Starved Cat Syndrome (My cat acts like he hasn’t eaten in 3 months)

Jel_Puff

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Hi everyone!

Just rescued a stray/semi-feral cat last month and he’s been great aside from his terrible eating habits.

My problem - My new cat has really bad eating habits. He acts like he’s starved all the time and will eat everything in sight if he likes the taste. He is very territorial over his food and immediately inhales both his wet food and dry food when I set the bowl down for feeding time. This is understandable because he’s lived outside most of his life (vet said he’s a year old), but a problem for my resident cat and myself because he’ll eat my food too. He has scheduled feeding times and I never leave food out. My main problem is that my resident cat is 10 years old and likes to eat her wet and dry food throughout the day, so I haven’t been able to trust feeding them together because I know he’ll eat all of her food.

About him - He’s basically lives in my computer room right now and we‘ve just started letting him roam the house last Wednesday, but he gets in trouble because all he does when he’s out of his room is search for food. I end up putting him back into his room because he starts irritating my resident cat by his paranoia of trying to find food. She loves food too, so she’s not too happy when he starts eating her food.

My only saving grace is that he apparently has an iron stomach and has never puked (yet), considering he eats his wet food in less than 10 seconds when set down!

Is there any solution other than feeding them in seperate rooms or buying one of those expensive microchip feeders? I want them to live together and have him out of his room at some point, but this food problem is a huge issue preventing me from trusting in him out of the room. I’ve been training him to learn the word “No”, but not sure if that would be effective when it comes to his one true love - food, lol. I also bought a ”slow feeder” food bowl which has definitely slowed him down from eating his dry food, but he still try’s to eat it as fast as he can. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you!!
 

FeebysOwner

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Hi. I think you have pretty much determined the solutions that would best work. I took in a stray 13 years ago when she was around 2yo. Here she is at 15+ and it has only been in the last 3 or so years that she has seemed to get away from the "I need to have food available all the time" mode. For the first several years she acted starved and would eat all the time if allowed. Later, she slowed down how much she ate, but would sit at her dry food dish and beg for more even if there was food still in it. At that point, thankfully, she was eating less and would actually walk away from her dish - without eating any of it - as long as I put a few more morsels in it.

Maybe your guy will get over being a food freak faster than Feeby did, but that might likely happen quicker with either timed or microchip feeders - as he will eventually learn there is a feeding schedule involved. You might try a microchip feeder for your girl and a timed one for him??
 
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Jel_Puff

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Hi. I think you have pretty much determined the solutions that would best work. I took in a stray 13 years ago when she was around 2yo. Here she is at 15+ and it has only been in the last 3 or so years that she has seemed to get away from the "I need to have food available all the time" mode. For the first several years she acted starved and would eat all the time if allowed. Later, she slowed down how much she ate, but would sit at her dry food dish and beg for more even if there was food still in it. At that point, thankfully, she was eating less and would actually walk away from her dish - without eating any of it - as long as I put a few more morsels in it.

Maybe your guy will get over being a food freak faster than Feeby did, but that might likely happen quicker with either timed or microchip feeders - as he will eventually learn there is a feeding schedule involved. You might try a microchip feeder for your girl and a timed one for him??
Thank you for your quick reply!

Yea, I was thinking the microchip feeder would be my option for my girl. I actually already have a timed feeder, so that’s a good idea, I’ll probably end up using that for him like you said. I hope he settles down, but considering your girl calmed down at 12, I may have a long road ahead of me! Lol :lol: Good to get a heads up though!
 

FeebysOwner

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Just make sure he gets enough to eat to sustain his weight - or, a bit more if he is somewhat underweight. You can always reduce the overall amount later. And, with you having two cats to contend with, you might 're-train his brain' better than I did with Feeby as a single cat. She was underweight when she found me and I let her eat somewhat 'at will' for a long time - too long, tbh - because of it!
 

Uncled

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Can you try a treat ball that dispenses kibble when a cat bats it around? Might keep him occupied after he eats his wet food.
 
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Jel_Puff

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Just make sure he gets enough to eat to sustain his weight - or, a bit more if he is somewhat underweight. You can always reduce the overall amount later. And, with you having two cats to contend with, you might 're-train his brain' better than I did with Feeby as a single cat. She was underweight when she found me and I let her eat somewhat 'at will' for a long time - too long, tbh - because of it!
Thanks, yea keeping a close eye to how much I’m feeding him and hopefully he will get used to scheduled feedings since that’s what I’ve been doing with him since day one. I think he would eat a whole bag of food if he could, which is scary!
 
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Jel_Puff

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Can you try a treat ball that dispenses kibble when a cat bats it around? Might keep him occupied after he eats his wet food.
I actually have one already, but he doesn’t use it much, maybe I need to buy a better one where he can see the treats inside, good idea to keep him occupied though.
 

Uncled

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I have also used a cardboard box taped shut with holes cut in the sides so the kitten/cat can see the kibble but has to use their paws to get it out.
 
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Jel_Puff

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I have also used a cardboard box taped shut with holes cut in the sides so the kitten/cat can see the kibble but has to use their paws to get it out.
Thanks, that’s a good idea too!
 

danteshuman

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Besides a slow feeders or two, you might try puzzle feeders with dry food inside (or leaving a bowl of dry food out 24/7.) I know people say after awhile their cat finally realized they were not going to run out but it takes months. In the meantime give him lots of palaces for food & water so he can not guard it. He will get there eventually (though he may still be a food novitiate cat.) in the meantime make him work for his food but make sure it is always there.
 
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