 Barked: Sat Sep 8, '12 7:24pm PST |
 | |  | | It's natural for animals to guard their food, it's a survival instinct. They may not show it when they are the only pet. But when competition is introduced where there was previously none, it can surface. (Happened to me in a very violent way.)
Work with the kitten (and Rufio is he shows aggression) by hand-feeding him in a separate room from the other pets. He'll learn that you bring the food, not take it, and will stop showing aggression to you when he gets this. And only give food when he's calm, not when he's on the prowl.
My Shiba was food aggressive with me at first, and I hand-fed him (he was on kibble at the time) until he was okay with me being around his food, then I hand-fed him again when I switched him to raw to solidify that mindset. He was again food aggressive with my Mom's dogs when I moved back in (he would seek them out even if they were in a different room to attack first) so I fed him separately, and only gave him food when he was sitting calmly and not trying to tear the door down. I NEVER tried to take food from him once he had it. He does have a very solid "Leave It!" command, but I don't use it on his actual food. Once he has it, it's his, and I cannot take it unless he is like, choking on it.Edited by author Sat Sep 8, '12 7:25pm PST
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HOWEVER, we have recently added a new member to our family- a 4 month old kitten. Today I gave the kitten raw chicken gizzards to see if he would like it. At first I was holding it for him as he was chewing, but when I let him chew it on his own and I went back near him as he was eating it- he started growling!!! What is going on???! Last thing i need is another one of my pets being food aggressive! what do I do?! HELP PLEASE.
