Endless eating and food "aggression"

[swampmonster]

Hello, all!

My cat Beaker has been in our family since February and he's making himself quite comfortable here, so much so that he's been eating everybody's food.

We are a multi cat household (three total) and do timed eating sessions four times a day. We portion their servings, generally using Royal Canin Satiety kibble during the day, and sometimes a wet version of the same brand for dinner to balance things out.

Beaker is a former street cat so I get the feeling that being pushy and demanding with food comes with the territory. The problem is that our other cat Mo is obese and has struggled to adapt to the timed feedings basically since we adopted him last year. He was clearly on a free feed schedule which resulted in his obesity, now he eats a few kibbles and walks away expecting to find food there when he comes back later.

Beak will eat continuously for no good reason. I have seen him clean off each remaining dish, then dig under the plates in case he's missed anything. He'll also force his way into someone else's bowl while they're eating which often leads to the other two cats just giving up. He doesn't fight or growl, he's just really stubborn.

After struggling with diabetes with my late cat, Gim, I really don't want to go through it again, so I'm doing everything to keep Mo healthy, but now Beaker's veracious appetite is throwing things into chaos. I'm worried Mo could lose weight too quickly. We've tried feeding him privately in between meals to make up for the lost food, but he still eats a bit and walks away expecting it to be there when he comes back. He also really dislikes being separated in a closed room as he's a big scaredy cat.

I also really don't want Beak to get obese. I'm going to try feeding him in a closed office for a half hour or so to see if I can get him eating his own food, but what else could I do to change his bad habits? Anyone experience this kind of food aggression?

 

[verna davies]

You could try using a slow feeder for Beaker if you can feed him on his own. It is difficult to make sure the cats eat only their own food with more than one cat so are you able to stay in the room when they are eating to stop Beaker eating the other food.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08732YLMH/?tag=

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. Maybe by feeding him away from the others as you have suggested, it will satisfy his hunger enough that he won't go after the other cats' food when he is done.

You could feed him more food than you currently are and see if that helps any. (You can gradually reduce the amount over time down the road if you see it helps him to leave the other cats' food alone.) Or, as V verna davies suggested try the slow feeder - but, still away from the others.

If you feed him alone and still goes after the other cats' leftovers, you might also consider picking him up - each and every time he does - and either tell him "No" or hiss at him (pick one and stick with it) then put him in a 1–2-minute time out room with the door closed (no longer than that or it loses its effectiveness). It is possible that after a half hour or so of repeating this process following a feeding that he might give up until the next feeding time, when you will likely need to go through it all again. It won't break the habit immediately, but over time he will eventually 'get the message', if this approach is done consistently.

Are your cats microchipped? Do you have a door that can be closed to block access to the food station? If so, you could install a programmable cat door in that door that will only open for the other 3 cats and not Beaker. I realize this isn't a cheap solution, but short of something along those lines, your only other option is to feed Beaker separately like you suggested, and then chase after him all day long when he tries to eat the other cats' food that has been left behind from the last dispensing from the feeders.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

With former strays, they lived hand to mouth at one point in their lives, so being hungry isn't anything they ever want to experience again. This "eating everything in sight" is often a side effect of being a stray. I have a now 13 year old boy who still tries to eat his brothers food and he's been in our household now for over 12 years . But he was a stray when we got him and that's just him being him. So, we feed the boys in separate rooms, and we make sure WE are in the room with the slow eater. Like clockwork, every meal he wanders in and we either have to pick up the slow eater's bowl as we tell the other one "no, you already ate", or we simply push him away and he slinks away and tries it again in a few minutes. It's annoying, but we have yet to find any other solution other than keep watch over the bowls.

But I will ask you this...how long are you keeping the bowls down. For times meals, you really shouldn't leave the food down more than say one half hour. Otherwise you're really free feeding and Mo will not learn to eat at specific meal times if he thinks food will be there if he mosies in later.

Maybe something in this article will help you convert them to actual timed, scheduled meals: Transitioning Free-fed Kibble Kitties To Timed Meals – TheCatSite Articles That way you would only have to keep an eye on their bowls for a certain amount of time at each meal, and hopefully each cat will eat up knowing it might be hours before the next meal

 

[Tigger's Mum]

Been there too. Our Tigger (ginger cat in my avatar) was eating his own and everyone elses. We started feeding him seperately and not letting him back with the others until they had finished their food. He was overweight and he's a young cat so don't want health issues in the future. He lost weight gradually and is now back with the others - and he eats his own and that's it. He learned.

