I wasn't expecting kittens to beg!

AintNobodyHereButUsChickens · 2023-09-28T06:44:16+00:00

We can't eat around our kittens at all! If you have any sort of food they will climb all over you to investigate and try to steal it right out of your hands! Is that normal?? I've never known a cat do anything like that before! They have plenty of food out so it's not a matter of them being hungry. I have to shut them in the kitchen while we eat otherwise we're just wrestling kittens instead of eating.

Beamur · 28/09/2023 07:48

I've not had cats do this until my.most recent pair. They are incorrigible. No boundaries and no manners. As kittens they used to just invade the dining room and try and take food off your plates.
They're slightly more stealthy now but still think what's mine is also theirs.

Beangrove · 28/09/2023 07:51

I love the idea of you wrestling kittens!

I had one years that was a bugger for sticking her nose in your dinner (especially toast, she loved toast and would drag a piece off your plate and run away with it if you weren't looking), so I'd say maybe not that unusual. She once stuck her nose in a dollop of mustard, that didn't go so well, and another time I hadn't spotted her climb up on the hob when I was putting a pan of baked beans on, she tried to stick her face in the pan just as I was igniting the hob and got a bit singed!

UtterlyUnimaginativeUsername · 28/09/2023 07:55

We have a new 6 month old and he's the same, no manners around dinner time at all. We're driven mad pushing him off the table. I reckon it's probably better to do it than to lock him away though, because he might eventually learn. Maybe.

helpfulperson · 28/09/2023 08:00

It's not necessarily food related. Kittens are curious and want to be involved in whatever is going on. It's why they sit on laptops.

Quisquam · 28/09/2023 08:02

It takes years of training with cats and our food - to get nowhere!

Theunamedcat · 28/09/2023 08:04

Do you feed them at the same time as yourself? My previous cats had a set "dinnertime" that coincided with mine because fat cat wanted my food

Allschoolsareartschools · 28/09/2023 08:05

I remember dd being mugged of her cheese sandwich in a well calculated move by my friend's 2 cats.
It was quite something to see! One distracted while the other moved in & stole it from her plate, the other then ran off to enjoy the loot!

BertieBotts · 28/09/2023 08:06

Cats are nosey. Hence the saying curiosity killed the cat!

Original poster

AintNobodyHereButUsChickens · 28/09/2023 08:09

Theunamedcat · 28/09/2023 08:04

Do you feed them at the same time as yourself? My previous cats had a set "dinnertime" that coincided with mine because fat cat wanted my food

Yes, they're not interested in theirs until they know ours is all gone.

OP posts:

CuntRYMusicStar · 28/09/2023 08:13

We fostered kittens and about half of them were like that! One used to scale my legs if I tried to eat standing up to avoid her advances, she'd sit round my neck like a scarf and investigate every fork full 😆

We didn't give in and would give kitten safe scraps on the floor at the end so eventually she stopped trying to snatch and would wait at our feet like a puppy 😆

CottonPyjamas · 28/09/2023 08:15

My last cat never did this until he was unwell in his last year of life. We now have kitten who is thirteen weeks. In the first week we had her, and during the recent heat, she climbed my bare leg (I had shorts on) to try and steal my pizza slice. I saved the pizza but lost the toppings. As I type, she's attacking my feet under the duvet.

Original poster

AintNobodyHereButUsChickens · 28/09/2023 08:18

CottonPyjamas · 28/09/2023 08:15

My last cat never did this until he was unwell in his last year of life. We now have kitten who is thirteen weeks. In the first week we had her, and during the recent heat, she climbed my bare leg (I had shorts on) to try and steal my pizza slice. I saved the pizza but lost the toppings. As I type, she's attacking my feet under the duvet.

Mine are 10 weeks and we've had them just over a week. I've never had cats before and it's been one hell of a learning curve 🤣 I really wasn't expecting them to be so crazy, they're like twin toddlers with mad climbing skills and lightning speed!

OP posts:

RandomMess · 28/09/2023 08:18

After a pair where one has zero interested in human food even meat and the other with impeccable manners who waited until you offered the new crew of 3 are terrors. We have trained them with a water spray bottle so they reluctantly wait.

Danikm151 · 28/09/2023 08:32

My old cat used to tap my spoon when I was having cereal. On a sunday she’d sniff at my plate for some chicken and gravy. If I had custard she was on it 😂

my new cat tries it on but she’s learning not to…. 2 years later

randomrandom · 28/09/2023 08:40

My older girl cat does this - I was eating a biscuit on the sofa and she came from behind me and tried to swipe it out of my hand. Cheeky cow (it's a good job she's so cute)

ilovepixie · 28/09/2023 08:51

My cat does this. Tries to take food from your plate.

Mistandmellowfruitfullness · 28/09/2023 08:52

Feed them before you dish up your own meal 🐾

Bobbotgegrinch · 28/09/2023 09:08

Ours did that as a kitten, I think she was just curious and wanted to try new things.

She got bored after a few months when she realised there was no chance she was getting any.

Now she just sits there looking miffed because we've all got trays on our laps and she wants to sit on a lap.

She'll occasionally jump on on the kitchen counter if someone has left a little bit of chicken on our plate and forgotten to bin it. Although even that behaviour has pretty much stopped since she got her hands on something more than a touch spicy.

Toddlerteaplease · 28/09/2023 09:11

Cheddar is an absolute bugger for molesting me while eating. Then she won't eat the tot bit she's been given. We used to have a car who would steal from your plate.

Original poster

AintNobodyHereButUsChickens · 28/09/2023 09:11

Mistandmellowfruitfullness · 28/09/2023 08:52

Feed them before you dish up your own meal 🐾

I do but they ignore it until ours is all gone!

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TotalOverhaul · 28/09/2023 09:11

Our cats always have. Part of it is wanting to be involved in the family. Our last cat used to have a place at the table and sit up to eat with us. We'd just give him a bit of chicken or buttered toast or milk with a few cornflakes floating in it and he'd join in.

The cat before him used to love boiled new potatoes and olives. He'd steal those from our plates.

Toddlerteaplease · 28/09/2023 09:11

If she's not stealing. She's sitting there looking like a vulture at my plate.

Coastalcreeksider · 28/09/2023 09:17

CottonPyjamas · 28/09/2023 08:15

My last cat never did this until he was unwell in his last year of life. We now have kitten who is thirteen weeks. In the first week we had her, and during the recent heat, she climbed my bare leg (I had shorts on) to try and steal my pizza slice. I saved the pizza but lost the toppings. As I type, she's attacking my feet under the duvet.

My cat also didn't do this until about six months ago. If I put a plate or a pot or a sweet/cake on the coffee table, he would be up on his hind legs and be trying to swipe it towards him with his paw. Prior to this, he never once took any interest in stealing food from me.

He had to be put to sleep last week due to ongoing serious health issues, he was starting to struggle badly. I do miss him.

AnnaMagnani · 28/09/2023 09:17

Kittens need to be taught what you think are acceptable rules for your house.

This is incredibly difficult due to the extreme cuteness of kittens.

Mabelface · 28/09/2023 09:18

Mine used to when he was younger. He even stole food off a fork just before it went into a mouth. I'd blow in his face each time he thought about stealing, and now he's very well mannered around human food.