Teach rescue cat his meal isn't his last

[Charlotte Darby]

I've just adopted ~4yo boy from a rescue - he was rescued, along with 53 other cats, from a hoarder's house and supposedly there were 7-8 cats in each cage. They had to live off scraps and whatever else was thrown intermittently at them. He was in a foster home for 2 months (along with 2 other cats from the same situation) and is a really sweet, gentle boy given his background and has already made good progress.

However, understandably, he thinks every meal he gets is his last so has quite severe food anxiety. It's just me and him where I live, I've had him a week and have tried to get him into a routine of wet food 2 x daily (morning and evening), 2 x small amount of kibble morning and evening and then 1 very small feed before we go to bed. With my previous cat I could leave kibble down for her during the day when I was in the office and she would have a nibble when she fancied it. With this boy if food is down, it's eaten then he starts crying for more on and off during the day / night.

I appreciate and understand it's early days and it'll take time for him to feel save, loved and that he doesn't ever have to worry about food again but does anyone have experience of this behaviour and have any advice? Any idea how long it could take for him to be more chilled about food? I can't even prepare my own dinner without him trying to headbutt his way into everything I'm doing. He's still a little underweight but I'm putting weight on him slowly and steadily and he's on good quality food for the first time in his life - e.g Thrive, Feringa, Wild Freedom, Purizon

 

[tabbytom]

I've just adopted ~4yo boy from a rescue -

and welcome to TCS!

Thank you for adopting this kitty from the rescue!

It is pretty normal for such behaviour when they have to starve or have nothing much to eat during those situations. It takes awhile before they feef safe and secure and to know that he does not have to feel that he does not have enough food to eat.

I suggest that you feed him wet food more more often in the day and give him as much as he can eat at one sitting and the reason for him to cry for more food is that he is not fed enough. Wet food with all the nutrients and proteins will him gain some steady weight. Feed him whenever he wants to eat and through this, he'll know that there'll be a steady supply of food for him and likely he'll be weaned off this fear of not getting enough food to eat.

 

[Alldara]

Hi Charlotte and welcome.
I am going to second it. Even if you switch to a lower budget wet food to accomplish this, I recommend it. My Ghostie was similar and wouldn't even leave wet food out at first and would go behind the other two boys. Now, after a year, he's progressed to eating when hungry.

Also don't be afraid to give him a treat ball or similar for his dry food. It won't ruin his food security to do a ball or puzzle. It's engaging and helps them to eat slower.

 

[Charlotte Darby]

Thank you

and welcome to TCS!

Thank you for adopting this kitty from the rescue!

It is pretty normal for such behaviour when they have to starve or have nothing much to eat during those situations. It takes awhile before they feef safe and secure and to know that he does not have to feel that he does not have enough food to eat.

I suggest that you feed him wet food more more often in the day and give him as much as he can eat at one sitting and the reason for him to cry for more food is that he is not fed enough. Wet food with all the nutrients and proteins will him gain some steady weight. Feed him whenever he wants to eat and through this, he'll know that there'll be a steady supply of food for him and likely he'll be weaned off this fear of not getting enough food to eat.

Thank you for your reply. I did put down as much food as he wanted to eat on the 3rd day, but he ate so much he was sick straight afterwards so I don't think, right now, he knows when enough is enough. I think I just need to be patient and give him time to realise nobody else is going to take his food and he is safe

 

[game misconduct]

it will calm down with the stability your giving him buuuut it could take years maybe . the stray my sister and i took in was like that the first few years we had him

 

[tabbytom]

Thank you

Thank you for your reply. I did put down as much food as he wanted to eat on the 3rd day, but he ate so much he was sick straight afterwards so I don't think, right now, he knows when enough is enough. I think I just need to be patient and give him time to realise nobody else is going to take his food and he is safe

In this case, just take it easy and feed him more often with less amount so that he won't over eat.

 

[Charlotte Darby]

Hi Charlotte and welcome.
I am going to second it. Even if you switch to a lower budget wet food to accomplish this, I recommend it. My Ghostie was similar and wouldn't even leave wet food out at first and would go behind the other two boys. Now, after a year, he's progressed to eating when hungry.

