I've had this kitten for a month or two and he is an absolute table food junkie. I don't give it to him at all because I am trying to break him from begging. Plus, he's a little chunky and has pretty severe asthma, so the extra weight isn't good for him. When I say table food junkie, I mean he goes in the trash can and digs out ANY can that has any sort of scraps in it. Even if I wash the cans out before throwing them away, he will still get them and lick them. He will eat anything. Tomato sauce, pineapple, banana peel, you name it, he will steal it from the trash or the counter. He's been to the vet, and besides the asthma, he doesn't have any other health problems. Any suggestions on how to break him from craving table food so much? Or is it something he will just outgrow?

12/13/2005 4:25:25 PM

I would just put Texas Pete on the leftovers and let him get them. Once or twice should do the trick.

12/13/2005 4:28:28 PM

h that's a good one, or something REALLY, REALLY SOUR. That might be less dangerous than texas pete which, I'd imagine, would make his asthma worse.

12/13/2005 4:31:45 PM

The cat that my parents have had this issue. They started giving her a small bowl of wet food as a treat while they would prepare/eat dinner to distract her that she pretty much stopped begging for table food.

12/13/2005 4:33:58 PM

my kitten had that issue. he even chowed down on my oreo cheesecake when i wasn't looking.

not letting him on the table or even hinting that he was going to get fed while i was eating cured that.

or maybe my cat just learns faster than most.

12/13/2005 5:14:09 PM

my cat loves table food as well - doughnuts, pepperoni, buffalo wings... you name it. it was a pain breaking him of it...

the suggestion of feeding it a little wet food while you guys eat is a good one. but you really probably need to just not give it any table food ever if you really want to break him of begging and going through the trash. if it gets it sometimes, it won't ever learn. be stern and say no when he tries to swipe your food. if he gets on the tables or countertops, pick it up immediately each time, pop it on the bottom and tell it no. you have to have consistency - just like with a kid. keep the trash up and out of his reach - get a can with a lid.

[Edited on December 13, 2005 at 5:32 PM. Reason : er]

12/13/2005 5:31:13 PM

my cats like spicy food. theres no hope for them. we just shove them out of the way while we are eating and then let them lick some plates when we are done. saves on washing dishes too.

12/13/2005 6:46:28 PM

My cat used to do this- if you cant teach him not to, make it unavailible.

Get a trash can with a lid he cant get off, even if it falls over. Put bread in a bread box, and things away when you bring them home.

My cat used to rip open plastic bags to eat bread , chicken, whatever shecould get. Now, she doesnt beg for human food except the remains of tuna cans, which we let her have whats left when we're done of that, but she doesnt otherwise get human food, and doesnt dig into things anymore.

12/13/2005 6:54:59 PM

Hotsauce worked great for my cat but my roommates cat is incorrigible. Even the shower treatment doesn't work anymore. He comes in and hopes in the shower now as if saying "Hah what now bitch!?"

However I have noticed one thing he hates. The smell of clorox. He also drops the biggest nastiest poops I've ever smelled lately. You could be sitting anywhere in the apartment and you start to have seizures it's so strong.

I changed their died and catfood lately and so far it's good. The cat (Tharkin, don't ask), has an affinity for fried cabbage, jalapeno peppers, and ice cream. It's hysterical watching him eat a super hot pepper. He twitches... takes a bite, twitches... takes another bite.

12/13/2005 7:04:01 PM

^ damn yo. I just about fell out of my chair laughing.

Fried cabbage jalopeno peppers and ice cream? tell me not together!

12/13/2005 7:05:51 PM

^that is funny.

the shower treatment works like gangbusters on my cats.

[Edited on December 13, 2005 at 7:06 PM. Reason : -]

12/13/2005 7:06:41 PM

Quote :

"It's hysterical watching him eat a super hot pepper. He twitches... takes a bite, twitches... takes another bite."

im tellin ya man, some cats just think they are human or somethin. my cat sparks is the same way, he'll choke it down and be like "i really like it" but we can tell he doesnt.

12/13/2005 7:51:40 PM

The trash can with a lid he can't open is a good idea. We have a trash can with a lid now, but all he has to do is knock it over and it pops open. We don't give him any table food at all, but his habit just seems to get worse the more we deny him what he wants. Like last night I made spaghetti for dinner and he flipped out to have some, but I told him no and didn't give him any. After dinner, my husband was sitting at the table eating pineapple and as soon as he wasnt looking, Sam (the kitten) jumped up on the table and grabbed a piece. That night, he broke into the trash can and stole two cans of tomato sauce from the sauce I made and licked them clean. Maybe I will try the wet food as a treat too. Thanks for the advice so far!

12/13/2005 8:47:25 PM

damn, and I thought my Petey was weird drinking out of my morning glass of orange juice (if it isn't orange/citrus, he won't eat/drink it...he's a HUGE fan of grapefruit juice, too)...no hot peppers for him

12/13/2005 8:54:15 PM

First, get one of these:



It's $29.99 at Linens 'n' Things. We have one and our cat can't tip it over or get into it. Plus, we have it sitting by a window so it lets him look outside.

12/14/2005 11:40:31 AM

thankfully ours stay out of the trash can.

my aunt and uncles cats go nuts over shrimp, one time they knocked over the trash and strew it all across the kitchen looking for remains from a shrimp boil.

12/14/2005 12:04:58 PM

cats broken, throw it away, get a new one

12/14/2005 12:33:10 PM

hehe, my kitten has began rebelling tonight...we got our other two cats spayed today, so they're not allowed to eat much tonight so the food bowl has been taken up and food given out in small portions...he's pissed. He's screaming his head off as I speak...no way he's hungry..he just ate.

12/14/2005 6:42:03 PM