Has anyone got any advise with this. Our Bengal is constantly trying to get to our food when we are sitting down at meal times. She jumps at people trying to knock food out of people’s hands. She particularly targets my little boy and although isn’t aggressive (never bitten or scratched him), she upsets him as she always steals from him as he isn’t as quick to stop her. I’ve tried putting her in another room but she gets so upset she’s separate from us, she starts ripping up the carpet and has urinated a couple of times. I’ve tried feeding her at the same time but she eats her food really quick so she can then steal ours. I continuously say no and remove her but she is consistent. I’m not sure if there is anything which can be done to prevent this. The school run is really stressful when I’m trying to get everything sorted and also constantly watching the cat who is trying to take my 4 year olds breakfast.

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If she is finishing her food that quickly, you should be feeding her more. She's probably hungry. Don't make her hunt for her food.

Quasar gets all he can eat. The only time he makes a fuss over human food is when I'm preparing raw meat.

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~ Kyenta

This is super easy! Feed your kitty while your son is eating breakfast! Feed the favorite food, so she isn't interested in people food.

I have tried feeding her at the same time as my boy and I’ve tried her on chicken before (which is her favourite). She scoffed it down and still tried to eat ours (her belly was literally bulging). She has wet and dry food and I’ve been following the breeders advise on food (1/2 sachet morning and night) and dry food all the time. Would you recommend to up the wet food to 1 morning and night?

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Definitely up the wet food. My two came to me at 14 weeks and were on the amount advised by your breeder. That was increased not long after they came to us as they were growing pretty fast at that stage. I would feed her three or four times a day if I were you. I used to pop home at lunch time every day for a midday feed and sometimes also gave them a supper when they were really packing the food away - after a year they slow down and don’t eat so much but at this stage she will be ravenous!

She’s probably curious about human food as well as hungry. We used to have to shut our two out of the room when we were eating. We’d grab our trays and run down the hall as fast as possible to close them out or they’d be climbing all over us to see what we had they did grow out of it though!

Good luck!

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

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The little monsters 3

Thank you for all your advise. I have upped her wet food to 1 sachet in the morning and the same again at night. She eats it all and then grazes on her biscuits throughout the day. She still is trying to steal food so I think you are right in saying she things it a game. I will try to play with her before breakfast. Yes she is 7 months. Can I ask at what age she is fully grown? Is it then best to reduce her food back down? I’m concerned if I feed her too much she will start gaining weight. She is currently an ideal weight but wondered if the extra food will have a dramatic effect.

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The little monsters 3

I have 8 year old cat who is a slow eater and a young 12 month old cat who is a speed eater and then will try and steal the older cats food. I mix her wet food with dry or shredded boiled chicken and it slows her down a lot since she will then chew her food.

Your cat is still growing and probably energetic, she may be burning through a lot of calories. Be sure she doesn't have worms, my rescue cat came to me with worms and tried to steal people food constantly, once he was dewormed, he stopped.

Gosh, if this is the only issue you have with your bengal, you are doing good! My bengal is a really slow eater. My DSH will finish up pretty fast and if he is still hungry, will go to Raiden's bowl and push him aside. But Raiden eats multiple times a day and the DSH only about 4.

When cats put their minds into something, it is really hard to break the cycle. We walk my Raiden's previous owner's house every single day (two walks -- four times on the side, then we turn down the street as the house is on a corner lot, and it's another two times). Raiden somehow wants to head up to Papa Joe's deck. Every single day, he takes off up the driveway and I have to block his path and tell him "NO!" He lets me know he is not happy, but will eventually head back into the street. I don't know what is up there that he wants and Papa Joe (which is what we call the previous owner) always loves seeing Raiden and comes one to pet him, etc. I don't know how to stop his behavior besides doing what I'm doing.

I know children are not fast eaters -- but you've got to keep Chili away from the people food, plain and simple. She is such a pistol!