My cat is blackmailing me [View All]

[Kathy in Cambridge]

One of my cats, Reno is blackmailing me over food. He has been a food whore since I adopted him (in May '03) so it's obvious that his previous owner must have given him table scraps.

I feed Reno and Noah Innova dry food and a few times a week, I give them some chicken, turkey or beef. The nights I neglect to give them people food, Reno wakes me up at 4 AM and 6 AM. He makes a ruckus, taps me on the shoulder when I roll over, runs his claws through my hair, meows in my ear and basically will not give in until I get up and feed him. Closing him out of the room doesn't work because he scratches the door persistently.

When I give him people food, I sleep peacefully through the night.

Now, do I give in and give him people food everyday, or do I attempt to train this very stubborn, very intelligent, very manipulative kitty?