Meanwhile, one of our other cats, Kira has become food aggressive and will eat anything that is left by the others. She was a rescue from a really bad situation (see my post about her - Kira's Story under the Cats Meow) and I think part of it is a throwback to when her previous "owners" didn't feed her properly - she was severely neglected. The other part is the canned food we've been feeding them - Almo Nature doesn't seem to be feeding them so we are going to switch back to Whiskas (I'm in the UK). Kira isn't aggressive when she gets Whiskas. They also get kibble in the afternoon (IAMS). One of our other cats, Otto has recently gone off the Almo Nature so I think there's possibly been a recipe change there as well. He'll eat Whiskas no problem and loves the IAMS kibble.

Rescue cats are often food aggressive until they learn that there is plenty of food for them. Unfortunately, that can take a long time.

 

[swampmonster]

Thank you for all the detailed responses! I really appreciate it. We have started feeding him in a separate room and thankfully he's so food motivated he will stay up there without a fuss and finish the whole plate. We do half hour timed feedings because Mo is weird and saunters in and out as he pleases, our oldest cat Doodle is the same way, he eats a few kibbles, leaves then returns, unless of course it's wet food. Even after the plates are cleared and Beak is unleashed he goes looking for the leftovers.

I'm going to try the puzzle dish to see if it helps slow him down and make him feel more satiated, but even as a human being dieting I never found that practice helped me lol. I might have to see if there's something I can give him that would be more filling. He is high energy and plays fairly frequently compared to his brothers who sleep all day, so I imagine part of this problem is his need to restore his reserves after burning all this energy off.

It is important to note that his level of hunger and food aggression has actually gone up since we first brought him home. In the beginning he would shove his face into someone else's bowl and they would all just switch, but he's been increasingly dominating. Maybe he's figured out that his brothers aren't a threat any more and that he can push them around.

My husband has scolded him but all that really did was add to his anxious behavior, he would run and hide, so I told him not to speak loudly to him any more. He's definitely a bit of a weirdo with some unusual anxiety problems. His trust is still coming along. He likes to be pet but only certain ways depending on the day. Like he'll throw his butt up in the air, most cats like a firm pat or scratch at the base of the tail, but he'll whip around and "whisper" to tell me no. He literally whispers. When we first got him everytime we'd enter his bedroom he'd open his mouth and let out the world's most quiet meow, it just sounds like air escaping. He can meow, but the whisper is used as a warning or when he's nervous. He also almost never purrs and if he does it's very subdued and quiet. And he does this totally bizarre thing where he can actually watch you and look around the room without turning his head at all. He sits perfectly still and his eyes dart around the room. He often does it from around corners, just spying on me. It's actually kind of creepy lol.

It makes me sad to think about it because I imagine something in his street life has made these behaviours a necessity. I hope in time I can build up his confidence and he can learn to relax around us, and maybe we can trial him on eating with his brothers again sometime.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Based on the way you describe Beak, he may need to be fed more food than you currently are - that along with the slow feeder. This would be especially true if you don't feed him in any more than you feed the others. It's not likely to immediately stop his behavior, but it might help to curb it some.

And, time is the other key - in terms of getting him farther and farther away from whatever life he had before you!

Good for letting your husband know to stop the scolding's - you are right, that almost always backfires, particularly in an anxious cat and one that is still fairly new to his current environment.

 

[maggie101]

Peaches,now 9,has been like Beak. her growling started with my cat maggie,a tad younger rescued at 3 months old. I just realized it's only Maggie's food she goes after. Probably because she is a slow eater. Anyways, I shut her in the bathroom to eat. Doesn't mind. That's where her food is!

 

[DreamerRose]

I've been through this too. Lily was abandoned with five kittens when found by a rescue. She was skin and bones and once given food, couldn't eat enough. By the time I got her, she was two pounds overweight. I had to sequester her on the basement stairs to keep her from gobbling up her food and then going after Mingo's. We lived with that arrangement for six years. Then I had spinal surgery and got tired of getting up to let her out, so I closed the door without latching it so she could push the door open when she was finished.

Now it seems like she's been trained. If she does come out before Mingo is finished (he really enjoys his food), she respectfully stands aside until he is done and can lick his dish (old habits die hard).

So separating the food gobbler from the others is key, and I hope in the long run you will have as good an outcome as I have.