How to stop my kitten from jumping on me with claws and stealing food?

Question

How do I keep my kitten from jumping on to me? She jumps up whether I’m sitting or standing and latches on with her claws so I have tiny holes all over my legs, arms, and stomach. She also attacks my food when I’m eating and will even grab it out of my hand and run off. I put her away from me and she keeps coming back. Both of these behaviors are getting worse and I want to train her to stop before she’s an adult cat. Pet's info: Cat | Korat | Female | spayed | 3 months and 2 days old | 4 lbs

Dr. Elizabeth · Accepted Answer

Training cats is complicated. You can certainly look into books about cat behavior or even about cat training but they are not wired like dogs. Regarding the rough play behavior, sometimes this behavior can be related to boredom, anxiety or a desire to play roughly. There are a few things you can do which may help. Try enriching his environment. Here is a great article about cat's instinctual needs: https://www.petcoach.co/article/why-every-cat-needs-a-place-to-climb/ Use a Feliway diffuser, set aside 30 minutes a day for vigorous play and really make sure to get Andromeda running. During the play time, if she seems like he wants to play rough, try to encourage her to wrestle with a stuffed animal. You may also try feeding her from a food puzzle and/or hiding food around the house for him to find. Most cats response best to combination therapy. The veterinarian can also prescribe medications which can help with behavior. The climbing behavior will generally stop and when she does this, put her down and then walk away and ignore her for a few minutes. Make sure to positively reward her when she exhibits good behavior. Lastly, regarding the food, have a squirt bottle of water ready and when she begins to stalk your food. Give her an oral correction first (stern "no") but if she continues, the squirt her with water. You may also just place her in another room with the door closed at meal time. I hope this helps and please feel free to post any additional questions.

How to stop my kitten from jumping on me with claws and stealing food?

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