When Snickers wants to be fed he whacks me with his paws, and if I'm too slow he nips my legs. How can I teach him to wait the few minutes it takes to get his food ready and not nip me?
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Training Cat To Ask For Food?
- Thread starter amysuen
- Start Date
Screech or hiss then ignore him for 10 minutes. If he leaves you alone for 10 minutes then feed him. It just takes time. Personally I'm fond of saying OW! when my bud gets a little friendly with his claws. I taught my boys to sit for wet food/treats just to avoid this. Their idea of begging is sitting quietly. Though lately Dante has been meowing at me as I prepare his food, since I don't mind I talk back to him but I do not reward the meowing with food, ever!
You could try clicker training, which has worked very well for Mowgli. He now sits at my feet and waits, then gives me his paw before digging in. There are a lot of YouTube videos and books on the subject.
Clicker Training For Cats
Clicker Training For Cats
I agree with the OW this works with my boy too he backs off straight away and looks at me like 'oh ok sorry mum'
On note of not rewarding his meowing for food.. ..maybe I'm doing it all wrong and probably am but I don't mind him meowing and reminding me or telling me he wants his food....to me it just like a child saying mum I'm hungry and me going to make them a sandwich for lunch or their evening meal. In my opinion id rather him meow at me than swipe me.
After having a few misbehaved obnoxious cats I doubled down on the training. Meowing I don't mind but I don't reward it with food. Part of it is my punk was a screamer for attention when he was young. So I reward regular volume meows and ignored the screaming. He does lightly poke my behind with his claw for attention when I'm at the computer but never enough to hurt me. So I let it slide. After having pee on the counters, a screaming cat with dementia and a cat stealing food out of a pan/off plates...... when I got my boys I said 'No way in heck am I doing that again!" & I was a strict cat mommy.
Basically this - but walk away from the food prep area (I assume you set up the cats' food in the same place every time). They will figure it out. But also reward them with lots of praise if they just rub against your legs or sit patiently - the positive reinforcement will go a long way.
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #8
Thanks everyone!
I don't mind meowing for food either, but none of our cats are obnoxious - it's more of a request than demand. I'll definitely look into clicker training and try some of the other suggestions. I saw a video on Facebook where two cats got a treat every time they rang a bell. It would be cool to teach Snickers to ring a bell when he wanted to be fed, but realistically I know I wouldn't have the time or patience.
I don't mind meowing for food either, but none of our cats are obnoxious - it's more of a request than demand. I'll definitely look into clicker training and try some of the other suggestions. I saw a video on Facebook where two cats got a treat every time they rang a bell. It would be cool to teach Snickers to ring a bell when he wanted to be fed, but realistically I know I wouldn't have the time or patience.
