Eating is his best friend

[kittykato]

So about 2 years ago I took in a cat from a person who didnt look after him. The cat never had food so he always ate what was laying around. I got him fixed right away. I started by feeding him whiskas and wet food. A year ago we moved and relatives had given him some human food wich i asked them not to do. Now he eats everything. I changed his food brand to blue buffalo to no avail. He knocks cookie bins off the counters, he rips open bread bags. If you accidently leave a bag anywhere empty or not he tears it everywhere. I dont have cub boards so I moved the items on the shelves, he managed to pull things off the shelf. I scare him off every time or chase him out of the kitchen. I dont know what to do anymore, its becoming a big problem. Any suggestions?

 

[cookimonster]

Possibly you could squirt him with water. You'd have to hide, so he doesn't associate you with the water.

Alternatively, you could cover a price of food with pepper of something with a bad smell and taste (nothing harmful to the cat) and see if he still eats it.

Just try to get him to connect human food with blech taste or punishment.

 

[cookimonster]

Don't make it a game though, show displeasure while doing it.

 

[jcat]

Could you get some big plastic storage containers with tight lids to store food in on the shelves?

 

[rad65]

Possibly you could squirt him with water.

NEVER squirt your cat with water. That is 100% the wrong way to use a water bottle. If you squirt with water, he's going to start to associate you with bad things. The proper way to use a bottle is to squirt NEAR your cat. If you do decide to go for a squirt bottle, please read up on how to properly use it before you turn your cat into a scaredy cat who runs away from you for fear that you're going to squirt him with water.

 

[kumitekat]

It is difficult to tell from your description exactly what the problem is. It sounds like he started tearing apart bags after he received human food from friends. He wasn't getting into anything before that event?

One of my thoughts is that he likes the plastic of the bread bag. Some cats have anxiety issues that cause them to lick or try to eat plastic.

It does sound like you have the right idea. That is to try to make things be out of his reach. If there is another way you could block things from him being able to access them that would be best I would think. Make sure he has no way to get up to the shelves for example. Can you put the food that is on the shelves is containers that he cannot open?

Try playing with him regularly too. Sometimes this can redirect any play aggression he might be directing toward your poor empty bags.

 

[ilovemia]

Possibly you could squirt him with water. You'd have to hide, so he doesn't associate you with the water.
Alternatively, you could cover a price of food with pepper of something with a bad smell and taste (nothing harmful to the cat) and see if he still eats it.
Just try to get him to connect human food with blech taste or punishment.

Mia became mean and would bite when I started to use a squirt bottle. I stopped and she went back tobeing her sweet self.

 

[kittykato]

I have another cat who eats the plastic so i can tell its not the plastic. He usually tears things open to find the food inside. Like cheese buns, he eats the cheese off all the buns. The other day he knocked over our trash can and ate a box of pizza. Ive resorted to locking him up when were not home. Our trash can does have a lid, he seems to be going out of his way to get to human food. It got worse about a month and a half ago. Is there a medical reason he might be doing this?

 

[smitten4kittens]

I don't think you can keep him out of food if he can reach it. I agree with the other poster that you should put food in heavy rubbermaid containers with locking lids. I have to keep all food out of my cat's reach. I finally found a trashcan he can't get into. It's a brand called Simplehuman. It doesn't have the regular type of lid. It has 2 sides that close flush on top. He can't get in no matter what he does. I don't think punishment will correct behavior in cats. It's more effective to remove the problems to begin with. Good luck with your kitty.