Is it possible to modify/change this behavior...

[lamiatron]

Stray Cat Syndrome.

-cat is sometimes, but not always, skittish, and difficult to approach without it running off or hiding

- during feeding time, they eat all their food really fast and quick, and start crying for more food right away

-anytime they see food in your hands they go crazy begging for food

-if there is food nearby they always try to steal it (sneaky sneakY!)

This is regarding my now 9-10 months old former stray kitty Gunther.

I actually have 2 former strays.

My girl Jet, was 8 weeks old when I adopted her from the shelter. i was told that she was a former stray kitty. She's SUPER skittish, and there really is nothing I can do to modify that behavior, and nor do I wish to. She has progressed A LOT from when i first got her. She gets along great with my other two cats, and only hides when there are strangers in the home, or loud noises. I've never had any food issues with her, where she is constantly crying for food or she is "forever hungry".

Gunther is the other former stray in my house. He was about 3-4 months old when I found him in the streets and took him in. He assimilated to his new home pretty quickly. He was easy to handle (groom and bathe), he did well at the vets, he used the litter box fine, and got along with the other cats great too (after a long and stressful cat intro process of course). He is a bit skittish, but only if you surprise him. He does hide around strangers, but will eventually come around. He is quite the talker compared to the other two cats. BUT he seriously and severely suffers from the stray cat syndrome when it comes to food.

It's really bad sometimes. He sometimes eats all his food so fast, he ends up throwing it all up. He gets more food than the other two cats (portion wise), but when he's done eating, he still cries for more. I have to feed him in the bedroom with the door closed, away from the other two cats, because if he's in the same room eating with the other cats, he will finish his food and then run to the other cats' food and force his way in there to finish their food. And neither of my cats really do anything about it...they just let him eat their food. I (or anyone in my home) can't have any food around him, because he will jump up on you to take your food, and if you keep him closed off in a different room he meows and meows like CRAZY. It sometimes sounds like a really loud baby crying....(not fun). We can't leave anything out in the kitchen, even by mistake. Twice the BF left out a loaf of bread. Once on the counter, and once safely on top of the fridge (or so he thought). Both times, Gunther chewed a hole through the bag and got to the bread and ate into the bread. And he ate A LOT of it too. At first I thought we had mice or rats, because i just found the bag of bread on the floor with a huge hole eaten out of it. the second time I caught Gunther ON TOP OF THE FRIDGE attacking the loaf of bread...

I'm sure there are a lot of members here that have dealt with kitties who have the "stray cat syndrome"

I'm not at the point where it's unmanageable...I am able to manage it...its just a bit annoying. Especially the constant meowing for food if we keep him locked in a different room while eating, or him trying to come at us for food while we're eating. There's this other thing he does, which is kinda cute, but mostly annoying...when we're eating in the living room, and trying to watch a movie he will try to get at the food, but we ignore him. Then he will go and sit on the tv stand, right in FRONT of the tv...so we HAVE to pay attention to him. Sometimes he meows while doing this, but mostly he just gives us the look of death (pic below), and blocks the TV.

Does anyone have any advice to perhaps modify this behavior? or does anyone have any tips on how to deal with it better? I've had him for about 6-7 months now...and it hasn't gotten any better, or lessened. What can I do to make him realize that "HEY YOU'RE ALWAYS GOING TO GET A STEADY SUPPLY OF FOOD CAT STOP FREAKING OUT"

Gunther blocking the TV...

IMG-20141125-WA0004.jpg

• lamiatron
• Dec 24, 2014

He's really not as evil as he looks...

IMG-20141126-WA0001.jpg

• lamiatron
• Dec 24, 2014

He's really a cutie. Gunther is the gray kitty. Jet is my black kitty. Both of my former strays. They're BFF's

IMG-20141027-WA0011.jpg

• lamiatron
• Dec 24, 2014

 

[ritz]

Gunther sounds like my cat, Ritz (female, only cat, roughly 5.5 years old). Ritz along with her three liter mates and mother cat were abandoned in early November 2009 and trapped/rescued the day after Christmas. Some of the other tenants occasionally fed them a little (like milk and rice). They survived a 20" snow storm. They were rescued when they were about four to five months old and socialized by a friend of mine; I helped a little. Prior to this time I'd never been around cats before. She and I learned together how to be a new cat mommy/less scardy cat. She likes her belly rubs, takes a long time to warn up to people. Hides under the sofa when the doorbell rings. Pees standing up....

Fast forward five years. Ritz (female) is still food centric, especially during the colder months when all cats seem hard-wired to eat more in order to build up a fat reserve. I have cut down of the amount of food I give her but I'm afraid I have increased the amount of treats I give her TO SHUT HER UP. She meows nonstop from the time I get home from work until about an hour later; and then seven hours later, wants more food. She has started licking bowls and NAPKINS. (In interest of full disclosure: I have an eating disorder; this pushes ALL sorts of buttons.....)
I fed prey model raw but I haven't noticed a decrease in hunger/appetite (which are very very different) from three years ago when I was feeding Fancy Feast.
I've occasionally thought: what would happen if I just gave Ritz as much food as she cared to eat. Would the stray-cat syndrome decrease or, as I fear, she'd just be really fat?
As an aside, we get up at 3 a.m. and I fed her right away. And then a small snack before I leave for work around 6:30 a.m. I don't get home until around 6:30 p.m.--12 hours later. Sometimes Ritz will eat so fast she throws up--and will try to eat her vomit. For various reasons, leaving out frozen meat won't work (she'd eat it frozen). On the advice of some members of this Site, I give her some freeze-dried treats, wait five minutes for any excess acid to be absorbed, and then feed her dinner. Sometimes that works, sometimes not. I do notice if I make a lot of noise when she is eating (like vacuuming or opening a squeaky ironing board) she is more prone to throw up.
I do notice Ritz doesn't meow as much when I can feed her around noon and/or 4 p.m. And if the meat/protein is relatively high fat (veal versus chicken or turkey breast). Cats require much more fat in their diet (and require NO carbohydrates) than humans. Ritz *does* have a 'set point' at which she quits meowing and settles on my lap for a snooze. But she takes too long to get to that point, in my opinion.
Advice? I know this may be difficult because you have +one cat, but could you feed him more frequently? And DO feed wet if you aren't already: it generally high more protein than dry food and doesn't have as many calories. Also if he may be eating out of boredom, I would suggest playing more; and if out of stress, feliway.
AND finally and perhaps most important: has he been to the vets recently? Could have a medical issue going on.

 

[vbcatparent]

I would also make sure that the food you provide his high quality/nutrient dense to help him feel satisfied.

 

[losna]

You might try supplementing food with a chicken heart or two. Sinbad was like this before I started feeding him and Tempest raw meat - and he reverts back to this gobbling behavior whenever there's a problem with delivery and I have to give him more canned food to make up for a lack of actual meat.

The chicken hearts serve 3 purposes: the taurine in them is really good for cats, they slow down eating as the cat has to chew the meat, and they have a higher satiety than cat food.