Hi everyone,

My Bengal Toby is now almost 5 months old and a hyperactive little one.

I am in the process of trying to teach him right from wrong (as much as you can a cat, anyway!)

I’d say our biggest issue is his persistence when we are eating. Now, I had a normal moggy until he passed away last year, and when we would eat, he would sit on the floor and miaow at us to share, and in his later years, if only one of us was at the table, he would sit on the table also, though would only ever attempt to sniff. He would only try and snatch when he was feeling VERY brave but the majority of the time, he was happy to just observe.

Toby on the other hand, will jump up and walk straight to the plate with a plan to take from it. My husband and I will place him on the floor and say ‘no’ firmly several times but he jumps straight back up with no hesitations. Like wise if we sit on the couch with a small bowl or plate of something, he will climb all over you and try and bat the bowl out of our hands.

My husband has taken to locking him in his “safe” room when we eat now. This certainly makes for an easier meal, however, I’m concerned that this won’t teach Toby about what not to do when he is around people eating? I am open to any kind of advice as I don’t like to hide kitty away, I feel guilty on him.

Things we have tried are:

- Feeding him at the same time we eat. He practically inhales his food so has finished and sprints to where we are within maybe 5 minutes.
- Giving him a toy to distract him. Da Bird has proved popular, as has a ball of foil, but nothing compares to our food.
- Locking him in his safe room – he’s perfectly comfortable in there, and will maybe make noise for about a minute before laying down to relax on my chest of drawers.
- Lifting him down and telling him ‘no’ firmly – I suspect he sees this as a game.

Any advice re meal times would be much appreciated.

Yes I experienced this as well. I would close the door to the room that I'm eating my dinner in. They would then have the run of the rest of the house, although they would generally be camped outside the door and very put out they'd been shut out lol

Mine will be 2 years old in August and I have to say, they are much better now. I don't always close the door these days and they're not so interested anymore.

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Clare
Hendrix and Jagger, Brown Marble Boys (born 18 August 2013)
Hampshire, UK

My Raiden will hop up on he dining room table while we're eating, but he has NEVER attempted to eat anything off our plates. He sniffs and walks away (maybe because my hubby spices everything up. LOL). If yours is actually wanting to eat the food, perhaps he's still hungry and you're not feeding him enough to fill his tummy. You might try giving him a little more. Picking him up and putting him down and saying "NO" is good, as cats understand what that means -- even though they try to convince you they don't! Putting the cat in the safe room while you eat is probably the best idea. I still will put Raiden in our bedroom while we are bringing in the groceries. He's in there for about five minutes and then allowed out. Trying to distract your little guy interrupts your meal, so taking him away from the table is probably the best thing.

Obviously the meals in your house are especially delicious!!!!

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The little monsters 3

Thanks everyone! To be honest, that was kind of my next question!

When we collected Toby at 13 weeks, the breeder advised to feed him half a sachet of wet food twice a day, and to leave a bowl of dry all down for him to graze on. This is well and good, but Toby was experiencing a delicate tummy so at the breeders advice, we changed things and it turned out it was his Royal Canin Kitten complete causing the issue so we switched him to Royal Canin Digestive comfort. Things have improved other than the odd soft stood, but because this is not a kitten food I am concerned about giving him too much and having a tubby baby on my hands! He weighed 2.14kgs when we first got him and the breeder said he was a big boy for his age.

I am sort of winging it each day now as far as feeding him goes. I give him half a sachet in the morning, leave a bowl of some of the dried down when I leave for work, and when I get home another half a sachet followed by more dry in the evening.

Any advice greatly appreciated on this too, thanks everyone!

So many owners worry about over feeding their cat and there are cats who overindulge. Mine does not. He eats several small meals a day and goes to his bowl when he's hungry. He's 13.5 pounds and in perfect shape (according to the vet). I don't know that I'd give a cat BBQ chicken! Really, Brian? Wouldn't the bbq sauce turn them away? My husband has attempted to give Raiden some chicken from his plate and Raiden turns his nose up at it! I've never fed a cat table scraps. Seems like it would spoil them a little bit. I've had a dog who would just sit and stare at you with the big sad eyes -- I'm just happy Raiden doesn't want to eat my hubby's cooking. Makes more for us!

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The little monsters 3

Toby is acting just like my kittens did when they were young. Dinner time usually consisted of me holding my plate over my head while they climbed and jumped at it as I laughed at how unbelievable they were. Now that they are a year old, their focus is still food, but they sit at my feet and wait to see if I offer them any. I usually open the patio door up after they eat so they are torn between begging for food and huntin lizards.

Any cat I have had loves food from the grill. There is something about that smokey aroma that makes them crazed and sure that some is for them.

Raiden isn't into grilled chicken without BBQ sauce! And he refuses to eat seafood of any type! Brian, your kids are spoiled! LOL

Oh crap, so just when I'm telling everyone that my bengals are being more "mellow" they remind me that they are not

I was doing chicken stir fry tonight. And the plan was to get it cooking, then feed the cats, then eat my dinner. I cut up all the chicken into cubes and put them in my wok (power off). The started cutting up other veggies (not 2 ft from the wok).

Then I hear a quiet "thump", and see Serafina, my blue shadow ninja bengal, scurrying away out of the corner of my eye. Oh oh! So I call out "SERAFINA!" and she looks back at me nervously, then breaks into a RUN. Then Gaga who was watching this play out, jumps up on the counter, and starts walking nonchalantly towards the wok.
"NO WAY GAGA... GET DOWN!"
She jumps down, and then runs after Serafina, who clearly selected the BIGGEST cube of chicken, and has it out on the floor, gnawing on it. And Serafina does the "GROWL... Nom Nom Nom... GROWL" bengal thing, telling Gaga that she's not a welcome guest around her bounty. Gaga then tries over and over to get up on the counter and get the chicken, each time getting bolder and more desperate until I finally got out their cat dishes and fed them their dinner.

Note to self: next time feed cats BEFORE working on dinner preparations.

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The little monsters 3

Well Brian, you did say that they got a share of the chicken in your unwritten contract!!!!!!!!!!

Salad anyone?!!!!!!

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Melissa

UK
Oscar - Rescue (Rascal!!!) Bengal

My mum and brother are at a restaurant that I really like in York eating crispy shredded beef, which I adore. They were sending me pictures and descriptions to taunt me, as you do.

I took tonights fronzen pizza out of the freezer, took a quick snap on my phone and started sending back an mms. I look up and Babbage is up on the counter, bold as brass, giving the pizza an experimental nibble.

Their one year guarantee is up tomorrow, I wonder if I can find the receipt ??

LOL. I LOVE reading about your food-stealing kitties! Raiden must be much better behaved than any of your cats! LOL. Oh Brian -- I do love a man who cooks -- and chicken stir fry is delicious! My husband fixed pizza from scratch on Friday and Raiden was not interested in any of it, even though he hopped up on the table and was sniffing around. He obviously does not care for his daddy's cooking! I'll try giving Raiden about the only thing I know how to cook -- grilled cheese sandwich! ROFL.

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The little monsters 3

It took a long time for my bengal to finally chill out when I'm cooking and eating. About two years honestly (she's 3 now). She loves bugging my roommate for food (maybe he feeds her when I'm not around, I can't say), but she's never gotten any hand outs from me. Even then she makes sure she's in the same room as me when I'm eating she just doesn't pester me like you're describing.