My cat is blackmailing me

[Kathy in Cambridge]

One of my cats, Reno is blackmailing me over food. He has been a food whore since I adopted him (in May '03) so it's obvious that his previous owner must have given him table scraps.

I feed Reno and Noah Innova dry food and a few times a week, I give them some chicken, turkey or beef. The nights I neglect to give them people food, Reno wakes me up at 4 AM and 6 AM. He makes a ruckus, taps me on the shoulder when I roll over, runs his claws through my hair, meows in my ear and basically will not give in until I get up and feed him. Closing him out of the room doesn't work because he scratches the door persistently.

When I give him people food, I sleep peacefully through the night.

Now, do I give in and give him people food everyday, or do I attempt to train this very stubborn, very intelligent, very manipulative kitty?

[TXlib]

1. Wrap him firmly in duct tape and toss him in the closet.

[radwriter0555]

12. that's what I was going to say.

great minds think alike.

[CatWoman]

2. forget training him

just kick back and enjoy the ride :D

[Richardo]

5. I agree - he's training YOU...

It's too late, my friend.

[lynx rufus]

8. I love hand feeding ALL my cats people food

Some foods are dangerous (chocolate, onions, tuna in the can,
avocados, baking soda/powder, nuts, coffee, grapes, garlic, mushrooms and nutmeg are some the major culprits). Other than these I always offer my cats some of what I am eating - this is over and above the dry food and canned feast they get daily. They enjoy the variety, I love hand-feeding them, and the interaction promotes the people/kitty
bond we all love so much. Cats that are not offered variety
when they are young may not be interested as they mature.
This is a shame and a waste. Start 'em young.

=^..^=

[Bertha Venation]

11. CatWoman, would you get mad if I

stole your idea, and created a similar collage of my cats for my sigline?

[CatWoman]

13. no way!!!!

the more kitty sigs, the better!!!

:hi:

[Bertha Venation]

17. Woohoo!

Got that, Mrs. V.? Bored? Get crackin'... :loveya:
CatWoman :yourock:

[LynneSin]

18. I will NOT be putting my kitty in my sig line

You'll just have to come visit me to see my warm fluffball

[GOPisEvil]

3. Try to get some embarrassing photos of him.

Like these ^!

Heehee - thanks Lynne.

[Richardo]

4. Bwah! Midori gone kill you...

That's hilarious...I especially like Snidely Trinity... :D :thumbsup:

[CatWoman]

6. BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

I crack up every time I see that -- they all look like they are in a Barbershop Quartet. :D

[LynneSin]

9. You never know when good blackmail photos will turnup

[GOPisEvil]

14. HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

LOOK AT ZOMBY!!!!! Snidely Zomby!

Edit - who went upside matcom's head? :o

[LynneSin]

21. That's a pitchfork you're holding

hehehehehehehehe

[GOPisEvil]

22. Are you calling me the devil?

}(

[LynneSin]

23. All 3 of you have horns and tails

Maybe I should have done them in red

:shrug:

[GOPisEvil]

24. Oh yeah, I see that now.

:evilgrin: :evilgrin: :evilgrin:

M.A.T.C.O.M. in emoticons.

[Richardo]

26. LynneSin is officially my favorite Photoshop artist *ever*...

...that stuff is just TOO funny. :D :thumbsup:

[ironflange]

7. I give each of mine a bit of tuna at 9:30 each night in the basement

It's amazing how well they can tell time now. Anyway, while they snarf it down, I go upstairs and close the door. They like it down there, there's lots of nice places to sleep. They were trained as kittens though, I wouldn't want to try this with a grown cat.

[CatWoman]

15. ooooooooooooo

look at those adorable kitties!!!

the one on the far right looks like my Trinity.

:hi:

[Kathy in Cambridge]

20. I like your tortoiseshell kitties

isn't it true that most tortoiseshells are crazy?

[CatWoman]

25. If you use my cats as examples

YES!!!

the torties are Male and Trinity.

Streak is calico.

Female is black smoke.

[Richardo]

27. Our Seabiscuit is a female black smoke...

...isn't that the softest cat fur ever? Pretty fancy for a former barn kitty... :loveya:

[spinbaby]

10. You can't win

Just give him what he wants. We've been trying to get our six to eat canned food that isn't in tiny expensive cans. They're winning.

[Kathy in Cambridge]

19. Yes, they always like the expensive cat food

Reno pretends to bury the wet food that's not to his liking. Noah, my other kitty, is not finicky at all.

[Kathy in Cambridge]

16. Reno grabs your hand to bring the fork to his mouth

he's obnoxious. But he's so cute it's hard to get mad at him...except at 4 AM! :grr:

[ronnykmarshall]

28. Our cats like to wake up @ 4am

They're now 6 mos and growing like crazy!