My cat Abraham is a magical red head with fascinating behaviors. One such behavior that baffles me is his love affair with food.
In your opinion, or from your experience, based on the findings below should I be concerned? Is his behaviors more related to anxiety, an underlying medical condition, or is this normal?
SURVERY: Does your cat(s) do this too?
BACKGROUND
Abraham was an ex-feral. Although he acts like Mr. cool I believe he has subtle behaviors to suggest he actually has some anxiety issues. This includes his complete dread of being held or picked-up; his face buries into the nook of your arm as his RR increases, followed by cries of protest and squriming.
First of all he did spend much of his early years outside. In-fact the tip of one of his ears is clipped. The rescue I got him from at first thought he was too wild and had planned to return him back to his colony, but thankfully they gave him a chance.
He took awhile to get use to my apartment, but is now doing very well. He has gotten use to his companions and loves being the boss of the house.
SITUATION
Abraham loves to eat, and he eats everything. I’ve never seen anything like it, and I find it bizarre that he goes after virtually all kinds of foods (except fruit). Cats taste buds work differently from us; for example they can’t taste sweet stuff, yet Abraham will beg you to share your cookie. As long as it’s not fruit he will sit next to you, paw at you, cry, and not give up until you either leave the room (and shut the door behind you), or give him a treat. I always try to avoid giving him human food because I know that’s bad for his health.
Once my husband brought home cupcakes from his work. They were securely (we thought) in a box left on the kitchen table, and well Abraham, managed to jump on the table, knock, over the box and eat half the cupcakes while we slept. My first clue was when he greeted me in the morning and his chin was covered in black crumbs.
Exhibit A. The morning after
He does live in a relatively small space (1 BR APT.) with no access to the outdoors. He does share this space with me, my husband, and our other precious ex-feral Flavia.
Flavia and him do get along. Flavia is a very submissive girl and is very sweet. Abraham and Flavia often share the same chair, and they love to wrestle with each other. Having another cat, regardless of their seemingly friendly relationship, does increase stress to a certain amount.
Flavia and Abraham being cuties
HIS DIET
I feed him Blue Buffalo dry food (indoor + grain free), and Merck wet food (usually chicken, rabbit, or turkey). I would love to cook his food, but have yet to do the necessary research. From what I’ve lightly read it seems to be a rather complex balance.
I try to go by what the bag says which is around 3/4-1 cup of dry food a day, and then I also give him 1-2 servings (1 tsp) of wet food a day.
I also give him, on average, 4 treats a day (various brands).
MEDICAL HISTORY
He is around 2 years old. I first got him sometime in February of this year. I did take him to the vet after I picked him out at the rescue, but at that time I did not notice these behaviors. My plan is to go to a vet sometime this month and clear him of any medical problems.
He has no known health problems currently and is UTD with his vaccines. He is a big guy, not weight wise, but structure wise. He weighs around10lbs because I watch his weight. But I am sure if I gave into him more often he would weigh a 1,000lbs.
What medical problems should I be concerned of based on his s/s?
Besides his appetite, he is rather unremarkable; his coat his beautiful and shiny, has lots of energy, likes to play, doesn’t usually spray, no compulsive behaviors noted other than his food obsession, etc.
I know with diabetes the most common signs are increase urination, and thirst. He has none of those s/s. Increase appetite, however, is an indication of diabetes.
I know humans eat their feelings, but do animals do the same? Is that how they channel their depression and anxieties? I would think they would more often stop eating (which is very dangerous and can lead to hepatic issues).
CONCERNS
My major concern is if this is not normal behavior, and if he has an underlying medical problem.
If you have any recommendations, experience, or thoughts...please comment!
Thanks for reading! =)
In your opinion, or from your experience, based on the findings below should I be concerned? Is his behaviors more related to anxiety, an underlying medical condition, or is this normal?
SURVERY: Does your cat(s) do this too?
BACKGROUND
Abraham was an ex-feral. Although he acts like Mr. cool I believe he has subtle behaviors to suggest he actually has some anxiety issues. This includes his complete dread of being held or picked-up; his face buries into the nook of your arm as his RR increases, followed by cries of protest and squriming.
First of all he did spend much of his early years outside. In-fact the tip of one of his ears is clipped. The rescue I got him from at first thought he was too wild and had planned to return him back to his colony, but thankfully they gave him a chance.
He took awhile to get use to my apartment, but is now doing very well. He has gotten use to his companions and loves being the boss of the house.
SITUATION
Abraham loves to eat, and he eats everything. I’ve never seen anything like it, and I find it bizarre that he goes after virtually all kinds of foods (except fruit). Cats taste buds work differently from us; for example they can’t taste sweet stuff, yet Abraham will beg you to share your cookie. As long as it’s not fruit he will sit next to you, paw at you, cry, and not give up until you either leave the room (and shut the door behind you), or give him a treat. I always try to avoid giving him human food because I know that’s bad for his health.
Once my husband brought home cupcakes from his work. They were securely (we thought) in a box left on the kitchen table, and well Abraham, managed to jump on the table, knock, over the box and eat half the cupcakes while we slept. My first clue was when he greeted me in the morning and his chin was covered in black crumbs.
Exhibit A. The morning after
He does live in a relatively small space (1 BR APT.) with no access to the outdoors. He does share this space with me, my husband, and our other precious ex-feral Flavia.
Flavia and him do get along. Flavia is a very submissive girl and is very sweet. Abraham and Flavia often share the same chair, and they love to wrestle with each other. Having another cat, regardless of their seemingly friendly relationship, does increase stress to a certain amount.
Flavia and Abraham being cuties
HIS DIET
I feed him Blue Buffalo dry food (indoor + grain free), and Merck wet food (usually chicken, rabbit, or turkey). I would love to cook his food, but have yet to do the necessary research. From what I’ve lightly read it seems to be a rather complex balance.
I try to go by what the bag says which is around 3/4-1 cup of dry food a day, and then I also give him 1-2 servings (1 tsp) of wet food a day.
I also give him, on average, 4 treats a day (various brands).
MEDICAL HISTORY
He is around 2 years old. I first got him sometime in February of this year. I did take him to the vet after I picked him out at the rescue, but at that time I did not notice these behaviors. My plan is to go to a vet sometime this month and clear him of any medical problems.
He has no known health problems currently and is UTD with his vaccines. He is a big guy, not weight wise, but structure wise. He weighs around10lbs because I watch his weight. But I am sure if I gave into him more often he would weigh a 1,000lbs.
What medical problems should I be concerned of based on his s/s?
Besides his appetite, he is rather unremarkable; his coat his beautiful and shiny, has lots of energy, likes to play, doesn’t usually spray, no compulsive behaviors noted other than his food obsession, etc.
I know with diabetes the most common signs are increase urination, and thirst. He has none of those s/s. Increase appetite, however, is an indication of diabetes.
I know humans eat their feelings, but do animals do the same? Is that how they channel their depression and anxieties? I would think they would more often stop eating (which is very dangerous and can lead to hepatic issues).
CONCERNS
My major concern is if this is not normal behavior, and if he has an underlying medical problem.
If you have any recommendations, experience, or thoughts...please comment!
Thanks for reading! =)