Pets going on and on and on at you begging for food

[berniedicters]

The rabbit didn't go for the ingratiating thing - if he thought there was rabbity food in the offing, he'd go "nggggGHHHH!" and stamp on top of his little house. Hell of a noise.

The cats, though, are weird. They do this thing where if you're walking around in the kitchen, they zoom in front of you, almost tripping you up, then try to "lead" you to their food place. It's most strange.

Because I never feed them (I'm not a cat person), they don't bother me too much. The Teenager used to feed one of the cats from her plate (I found this unaccountably disgusting), and as a result, even years later, cannot sit down at the table without the cat repeatedly jumping up onto her lap. It tried it with me once or twice, and I moved the lap smartly out of the way. Landing in a pile of legs and ears was too much for its dignity, and it doesn't try now.

But it still does the gimlet stare and let's-try-out-various-miaows trick on me. Fortunately, I'm impervious. It does mean I have to make sure that the cats can't get into the house at night, otherwise I think they would probably kill me in my sleep.

 

[PacificOcean]

"Monorail cat finds temporary track unacceptable"

 

[Pie 1]

 

[oryx]

The rabbit didn't go for the ingratiating thing - if he thought there was rabbity food in the offing, he'd go "nggggGHHHH!" and stamp on top of his little house. Hell of a noise.

You can tell you're not a cat person by the way you call the rabbit 'he' and the cat 'it'.

Just as I opened this thread I could hear my partner shouting at the cat: 'Now come on! Don't be silly!' and the cat shouting back something like 'I'm not being silly, I'm fucking starving, NOW FEED ME YOU BASTARD!'.

 

[beeboo]

If mine is going through a patch of whining for food, I deliberately misinterpret her cries as asking for a cuddle - she's not a big fan of the cuddle so she generally gets the message.

 

[idioteque]

My cat actually cries for food. This is the one that refuses to eat cat food, and instead eats chicken, as my parents could never tolerate her incredible noise and always gave in to her whinging. She is so loud, you can hear her wherever you are in the house.

 

[Schmetterling]

The problem is that you're giving her all those potboiling Philippa Gregory Tudor bodice rippers to sit on. Chuck 'em out and Urban Miff will be fine.

I was looking at the spines and wondered who PG is. On closer inspection, it seems that Miff wants to go travelling?

 

[emanymton]

About a year ago me and my house mate adopted the stray cat that was living in the garden. She's gone from hardly wanting to come near us to sitting next to her dish crying for food every time we go in the kitchen, even if we just feed her 10 minutes ago!

She also cry's if we have the cheek to have-something other than her on our lap as we are just cat pillows/feeding machines. She is cute though.

 

[Fuchs66]

But feed a cat because it's sat on your face or miaowed for an hour just once and it will remember the connection, let alone for years, and most people just don't have the persistence to outlast the cat. Which is why they do it.

This

and as far as cats are concerned this:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2009/jul/13/cats-purr-food-research

 

[danny la rouge]

Help! How have you stopped your pet going on at you in order to bend your will to their ravening appetites?

I don't know about sociopaths, I mean cats, but my dog doesn't beg for food. She doesn't associate me eating with her being given food. She knows that twice a day food appears in her bowl. These times don't change. The appearance of food is not caused by doggy superstition.

 

[Epona]

My cats do try it on a bit when it comes to mealtimes, they get mostly wet food at set mealtimes and they can be a bit pushy in the half hour before they are due to be fed - IMO they are predators, not grazers, and it is therefore natural for them to experience anticipation for their next meal - if living wild they would take that energy and go hunt for their own food - so for pets simulation of a predatory activity such as chasing a toy on a string or playing fetch is a necessity, or if she's elderly and no longer into running around just drag a bit of string around on the floor in front of her and let her bat at it with her paws, let her finally 'catch' it right before giving her food. Cats instinctively expect to expend energy before they eat, and often their heightened state is viewed as 'begging' or pestering, whereas it's really just that they feel the instinctive need to start seeking food (hunting) a while before they are due to eat - in an environment where hunting opportunities are limited, this can come across as pestering. A little while spent before mealtimes simulating a hunting situation will help enormously IMO.

 

[Darkside]

I have never had feeding times for my cats. I put down dry food for them (hills) and they eat it through the day - as long as I remember to stock it up daily they seem to regulate their own feeding perfectly - neither are overweight - and I rarely get cries to be fed - just cries for being stroked or played with.

 

[Badger Kitten]

My cats do try it on a bit when it comes to mealtimes, they get mostly wet food at set mealtimes and they can be a bit pushy in the half hour before they are due to be fed - IMO they are predators, not grazers, and it is therefore natural for them to experience anticipation for their next meal - if living wild they would take that energy and go hunt for their own food - so for pets simulation of a predatory activity such as chasing a toy on a string or playing fetch is a necessity, or if she's elderly and no longer into running around just drag a bit of string around on the floor in front of her and let her bat at it with her paws, let her finally 'catch' it right before giving her food. Cats instinctively expect to expend energy before they eat, and often their heightened state is viewed as 'begging' or pestering, whereas it's really just that they feel the instinctive need to start seeking food (hunting) a while before they are due to eat - in an environment where hunting opportunities are limited, this can come across as pestering. A little while spent before mealtimes simulating a hunting situation will help enormously IMO.

A cunning idea. But once she gets a cob on about dinner time, then no amount of stroking, playing with string is going to cut it. She wants pies. Immediately. And will campaign relentlessly until they appear.

She had a good old play chasing my dressing gown belt last night after her dinner though.

 

[zenie]

You can train it out of her with time and patience, do you have the time or inclination? Does it bother you that much?