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Cats/my cat must be petted while he eats

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Expert: - 10/16/2009


Question
Hi,
I've got a male American shorthair named Cassius (for the black eye he gave me when we first met). He's a tough little guy from the streets of Brooklyn, and we've had him for about two years.

He has developed this habit of demanding to be petted while he eats. Even if he has food in his bowl from last night's dinner that he didn't finish, he will wake us up and lead us to the kitchen for some of what we call PWE, or petting while eating. He purrs and purrs while we do this. He often swats my husbands ankles after he's given him this special service, but never me. After he's done with me petting him while eating, he just runs to the bathroom for a drink from the bathtub.

I've read that this petting while eating behavior could be related to his being an alpha male (only pet in the house). What do you think it means? Why does he do this, and how can we get him to stop thanking my husband with violent clawed swats to the ankles?

Thanks!
Susan

Answer
Susan,

Wow, has he got you folks very well trained.  As to swatting your husbands ankles, this is a sign of play (for whatever reasons). You may be able to get him to stop by having your husband where some kind of ankle guards, so that he cannot get any rise out of him when he swats at him.  Negative reinforcement does not do very well with cats, so you need to find a way for rewarding him if he does not swat your husband's ankles.

It sounds to me as if his behaviors are very ingrained, so it will be difficult to overcome them.  You might also investigate clicker training (see www.clickertraining.com) which is a behavior modification technique with much success amongst cats.

It will be a long frustrating road to overcome these behaviors requiring consistency of your behaviors and persistence.  I will tell you it is not easy outlasting a cat when it has its mind set on a certain behavior.

Best regards... Norm.  

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Norman Auspitz

Expertise

I can answer most non-veterinary questions about cats. My particular expertise is pedigree cats, breeding and showing. However, I am versed in feline behavior, cat breeds and their characteristics, general feline husbandry, and the like.

Experience

I judged for the Canadian Cat Association from 1975 until 1982. I am currently an approved allbreed judge for the Cat Fanciers'' Association (the world''s largets cat registry), and have been judging for them since 1991. I have been breeding pedigreed cats since 1971 and have been exhibiting pedigreed cats in shows since 1970. I obtained my first pedigreed cat in 1970 and have never looked back. In 1971, I obtained my first Abyssinian which has become my primary breed. In addition, I have bred Manx and Persians. Currently, besides the Abyssinians, I am also breeding Maine Coons.


Organizations
Cat Fanciers'' Association, inc. (CFA) and the Manx, Maine Coon, and Abyssinian breed councils. I am currently Abyssinian breed council secretary.

Publications
Cat Fancy Magazine, The Abyssinian Chapter in The Cat Fanciers'' Association Complete Cat Book, and Articles for various editions of The Cat Fanciers'' Association Yearbook

Education/Credentials
I received a B.S. from Drexel University in 1968, a M.Math from University of Waterloo, in 1970, a Ph.D. from University of Waterloo in 1975, and a MBA from McMaster University in 1980. I received my approved allbreed judging status in the Cat Fanciers'' Association in 1999.

Awards and Honors
We have produced a number of Cat Fanciers'' Association (CFA) National winning Abyssinian and Maine Coons. We have produced a number of Abyssinian and Maine Coon Distinguished Merit females (an award for a top producing cat), including the first Distinguished Merit Abyssinian in the red (sorrel) color. I am the CFA Abyssinian breed council secretary and belong and/or hold office in a number of cat clubs. I am also a member of the CFA Judges Association.

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