Feeding dogs from the table - my visceral torment :x

[JR8]

What's your take on feeding cats at the table, Delia?

Actually - its not necessarily about feeding them, it's about keeping your eye on them. Get distracted for a few seconds and there goes your chicken breast or steak!

I've been reading replies in this thread with interest and look forward to replying at some point. We're currently into week 2.5 of dog-sitting, and hence I've had lots of time to ponder my feelings on the matter and observe the dog in question!


BB, I'm not quite sure what you meant 'feeding cats at the table'. My original post was about feeding dogs from the table. I.e. a dog sitting by the table, and food being taken off a plate on the table and being given to it. So, are you talking about feeding cats cat food under the table while you eat off plates on top of it, or cats being on the table eating food from your plates?

p.s. You talk about cats taking food off your plate... er, you're kidding me I know almost nothing about cats, but I know that no cat would be allowed to even think of doing that in my household. I mean who is in charge here?

[nuff]

We used to have a cat and if you left the table for a split second she would be helping herself to the contents of the milk jug. Wouldn't be so bad if I didn't know what she used to hunt and eat

[nakatago]

p.s. You talk about cats taking food off your plate... er, you're kidding me I know almost nothing about cats, but I know that no cat would be allowed to even think of doing that in my household. I mean who is in charge here?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypMl2RFTC9Y

[nutnut]

No animals should be fed at a table, except children of humans. All other animals belong outside the house, in a cage of some sort or certainly well away from the human eating areas.

I saw a cat in the fruit section of Shop n Save the other day, I Shued it out the door, they don't belong there... Some old Auntie gave me a right dirty look.

Filthy vermin....


Nut

[BillyB]

We used to have a cat and if you left the table for a split second she would be helping herself to the contents of the milk jug. Wouldn't be so bad if I didn't know what she used to hunt and eat

Nuff is on the same page - my cats are lightning fast, and cats tend to be more instinctive. Turn your back for a split second and.......there goes your salmon.

With all the will in the world, you'll struggle to keep a cat trained around the table if there is food around.

Just a different take on things, that's all.

[JR8]

Nuff is on the same page - my cats are lightning fast, and cats tend to be more instinctive. Turn your back for a split second and.......there goes your salmon.

With all the will in the world, you'll struggle to keep a cat trained around the table if there is food around.

Just a different take on things, that's all.

Well I defer to your deeper knowledge of bad pussy, however I'll say that I've known plenty of people with cats and have never seen or heard of them taking food off people's plates at the table. I once saw a cat on a table (not in use at the time) licking a butter dish and as a result the thing almost got shot. Quite right too.

In a way this relates back to my OP, my expected relationship with cogent pets involves recognised boundaries, rather than 'do as you please, and we the owner will indulge your whims'.


Appreciate that it's your thing Bunter, so fine (just as you said earlier, let's eat out shall we? ).

[BillyB]

Nuff is on the same page - my cats are lightning fast, and cats tend to be more instinctive. Turn your back for a split second and.......there goes your salmon.

With all the will in the world, you'll struggle to keep a cat trained around the table if there is food around.

Just a different take on things, that's all.

Well I defer to your deeper knowledge of bad pussy, however I'll say that I've known plenty of people with cats and have never seen or heard of them taking food off people's plates at the table. I once saw a cat on a table (not in use at the time) licking a butter dish and as a result the thing almost got shot. Quite right too.

In a way this relates back to my OP, my expected relationship with cogent pets involves recognised boundaries, rather than 'do as you please, and we the owner will indulge your whims'.


Appreciate that it's your thing Bunter, so fine (just as you said earlier, let's eat out shall we? ).

Maybe I bring out the bad in animals - most of my cats have been the same....

[JR8]

Maybe I bring out the bad in animals - most of my cats have been the same....

Interesting point. The person who owns the dog in question, I am familiar with three of her other dogs (they're now back in SG). Two are as or even more socially unbalanced than this one which is 'some coincidence', and the other is so old it is on blur-autopilot.

I believe that owners get the pets that they allow.


Reminds me of my mother in law (sorry BB hehe...)
MIL: The cat every night jump up at bedroom door handle at 4am, asking to be let in. So have to get up lah.
Me: Why not just ignore him?
MIL: Because he keep jumping up.
Me: So why don't just you ignore him?

... and so on. No concept of ignoring the cat might teach it that it will be ignored. Rather, on the contrary, I think the owners like indulging him, and enjoy griping about his bad behavior that they of course facilitate.

[BillyB]

Maybe I bring out the bad in animals - most of my cats have been the same....

Interesting point. The person who owns the dog in question, I am familiar with three of her other dogs (they're now back in SG). Two are as or even more socially unbalanced than this one which is 'some coincidence', and the other is so old it is on blur-autopilot.

I believe that owners get the pets that they allow.


Reminds me of my mother in law (sorry BB hehe...)
MIL: The cat every night jump up at bedroom door handle at 4am, asking to be let in. So have to get up lah.
Me: Why not just ignore him?
MIL: Because he keep jumping up.
Me: So why don't just you ignore him?

... and so on. No concept of ignoring the cat might teach it that it will be ignored. Rather, on the contrary, I think the owners like indulging him, and enjoy griping about his bad behavior that they of course facilitate.

I think i'm just more tolerant of animals than of humans!

[sundaymorningstaple]

I think i'm just more tolerant of animals than of humans!

I, most definitely, am.

[sundaymorningstaple]

Speaking of cats, my neice picked up a stray kitten a while back (week or so) and gave it to a friend of hers) He took it to the vet for a checkup, shots, chipped, etc., etc., and brought it over in a transport cage yesterday. Little feller was squalling away, when he took it out of the cage, when my neice tried to comfort it, (where she was cuddling it would have had me reduced to a whimper!) Kitten wouldn't shut up. Brought in into me, I took it from her and as soon as I did the kitten shut up and never made another sound. It was purring inside of two minutes. Cat whisperer?

[JR8]

Cat whisperer?

OMG!

[the lynx]

I think i'm just more tolerant of animals than of humans!

Ditto. And it is so much easier to work with animals than with humans

True.

[Superglide]

No animals should be fed at a table, except children of humans. All other animals belong outside the house, in a cage of some sort or certainly well away from the human eating areas.

I saw a cat in the fruit section of Shop n Save the other day, I Shued it out the door, they don't belong there... Some old Auntie gave me a right dirty look.

Filthy vermin....


Nut

Like nutnut trolls should also not be fed.

[mummy mantras]

No animals should be fed at a table, except children of humans. All other animals belong outside the house, in a cage of some sort or certainly well away from the human eating areas.

Amazingly, I agree with Nut (though perhaps not about the cage...). And not just for the health and safety of people but the health of animals too.

I've seen a lot of so-called animal-lovers feed their pampered pets human food (basically letting them eat off their own plates). And my husband (who used to own a dog) always shakes his head at that. Human food isn't meant for animals and it will, quite frankly make them sick in the short term and ruin their health in the long term.

If you really love an animal, you'd make sure they eat the right food for their species.