Trick or treat
I love my cats. Even when they’re causing me to tear my hair out, I still love them. They are like my babies. No matter what they do or don’t do, I can’t stay mad at them for long. But there’s one behavior that is driving me bananas: they are obsessed with treats. Jack, especially, seems to spend his entire life thinking about treats. Every single time I go into my kitchen, he thinks it’s treat time, and he’s right there with me. He either jumps up on the countertop or he’s underfoot. Mostly, he’s underfoot. Half the time I can’t move for fear of tripping over him or stepping on him and/or falling. This morning is a perfect example. I went into the kitchen to fix my breakfast and nearly fell over Jack six times before I lost my temper and squirted him with water to make him get out from underfoot.
To stop this obsessive behavior, I’ve considered making my cats go cold turkey on treats. But I hate to do that. Treats are a wonderful way to reward them and/or to make something they hate doing more palatable to them. And my vet thinks they’re fine, as long as having treats doesn’t cause the cats to ignore their regular food, which is better for them. Jack and Cleo love all their food. Wet, dry . . . it doesn’t matter. They eat it. And they are at a healthy weight, which hasn’t changed more than an ounce or two in the past year. Besides, why should Cleo suffer for Jack’s obsession?
I’ve also thought about moving the location of the treats from the pantry (where all their cat food is) but remembering how they managed to tear open a package of treats that wasn’t behind a door they can’t open, doesn’t really seem as if it’ll work. No matter where the treats go, they’ll go, too. I don’t think it’s possible to trick them.
Any suggestions? I’ve created a monster.
8 Comments
Angelina (Barbin) Jameson
Posted May 3, 2014 at 11:47 am
My 3 kitties know their treat time is when I get up in the morning. That doesn’t keep them from begging once in a while… Do you think Jack might just be bored? Maybe put away his toys and bring one out when he wants a treat? My cats get bored if they see their toys all the time so I parcel them out to keep them entertained. Just a thought. 🙂
Patricia Kay
Posted May 3, 2014 at 12:02 pm
Angelina, that’s a good idea. I’ll give it a try. Thanks!
Betsy Henning
Posted May 3, 2014 at 12:04 pm
I think Jack’s tricking you into treating him — like it’s his job. I babysit a four year old who’s got me pretty well trained to hand out too many treats too. Gotta love ’em.
Patricia Kay
Posted May 3, 2014 at 8:19 pm
😀
Pat O'Dea Rosen
Posted May 3, 2014 at 2:36 pm
When you find a way to make Jack turn down treats, let me know. My Lucky’s obsessed with them, too.
Patricia Kay
Posted May 3, 2014 at 8:20 pm
And Pat,isn’t it interesting that Lucky and Jack are both such social cats?
Amy Sharp
Posted May 16, 2014 at 9:33 am
When I discovered that my housekeeper was bribing my cat for love with treats, I stopped giving her treats altogether. My kitty suffers from renal failure, so I only give her the prescription food, dry and wet, along with her pills. She looks forward to Rosario’s visits, and Rosario has fun giving her treats. That way, I know she only gets treats a couple of times a month and won’t get sick again from eating too much of the wrong things.
Patricia Kay
Posted May 30, 2014 at 12:52 pm
Oh, gosh, Amy, sorry about the renal failure. I think you came up with a great solution.