Also don't be afraid to give him a treat ball or similar for his dry food. It won't ruin his food security to do a ball or puzzle. It's engaging and helps them to eat slower.

Good idea about the puzzle / ball... I'll order one of those for when I go into the office and he can have that (for however long it lasts!!)

 

[Alldara]

Good idea about the puzzle / ball... I'll order one of those for when I go into the office and he can have that (for however long it lasts!!)

You could do a lick mat too for wet food if he's eating too fast.

You're totally right about patience and time. You've got this! And so does he.

When Ghost would cry a lot, we would hug him or pet him or rub his belly. Now he does ask for hugs. He would get so anxious he would pant if dinner was even 15 minutes late at first. Now, he's flexible.

 

[di and bob]

A week is nothing in a cat's world, they live on routine and consistenty. He will adjust but it will take at least months. You may want to get him a good, grainfree dry in weight control. That way he can have more and not gain too much. Get some good low calorie tretas to give him in between like deli turkey breast or chicken. He would like that. Thank you for taking him on!

 

[lisahe]

Our cats also came from a "too many cats" situation, though it sounded like the cat population there was far, far smaller than your cat experienced, C Charlotte Darby . Unfortunately, both cats came to us dreadfully underfed -- skinny and still extremely hungry after a few days at a shelter -- and one is still anxious about her food almost eleven years later. She has eased up a lot but she, too, will eat too much, too fast, and regurgitate, particularly if there's something else stressing her.

We feed lots of small meals a day. And leave two small meals, in autofeeders, for her to eat during the night. We don't feed her right after playing (or vice versa) and we keep meals on a very regular schedule. (She can definitely tell time.) It also seems to help to give her Rescue Remedy drops (to ease stress) and/or add a little catnip to her food. She also likes reassurance in various forms: brushing, admiration, and the like. In our experience, pretty much anything that reduces our cats' stress is helpful!

Good luck!

 

[rubysmama]

When I first adopted Ruby, she was majorly food obsessed. She'd been a stray for a bit, so different situation from your cat, but she still didn't understand that there would always be another meal. She would lick every speck of food out of her dish in one sitting. I adopted her in November, and I think it was the following June or July when I glanced at her dish one day and there was food in it. She'd finally learned to graze. Hopefully in time your boy's food anxiety will lessen. It may take several months though. Thank you for adopting him.

 

[Furballsmom]

Just to chime in with a somewhat similar situation, the shelter we adopted Captain Jack from found him on the street three times. He's about 9 years old, that anyone can guesstimate.

We brought him home in February 2023. I can't free-feed him, and it's just lately that he isn't panicky at about 4:00 in the morning, wanting his breakfast. It was to the point there for a little while that I had to get him accustomed to an auto-feeder so we could get some sleep. (We think someone in the one long-term living situation he experienced either got up at about that time to get ready for work or conversely got home from working a shift and fed him, so that didn't help our situation either lol.)

I'm so very pleased to see that he's becoming more comfortable and confident that food will be there. For example, he waited until 5 this morning, tried only briefly, didn't get a reaction (ie nobody got up), and rather than excitedly and really insistently meowing and pawing at faces and arms, he simply waited.

I have noticed, however, that his patience is still predicated on how much he's eaten the day before/evening prior.

It's amazing what these cats go through

 

[Meowmee]

You have some great suggestions here. Since he’s gobbling everything up and regurgitating. I would spread out his meals throughout the day and give him more small meals than you were giving him and more wet food. You could get a grain free, high protein, dry food, and then he wouldn’t need to eat as much of it to feel full.

From what you described, it sounds like he was in a situation where he was really malnourished / starved and he is still thin so, he’s going to need to eat a lot more to get to a normal weight.

Lots of tasty treats too, which you can give throughout the day. The lickable treats are good and a lot of cats love those plus you get to interact with them if you hold it for them.

