How do I get one of my family's cats to stop behaving like a human?

If you restrict the people food from her, she’ll be forced to eat hers. They won’t starve themselves.

Interesting question (my Missy sometimes sniffs near my food until I shoo her away). I’ve resisted the urge to share, so I have no problem with her eating her own food.

Your question make me wonder if anyone in your family has been feeding your cat any food other that what’s specifically purchased for her?

@livelaughlove21 “They won’t starve themselves”

Oddly enough, cats are capable of killing themselves by not eating. Technically it isn’t starvation, but they can refuse to eat long enough that they begin to metabolize their own fat. As far as their liver is concerned, this is like living on a pure fat diet, and it can cause fatal liver failure.

We almost lost a cat this way when we were trying to get her to eat a prescription cat food that she hated. We too assumed that she wouldn’t starve herself.

@SABOTEUR That thought didn’t even occur to me. I don’t remember anyone doing that. That being said, I do have a little niece and two little nephews who spend time here a lot. I wonder if one of them would have done that when nobody was looking…?

I would like to add to @livelaughlove21 answer, That may be the right thing to do, but remember the cat is going to drive you up against the wall and may even show e rational behavior, like jumping on the table, mow and your cat will probably try to “steal food”.
Good luck and be patient. Like humans it takes up to 21 days to break a bad habit, with cats up to one month!

Have you tried “kitty crack” ?

Seriously, that’s the nickname given to Fancy Feast canned cat food.

People who are dealing with ill cats with frequent bouts of poor appetite (such as those with CRF) resort to this when all else fails. If a cat won’t eat Fancy Feast, then they’re not a cat (or they’re half an inch from death’s door).

And please heed the advice of @thorninmud and don’t assume the cat won’t starve herself. This approach may work fine with picky eaters like dogs and human children, but it can kill a cat.

The fancy technical name for it is “Hepatic Lipidosis” but his explanation gives an excellent summation of the process.

Seriously, I’d be amazed if the cat won’t eat Fancy Feast.

My current cat stopped eating and drinking altogether after she was spayed. The vet said that happens with a small percentage of cats afyer the surgery. So they had me syringe-feeding her some weird type of canned food that seemed more like cornmeal mush than cat food.

So, I researched assisted feeding and started reading about CRF and time and again people mentioned that’s what they used to get their cat to eat.

So, I went and got a few cans and she immediately gobbled them down and thats what turned the corner and had her appetite returning to normal.

Give it a try and see how the cat responds. Perhaps she just doesn’t like the type of cat food she now has. If it’s dry food, that’s not really good for cats to begin with. It dehydrates them way too much.

You can get lots of thought provoking articles on the care and feeding of healthy cats at the website below. The author is a veterinarian with numerous cats of her own.

www.catinfo.org

Yeah…that Fancy Feast suggestion is on point. I don’t know what they put in that can but cats do seem to go wild for it. If I were attempting to ween my cat off of “people food”, Fancy Feast would be a logical choice.

Another voter for Fancy Feast. I’m sure it has high-quality methamphetamines in it. We shouldn’t let them know we know,
‘cause they’ll up the price. Stock up now.
My cat normally eats a pretty decent brand of dry food and does fine, but when he’s getting meds he gets Fancy Feast. It works!

@susanc Ah, yes. I was gonna say something regarding my preference for better quality cat food, but damn it…that Fancy Feast will do the trick.

Thanks, all! I will let my Dad know about Fancy Feast and see what he has to say. :)