The Cat Behavior Answer Book - Arden Moore [62]
There are two reasons to discourage begging at your table. The first is your peace of mind and the second is your cat’s health. If you are having trouble saying no to furry beggars, remind yourself that table scraps are often high in calories and low in nutritional value, especially if you allow Emma to lap up gravy or devour fat from a piece of sirloin. Consuming the wrong food can cause vomiting, diarrhea, obesity, and a host of other health woes.
Healthy treats designed for cats are much better alternatives for snacking between meals, and you can use these food “bribes” to your advantage to reinforce good behavior. However, don’t go hog wild on healthy treats either — limit them to about 10 percent of your cat’s daily chow.
To put the brakes on begging, implement a new policy of feeding your pets only from their food bowls. If you permit Emma in the dining room at mealtime, the only way to stop her behavior is to ignore it completely. Yelling or pushing her away is not effective and may actually increase her attention-seeking determination. At first, expect her begging behaviors to escalate, but eventually she will learn that no rewards are forthcoming.
Another solution is to time her meals for when you eat. Feed her in a different room where you can close the doors. Keep her there until after the dishes have been cleared from the table. Then open the door and treat her to some calorie-free TLC. Be patient. It will take some time and persistence to introduce this new routine and to stop Emma from pestering you when human food is around.
Naturally, the best advice is not to develop the habit of feeding your cat table scraps in the first place. That way, she will never know what she is missing. And you will ensure that she is more likely to stay at a healthy weight.
POWER OF PROTEIN
You may wonder if there’s a problem with feeding dog food to your cat. The answer is, definitely. Dogs and cats have distinctly different dietary needs. Dog chow lacks certain nutrients that cats need, such as taurine. This amino acid is necessary for the health of cats’ eyes, for digesting fats, and for keeping heart muscles healthy. Cats are obligate carnivores and dogs are omnivores. In plain English, that means cats need more meat protein than dogs need. A few nibbles from the dog’s dish won’t do any harm, but make sure your cat’s main meal is kitty kibble, not dog chow.
Chew on This
Q When I head out the door to go to work, I always give my dog a rawhide bone, which seems to keep him happy for the whole day. I tried giving my cat, Garfield (yes, he’s big and orange!), a small rawhide bone to chew on. He just sniffed it and ignored it. Why won’t he chew on a bone the way Buddy does?
A The truth about cats and dogs is that they sport different types of jaw structures. They eat and chew differently. Cats are strict carnivores, whereas dogs are more omnivorous and eat a wider variety of foods. Cats feature sharp, slicing teeth that are designed to snare, hold, and tear apart small prey such as mice and birds. They use their barbed tongues to rasp away bits of meat, rather than relying primarily on their teeth. Feline jaws move up and down, while canine jaws are designed to crush bones and to grind back and forth.
Garfield would probably enjoy that rawhide more if you smeared some cheddar cheese on it and let him lick it clean like a lollipop. In general, cats are fussier about what they stick in their mouths than their kooky canine chums are. That explains why it is easier to fool a dog by hiding his pill in a piece of cheese than it is to fool a cat. Most dogs will gulp down the cheesy treat without hesitation, but most cats will sniff out that disgusting pill and either surgically nibble all the cheese off the pill or saunter out of the room without another glance.
Both dogs and cats have oral fixations. Dogs often pass time and calm themselves down by gnawing on bones. It helps them to relax. Cats often turn to grooming themselves when they feel stressed or unsettled. They like the contact