mom24doggies

We have three cats...two boys and a girl. Tommy lives outside for the most part except for on cold nights. He is 10 years old, healthy as a horse. He comes in every night to eat and then hangs around in our yard/ neighbors yard. Then there is Pogo, he is 8 months old. He and his girlfriend Jasmine (stray, approx. 1 yo) live either outside in a kitty kennel we built for them or inside. These are the two I have a question about. They are totally, completely food obsessed. Every moment inside is spent hunting for more food. They knock things over, open cabinets (or rip bags through the cracks), rummage through the trash. If they hear something remotely like kibble hitting something or a can opening they come and attack it with extreme ferocity...I've never seen two animals act so feral around food! They are insane, I can't stand for them to be inside loose much because of it...they make so much racket and mess. We typically confine them to a room or large crate.

They get Kirkland brand kitty food. The kids take them outside of their kennel and play with them daily, if not two or three times a day. Both are spayed/neutered. They have toys to play with, a big cat tree to climb, as well as plenty of high perches to nap on. Both are utd on their vet care. The vet doesn't seem to think their obsession is a big deal since both are healthy. I've done some reading, the main thing I found was that they need some canned food for the higher protein content. I've gotten them some high quality grain free canned food and we are going to try feeding them canned in the morning and kibble at night. I can't afford to feed them canned all the time.

Anyone have suggestions? I figure something is going on....Tommy loves his food and will pig out like any normal, healthy animal given the opportunity, but he doesn't obsess like they do. He gets probably less care than they do too since he isn't around as much. I just can't figure it out. Any help is much appreciated.

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"Love is the emotion that a woman feels always for a poodle dog and sometimes for a man." ~George Jean Nathan

HerdingStdPoodle

Just a few ideas....Is it possible to have someone sit with the cats, twice a day, during feeding time for a week? Ten minutes usually is enough and then pick up the food dishes. The same place each feeding time works well. That way, you will know if they are eating their kitty food or if another cat or animal is stealing it. Our rescued barn cat was extremely agitated around food because other cats and birds kept taking it!
Also, we started worming our barn cat every 3-4 months, and that seemed to help regulate her appetite.
Perhaps the best idea is to call around and find an expert cat person. That is what helped me the most! HerdingStdPoodle

fjm

My instinct would be meat. Raw chicken wings, chicken necks, livers, chunks of stewing beef or lamb - anything which is fresh, and raw, and takes a bit of chewing. Serve in mouse sized portions (about 1.5-2 oz each per meal) and serve twice a day. Meanwhile, give them one small portion of kibble in a treat ball so they need to work for it. If you move to entirely raw or home cooked, you will probably need to add a little taurine powder, which is widely available on the internet - much cheaper from body builder sites than those dedicated to pets!

Cats usually self regulate their food intake much more succesfully than dogs do, so really voracious appetite argue either a deficiency, or boredom. As they are outside cats, they are less likely to be bored, but it is still a possibility. Giving them food that is a bit more interesting to chase and chew might help, and fresh raw meat should address any deficiencies. And, in the UK at least, chicken wings are as cheap as any decent kibble...

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To sit with a dog on a hillside on a glorious afternoon is to be back in Eden,
where doing nothing was not boring- it was peace.

~ Milan Kundera

Indiana

Not sure if Pogo was a stray too? My personal experience with stray cats is (we've had quite a few, counting all the ones my parents took in while I was growing up), they have a really strong food drive; I have always thought it might be because of being really hungry at some point in their life. My dad found a little orange tabby kitten under a building in the winter a while ago, so close to death the poor little guy couldn't even move. We mashed a little liver and put it in his mouth, and he managed to eat that. Anyway he turned out to be obsessed about food, even weird things like mashed potatoes and green beans!

mom24doggies

Thanks for the advice! They eat either inside their kitty kennel or in the house...no one else gets to their food. They have both been wormed recently.

I've thought about raw feeding them....the only problem is, they aren't actually "my" cats. Yes I pay for them for the most part but they are my sibling's cats, and they are too young to handle raw meat. I suppose I could dole everything out into baggies and then the kids could just dump it in their bowls. Do you think some raw bones/ meat a few times a week would help?

Pogo is not a stray really. A coworker of my brother's found him and his siblings when they were just a few days old and bottle fed them. We've had him since he was 8 wks old. I expect Jazzy to be a bit food obsessive but not him, and he is almost worse than her. I'll try fjm's suggestion as well as feed them some grain free canned food along with their kibble and see if it helps at all.

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"Love is the emotion that a woman feels always for a poodle dog and sometimes for a man." ~George Jean Nathan

tokipoke

Any reason they aren't free fed? I'm not sure if this will help or not. But like mentioned before, cats are better at regulating their appetite when they are free fed. A co-worker complained that her cat would cry and pester her all of the time. She fed him twice a day. I suggestd free feeding and it seemed to calm him down, he didn't cry anymore. Even if cats are free fed, if they love food, they will still be curious about it. My cats are free fed but they love people food and will even eat things out of the sink or counters. I have to rinse plates and pots really well and hide things in the microwave or oven. My persian loves to hide, and we always lure him out by rumpling any type of plastic. He RUNS out to see what we have cause he thinks it's treats!

I've tried feeding mine raw but they aren't interested, good luck with it! Maybe you can try pre-made raw?

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mom24doggies

The other animals will eat it...although I suppose they could have it outside in their kitty kennel. Hmmm....I may have to try that too. These cats are pigs, I doubt they would turn down anything!

__________________

"Love is the emotion that a woman feels always for a poodle dog and sometimes for a man." ~George Jean Nathan

mom24doggies

Well the addition of canned food has helped immensely...they can now be in the house without driving me crazy! I'm going to still add some raw meat/bones in as well. Certainly won't hurt anything.

__________________

"Love is the emotion that a woman feels always for a poodle dog and sometimes for a man." ~George Jean Nathan