Expert: Dear Tabbi - 12/3/2008

Question
Hi : ) My boyfriend and I adopted a 4 year old cat from
ASPCA and we love her. However, I've recently been having a
problem with her everytime I cook or clean in the kitchen.
She starts meowing (almost like whining) and winding in
between my legs, she's caused me to trip once and I've
accidentally stepped on her a few times. I always make sure
she has fresh food (both canned and dry) and water...so I
know it's not hunger. It also only seems to happen when I'm
in the kitchen...she also always tries to snatch food out
of my hand when I'm snacking or pulling stuff out of bags
to cook. (It's like she wants human food.) I'm scared I'll
end up hurting her or myself if she keeps doing that ( i.e
spilling hot water on her or I, or even a knife or
something!) Any advice would be appreciated! Thank you!

Answer
Julia,

The hard thing about adopting is that you don't know what experiences that cat had before, or what kind of food she was given by her previous owners. She sounds like she is asking for something that she usually got from the kitchen. Maybe they made hamburgers alot and gave her ground beef, or some type of meat. I would try giving her some meat and see how she reacts. Cats are carnivores so raw or cooked is fine. It sounds like she may have been given scraps as a person cooked. If you give her something put it in her dish  when you are through, don't just drop it to her. Doing that will get her to keep up the begging. That may be what she wants.

It will take a while to stop the habit and it isn't easy. You should have a rolled up newspaper handy and whop her when she gets around your legs and say "no legs!" firmly and loudly, or some wording that she will recognize. You have to be consistant about it. Some cats are stubborn. You can't allow her to get away with it once then scold her the next time. Make sure you pet her in another room so she will not be afraid of you, just getting around your legs in the kitchen. The newpaper won't hurt her but it will scare her, and she will come to associate that scaring with getting around your legs and hopefully stop it soon.

Tabbi