate any cooking we are doing. And try and eat any raw meat. She went after the bacon a lot, until it was cooked and then ignored it entirely.

She is like a cat food bloodhound, though. We were leaving wet food in a room she tends not to go into for our other cat (he's a slow eater) and blink once and she somehow snuck in and cleaned the plate.

 

[LadyLondonderry]

Nothing will distract Olive from her cat food. She will, however, investigate any cooking we are doing. And try and eat any raw meat. She went after the bacon a lot, until it was cooked and then ignored it entirely.

She is like a cat food bloodhound, though. We were leaving wet food in a room she tends not to go into for our other cat (he's a slow eater) and blink once and she somehow snuck in and cleaned the plate.

Interesting that Olive craved the bacon only when it was raw!

 

[KarenKat]

Yeah, we thought that was kind of interesting too. She has no qualms with eating chicken cooked or raw though ... one stolen chicken breast later and we make sure those suckers are secure!

 

[LadyLondonderry]

Yeah, we thought that was kind of interesting too. She has no qualms with eating chicken cooked or raw though ... one stolen chicken breast later and we make sure those suckers are secure!