I have two 8 year old cats, a white domestic shorthair and a medium-hair tabby. The white one is on a prescription diet (Science Hills), tabby is not (Weruva). Both get fed high protein wet food twice a day, morning and after work.
My tabby was 16 lbs., but is now a healthy 13 lbs. due to his diet. He LOVES his food, and would eat more if he could. He gets about 6 oz and two tablespoons of dry per day, which my vet stated is enough calories to sustain an indoor lifestyle, which is what he has.
Here is what I perceive as his “behavioral” problem: every morning around 6am, he meows constantly until he gets fed. He is relentless, enough so that I’m losing sleep. I try not to give in and feed him, because this reinforces his behavior and he gets rewarded with his morning meal (he is now ‘conditioned’). But, at some point, I have to feed him before leaving for work. And the same goes for when I get home, anytime after 3pm he begins begging all over again with that specific high pitched meow tone.
My white cat does not exhibit this ‘conditioned’ behavior, and is not as aggressive as he is about food. I cannot just feed more than 2 times a day due to my work schedule, and the fact that he will regain the weight if he gets more daily calories than prescribed by my vet.
What can I do to uncondition my tabby from this unwanted and extremely annoying behavior of begging for his food? After he gets fed, he is the sweetest cat, but before, he is the devil.
Seeking advise!!!!
My tabby was 16 lbs., but is now a healthy 13 lbs. due to his diet. He LOVES his food, and would eat more if he could. He gets about 6 oz and two tablespoons of dry per day, which my vet stated is enough calories to sustain an indoor lifestyle, which is what he has.
Here is what I perceive as his “behavioral” problem: every morning around 6am, he meows constantly until he gets fed. He is relentless, enough so that I’m losing sleep. I try not to give in and feed him, because this reinforces his behavior and he gets rewarded with his morning meal (he is now ‘conditioned’). But, at some point, I have to feed him before leaving for work. And the same goes for when I get home, anytime after 3pm he begins begging all over again with that specific high pitched meow tone.
My white cat does not exhibit this ‘conditioned’ behavior, and is not as aggressive as he is about food. I cannot just feed more than 2 times a day due to my work schedule, and the fact that he will regain the weight if he gets more daily calories than prescribed by my vet.
What can I do to uncondition my tabby from this unwanted and extremely annoying behavior of begging for his food? After he gets fed, he is the sweetest cat, but before, he is the devil.
Seeking advise!!!!