Anybody have a former stray (shelter adoption) that thinks they STILL live on the street and is constantly looking for food? My kitty Dexter is 1.5 years old, very healthy - but acts as if we never feed him! Don't know his story, but I adopted him at 1 year - Humane Society had taken him in as a stray. He was slightly underweight when he was picked up, but not much.
Not only does he wolf his food down fast - as if he was worried it would be stolen - he's constantly on the lookout for ANYTHING: my other cat's food, the garbage, my food if I turn my back, the scraps headed for compost, bowls of nuts, butter....anything on the counter is fair game. I caught him eating pecans one day. PECANS!
His body seems to "register" his food appropriately - the more he eats, the more he weighs. I think its more behavioral - he must have learned that constant scavenging and hunting was the way to survive. Its probably why he survived so well.
I wonder if he'll ever outgrow it and learn that I will ALWAYS feed him 2x a day! He gets home made raw - plus the canned he manages to steal from the other kitty when we get distracted from supervising. He's probably 1/2 lb overweight...not much but he doesn't need to gain another ounce.
The range of food this cat will try to eat astounds me. More like a dog!
So - do you think I am right on why he does this? Anybody think he'll outgrow it?
Not only does he wolf his food down fast - as if he was worried it would be stolen - he's constantly on the lookout for ANYTHING: my other cat's food, the garbage, my food if I turn my back, the scraps headed for compost, bowls of nuts, butter....anything on the counter is fair game. I caught him eating pecans one day. PECANS!
His body seems to "register" his food appropriately - the more he eats, the more he weighs. I think its more behavioral - he must have learned that constant scavenging and hunting was the way to survive. Its probably why he survived so well.
I wonder if he'll ever outgrow it and learn that I will ALWAYS feed him 2x a day! He gets home made raw - plus the canned he manages to steal from the other kitty when we get distracted from supervising. He's probably 1/2 lb overweight...not much but he doesn't need to gain another ounce.
The range of food this cat will try to eat astounds me. More like a dog!
So - do you think I am right on why he does this? Anybody think he'll outgrow it?
