Food possessive kitten

[mountainmom08]

My kitten is very food possessive, even growls at my 2 very large German shepherd and does not take warnings from them. Thank goodness they are both patient. He growls at us and our ferret. what can be done about this? Is this normal, is it bad like with dogs?

 

[katluver4life]

Hello

A few questions. How old is he? How long have you had him? Has he been seen by a vet? How often are you feeding him? Can you feed him in a place of his own without being interrupted?

Food possession and or aggression, is usually brought on by the fear of not being able to get enough food and that some one or some thing is going to steal it. Feeding him some place where he can be alone is the best way to deal with it. He should out grow this behavior in time, once he knows no one is going to take it from him.

 

[physicsgal981]

Is he stealing food from the dogs?  If he is, he may not be getting enough food.  You don't say how old he is but kittens can use a lot of energy and do a lot of growing.  You may need to feed him more or a different food. 

I've seen this in cats that have been food deprived at some point in their life.  Once they learn over time that not having food isn't an issue, they typically calm down but it can take a while. 

 

[mountainmom08]

He is around 8 weeks old, he was thin when I got him and has plumped up nicely. He has that nice round kitten belly. I do have the food in other place. But he insists on going after everyone elses food, even ours. When I try taking him away from our he claws and bites. I have learned to just take him to his food, it usually stops him. He did have worms and has been treated. I hope he grows out of it. Right now I am just keeping his bowl full, he does not finish it and it is about 1/2 cup.
 

 

[physicsgal981]

If he's been without food since he was wean (at 4-5 weeks) that would be half his life at this point.  It may take some work but I suspect he'll grow out of this.  I think 'reminding' him where his food is, is exactly the right thing to do.  Kittens are small and the world is a very exciting place and they tend to forget things. 

 

[katluver4life]

He is around 8 weeks old, he was thin when I got him and has plumped up nicely. He has that nice round kitten belly. I do have the food in other place. But he insists on going after everyone elses food, even ours. When I try taking him away from our he claws and bites. I have learned to just take him to his food, it usually stops him. He did have worms and has been treated. I hope he grows out of it. Right now I am just keeping his bowl full, he does not finish it and it is about 1/2 cup.
 

Yes, sounds like he is just food driven right now. What are you feeding him? Sounds like it may be dry food? Try giving him wet if your feeding him dry. Wet is better for him and will satisfy him more. Has more protein and less carbs. Carbs don't keep him full for long and his body has no need for them at all. http://www.catinfo.org/ is a great site written by a vet on cat nutrition and diet needs.

 

[mountainmom08]

he gets a high quality dry. with little additives for extra nutrients. i saw what yhe article said about dry. but the ingredients in wet scare me more. they do get things like broth and all that. all my animals get dry but are supplemented with various all natural ingredients.

 

[vball91]

Which ingredients in wet food scare you more than dry food? Dry food must have starches in order to bind the food together. If you look at the ingredients of any dry food, you will find non species-appropriate ingredients. I find it interesting that you say you are supplementing with all natural ingredients when dry food is about as unnatural as it gets. Why not feed them a natural diet to begin with?

 

[mountainmom08]

If I could afford to feed them and all natural diet I would. I have 2 very large German shepherd and and a ferret on top of this kitten. I regret the fact that I cannot, knowing how much they would all benefit. I can't remember what it is in wet food, have not looked at it in a very long time, I was giving it to my dogs as a treat and one day looked at the back and swore never to buy it again. What the animals get it meat scraps and dripping, I cook all natural for m family so the food we eat is safe for our animals. Maybe they have made some canned foods better and will look at that.

 

[franksmom]

If I could afford to feed them and all natural diet I would. I have 2 very large German shepherd and and a ferret on top of this kitten. I regret the fact that I cannot, knowing how much they would all benefit. I can't remember what it is in wet food, have not looked at it in a very long time, I was giving it to my dogs as a treat and one day looked at the back and swore never to buy it again. What the animals get it meat scraps and dripping, I cook all natural for m family so the food we eat is safe for our animals. Maybe they have made some canned foods better and will look at that.

Agree take a look at catinfo.org the homemade recipe on there actually is often cheaper than wet or premium dry- here is a good comparison of how much different foods cost (http://catcentric.org/nutrition-and...y-cat-or-i-can-afford-to-feed-commercial-raw/). There are a lot better wet foods on the market that do not contain suspect ingredients. Some great brands are Hound and Gato, Tiki Cat and Weruva - here is a list of the best natural brands (http://www.naturalcatcareblog.com/2010/12/the-7-best-natural-commercial-cat-foods-so-far/). Unlike dogs cats are obligate carnivores and really do much better on an all meat diet.