There is no way to know how long he could take to calm down. It may ease up a bit when he gets to a normal weight because he won’t feel so hungry.

Each cat is an individual. My Merlin, who came in from outside, had food anxiety for most of his life. Every time I went into the kitchen, he was in there, meowing at me loudly to feed him. on the other hand, he was overweight. When he first showed up outside with his brother Marlon, they looked to be about six months and they were a normal weight. But after a year or so outside, he became overweight/ obese. I think he was eating, not just at my house but from other people and hunting too , so it was not a lack of food, but the anxiety of being dumped and not having a home and a reliable food source. None of my other cats who came in from outside seemed to have this kind of anxiety, so I’m not sure why he did.

Towards the end of his life, which was cut short by negligence, he started to be a little bit less anxious about food when he got into his middle age.

One of my other cats, Cinnamon, is a Regurgitater too, and I figured out that for him and for Quinn who sometimes vomits if he eats too much, it’s much better to give them a lot of small meals throughout the day. Which is what I do. I have to remind myself when I give them some dry food, not to give too much.
We are going to be switching back at least in part to my home-cooked cat food. I’m going to make the first batch tonight and see how it goes. I’m not sure if cinnamon is going to like it because when he was outside, he and Fred and the others did not like my home cooked cat food lol

I like the idea of giving him love and affection and rubs and massages, etc. or playing with him sometimes when he asks for more food because that might help his anxiety once he gains back the weight that he needs to gain back. I did that a lot with Merlin too.

 

[Twylasmom]

My new back porch rescue is like this as well. He is very underweight and eats all food brought to him noisily and immediately. I am feeding him four times a day and he has not been regurgitating. He probably needs to gain about two pounds. I hope he will eventually slow down as my other cat is a grazer. Not an issue right now as they are separated, but definitely something to figure out for the future

 

[fluffpaws]

Hello
It's nice to meet you, and thank you for adopting this little one.It sounds like he has had a very sad beginning in life.
I would personally feed him as much as he wants, I'm sure his living conditions with the hoarders were quite deplorable as they often are.He may of had to fight the others just to get a little crumb of food and may have gone for days with nothing at all to eat or drink,so I say let him eat.You can always cut back once he realizes he is not going to starve to death. He's adjusting to a new life.
And what better way to make a starved cat feel welcome in his new home than a full belly .
Are you feeding him the same food that he was eating at his foster home? If not he could be throwing up because he has not used to his new food as it has only been a week. We would love to see pictures of the new man in your life

 

[maggie101]

Trixie puzzle
Canned like weruva since it high in protein and moisture and will make him feel more full.

 

[RTR]

I feed my 3 cats a small can of kitten turkey fancy feast or origin kitten and salmon each in Am! They like the fancy feast the best! They free feed from an automatic feeder Purina grain free during the day! One was a former feral! Eventually they learn food is always there! ...HA! Cats rule!

 

[maggie101]

Dyi puzzle feeders
10 DIY Puzzle Cat Feeders You Can Make Today (With Pictures) - Catster

 

[stephanietx]

I have a kitty who was always eating like it was her last meal. She'd also try to eat any human food we didn't put a tight fitting lid on, or put food in a cabinet, fridge, oven or latched in the microwave. A hot stove did not deter her one bit! She just needed time and to know that there would be enough food for her. Once she settled in, she ate much slower. It still took several years for her to not go after human food and to eat her regular food like it was her last meal. Be consistent and depending on his age, you may need to feed him another small serving or add in another smaller wet food serving.

 

[lisahe]

It's so interesting to read all these various experiences about feeding cats with food insecurity. I'm glad to hear that some eventually learn to graze -- I confess to being a bit envious! Edwina has seemed to slow her eating a little of late and she even missed a meal the other night without freaking out. (The battery in the autofeeder was askew so her 3:15 a.m. snack never opened, oops!)

One thing that generally helps her slow down: feeding a meal or two a day of food she'll eat but doesn't love. There's a fine line between something that she doesn't love and something she'll walk away from but we find this helps a fair bit.