# How to stop my kitty from jumping up my legs when I'm prepping food.



## Kabloomybuzz (Sep 6, 2015)

Every time I#m getting their food ready, Schrodi will be rubbing against my legs, purring, which is find, then nibbling at my feet (not so fine but a lot more manageable) to clawing up my leg... which isn't fun. Especially when his claws are due a trim.

I've tried all the usual no's, ah ahs, clicking my fingers and even clapping to get him down and at the time, he does jump down, but I'd like a way to deter him from doing it and wondered if anyone had any ideas.

I know its just because he can smell his food and he's impatient... it almost feels like I'm rewarding the behaviour by feeding him immediately... but he and his sister eat from a double bowl on the same mat so I cant fairly withold her food and I doubt its the best course of action anyway


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## kittih (Jan 19, 2014)

Firstly as your kitten gets older the climbing behaviour will lessen but I can understand you wanting to be proactive about preventing being used as a climbing frame.

The easiest solution is to prevent them from being in the room you are preparing food.

If you want more of a training solution then I recommend you prevent them from being with you when you prepare the food to stop the kitten practicing the undesirable behaviour and also spend time training your kitten what you would like it to do instead in some positive training sessions. For this you could try clicker training. If you have a food motivated cat this can work well. First decide what action you want your cat to take. Examples are sitting or perhaps jumping into a platform or going to some other place if your choosing. Using your cats favourite treats or even some if it's meal click and treat until the kitten looks for food as soon as it hears the click. Then you can either slowly in small steps lure the cat into the bahaviour you want eg raising the food up and behind his head to encourage a sit or getting him to jump into the platform or capture the moment when the kitten does the behaviour or a small step towards the behaviour on its own using a click then treat. This is called shaping. Each positive step towards your goal gets a click and immediate treat. Eventually your kitten will figure out for himself if he does the action he gets a treat. If he doesn't do action no click and no treat. You can then practice the next step which is starting to prepare food or whatever the cue will be for the kitten to a do the behaviour and again click and treat for each tiny step towards that behaviour. Eventually your kitten will perform the action when cued . The trick is consistency and not taking too big steps towards the goal. Only practice a few minutes at a time and end each session on a high point.

Also I wouldn't feed the kittens from joined bowls. When they are small it will be ok but when they are older they may get protective over their food. Separate bowls also mean you can check no one is stealing the others food.


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## Ely01 (May 14, 2014)

Towel aroud your legs? 

Or closing the kitchen door while you are preparing.

Or preparing at ground level.

Having a high place you can put him on from which he can see the show.

As was said he should grow out of this once he can jump up by himself and once he gets used to the feeding routine : he ll know that when his food is being prepared it is coming indeed.


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## chillminx (Nov 22, 2010)

@Kabloomybuzz - I like the suggestion made by @Ely01 of giving your kitten somewhere high up, level with the counter tops, where he can sit safely and watch you preparing the food. e.g. a cat tree, or maybe a table? So when he jumps at your legs, you can lift him on to his perch, and he will soon learn to go up there by himself.

As he is getting so frantic when he smells food I wonder whether he is getting very hungry and therefore would benefit from being fed more often. I am sorry I can't recall his age, but I think I am right he is under 6 months old? In which case he may need feeding 5 times a day. If you are out in the day time you can leave meals for him in a timed autofeeder.


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## sskmick (Feb 4, 2008)

I own three cats and if I try to feed them when they are around me, they will push each other to get to their food, they will knock my arm to speed things up and generally get in the way. Mine sleep in a large dog crate so I prepare their food in their dishes before I let them out. They each go to a specific bowl. Its much easier, I can then clean their litter trays again without them getting in the way.

btw one of mine seems to like twanging my tights but will bite my leg in the process, another likes pulling my hair and the other likes jumping on my back when I am bent over emptying bins etc. Mine are 7 years old now. Sometimes they don't grow out of their kitten habits.


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## lorilu (Sep 6, 2009)

Great advice from the others regarding training, and feeding more often.

My cats all sit in their own spots and wait. One has an elevated spot so she can observe the proceedings.

I recommend you stop feeding them from a joined dish. Each cat should have his or her own dish and his or her own meal spot. When you feed each cat in that same spot every day eventually they learn that that is their spot, and they will wait there.

Play with them, a good vigorous interactive game, right before meal time. This gets a lot of that jumpy energy out and they will be more content to wait.

Eventually meal times will become a wonderful bonding time. I love meal times. Each cat has such different little rituals when waiting and when eating.


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## Ouicestmoi (Oct 26, 2017)

That happened to me twice today after I started cooking her chicken, she jumped and started climbing my legs and became absolutely hysterical whilst we were prepping her food.
To be honest I never saw such crazy behaviour... when she was eating she was like those stray poor kittens that didn't eat anything for days, barely chewing.
She was dewormed according to the breeder so I wonder if the breeder was that clueless and giving food right off the pan!!??
That's dangerous!! I was by myself and if she climbed more she could jump at the hob.

It's only one day she is with me but her behaviour is a tad extreme. 
I shall take her to the vet asap.



Kabloomybuzz said:


> Every time I#m getting their food ready, Schrodi will be rubbing against my legs, purring, which is find, then nibbling at my feet (not so fine but a lot more manageable) to clawing up my leg... which isn't fun. Especially when his claws are due a trim.
> 
> I've tried all the usual no's, ah ahs, clicking my fingers and even clapping to get him down and at the time, he does jump down, but I'd like a way to deter him from doing it and wondered if anyone had any ideas.
> 
> I know its just because he can smell his food and he's impatient... it almost feels like I'm rewarding the behaviour by feeding him immediately... but he and his sister eat from a double bowl on the same mat so I cant fairly withold her food and I doubt its the best course of action anyway


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## lorilu (Sep 6, 2009)

Ouicestmoi said:


> That happened to me twice today after I started cooking her chicken, she jumped and started climbing my legs and became absolutely hysterical whilst we were prepping her food.
> To be honest I never saw such crazy behaviour... when she was eating she was like those stray poor kittens that didn't eat anything for days, barely chewing.
> She was dewormed according to the breeder so I wonder if the breeder was that clueless and giving food right off the pan!!??
> That's dangerous!! I was by myself and if she climbed more she could jump at the hob.
> ...


She sounds very very hungry. Feed her as much of that chicken as she will eat, frequent meals.

Break the chicken up with your fingers into shreds, so it is easier for her to swallow and digest..


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