Why do cats beg for human food?
Cats mistake human snacks like yogurt, applesauce, and cheese for their own treats because the packaging or sounds closely resemble wet food and lickable tubes. This causes them to scream, jump on people, and demand food even shortly after being fed.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
- 1Letting the cat smell the human food package to realize what it actually isDid this help you?
- 2Giving the cat their own treat while eatingDid this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“We stopped eating Gogurts in my home because the cats kept yelling at us thinking we were eating their Churus 😂”source ↗
“when I have any sort of can in my hand they are immediately standing next to their plates thinking they are going to get their wet food as if I didn’t feed them 20 mins ago.”source ↗
“My cat thinks apple sauce packets are lickables and will freak out until I let her smell it and realize what it is”source ↗
“My cats do this with those string cheese sticks. Scream when I get one out of the fridge and then jump all over me, then sniff my mouth in betrayal when I eat it all.”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 3Why does my cat demand food while I'm in the bathroom?
- 7How to stop indoor cat from constantly crying at the door after escaping
- 4Why is my cat scratching around its food?
- 14Why do cats eat non-food items like plastic and fake plants?
- 4Why does my cat lick my feet?
- 3Is it okay to feed someone else's outdoor cat?