When your cat monster wants more food

[haze n blaze]

"Feed me right meow!"

We've all heard the pitiful sound of unrelenting hunger yet all know we just got done feeding our animals. I've spoken with my vet and know the caloric intake for my babies yet they still act SO starved. They are healthy and eating well and while I've had some issues lately with one of them being sick, they are back to their routine of begging for dear life for more food. 15-30mins after I've fed them they are crying in the kitchen at the cabinet that holds their food. They even have figured out how to open the cabinets and have wreaked havoc in there. Smart kitties :lol3: And surely they are a tag team

How do you handle it? I don't want them to see me giving in to the crying. I don't want them to be rewarded for that behavior. They are fed at set times three times a day and it rarely waivers.

I have even had to tape down the cabinets so they can't tap them open. But I've actually seen them ripping the tape. I can't install cabinet hooks because I rent my apartment.

This is the look I get from one of them as they sit and stare at me. Notice the cabinet in he background. That is THEIR cabinet.

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• haze n blaze
• Jan 21, 2015

Hahahaha! I have even moved their food cabinet thinking they would get bored realizing they just worked to get into a cabinet filled with plastic cups but within a day.... They were onto me again.

Do I ignore them while they sing the hunger song of their people?

 

[nora1]

My cat is the same, gets plenty of food, but still begs for food!! I ignore her because I used to fall for her "I"m starving" meows and looks, which then lead me to over feed, which then caused her to gain weight! She gets 2 meals a day, with a snack before bed, and that's it! I ignore her "princess behaviours"

 

[seaturtle]

I keep the food in the freezer or fridge. They can't get at it that way.

Just ignore them completely. They will work on you if they think there's a ghost of a chance they'll get more. Cats will eat themselves obese if we let them.

If you have the time, you could play a few minutes with them instead of giving them food.  I f ind my crew is easily distracted (they will get distracted from everything, including strays outside, by f-o-o-d, of course!

 

[pinkdagger]

Baby proofing clips! There are some that go on the insides of cabinet doors by adhesive, and some that hold the handles together externally. I went to my boyfriend's sister's place and encountered baby proofing for the first time. It took me a minute to figure it out.

It would be terribly embarrassing if a cat could figure it out when I almost couldn't.

I ignore them. If they're meowing and following me around, they usually get excited and roam within the kitchen. Kismet will actually go inside the cabinet and sit there. All of the food is in cans or sealed in containers so there's no way they're getting any out (treats are in the top shelf of the upper cabinets that they can't reach, and no way they would get caught trying to get on the counters). I just walk around and keep doing my normal daily business. They will get fed when I say so, and I'll put the food down during a lull in the meows.

 

[cats4sky]

glad to know im not the only one dealing with this. I recently upped my cats, they now get a can and a 1/2 of wet food each. Separated into 3 meals. They still act like they are starving and have never been fed. They could be dead asleep, and all i have to do is open the refrigerator door and there they are! they beg beg beg non stop for human food. sometimes we have to lock them in a separate room when we eat. They also get fed treats in between meals and they still act like this. I guess they have bottomless pits!!!!!

oh i forgot, i have to keep my garbage under the sink cabinet and tie the cabinet up because if not they will go through the garbage too!

 

[ruaryx]

Aw, your kitty is so cute!  My cat begs for food every time she hears me in the kitchen.  If I put food down for her but I'm doing something in the kitchen, she will come and wait in hopes of something better.  

Does your kitty have enough toys to keep her busy?  Eating might be a sign of boredom?   

 

[haze n blaze]

glad to know im not the only one dealing with this. I recently upped my cats, they now get a can and a 1/2 of wet food each. Separated into 3 meals. They still act like they are starving and have never been fed. They could be dead asleep, and all i have to do is open the refrigerator door and there they are! they beg beg beg non stop for human food. sometimes we have to lock them in a separate room when we eat. They also get fed treats in between meals and they still act like this. I guess they have bottomless pits!!!!!

oh i forgot, i have to keep my garbage under the sink cabinet and tie the cabinet up because if not they will go through the garbage too!

Haha! When they sleep, if I even crack a cabinet open, they fly in there! They are the kitchen police. Keeps me from snacking too much!

 

[haze n blaze]

Aw, your kitty is so cute!  My cat begs for food every time she hears me in the kitchen.  If I put food down for her but I'm doing something in the kitchen, she will come and wait in hopes of something better.  

Does your kitty have enough toys to keep her busy?  Eating might be a sign of boredom?   

I feel like they have plenty of toys and playtime. But like food, they want it çonstantly. Or until they are bored with me lol!

 

[molly22]

My cat would run to the fridge and step up on the bottom ledge when I opened it. She would smell everything she could and even sass me when I told her to get out. She would also stare at the fridge door when it was closed to tell me she was hungry.
My other cat has been begging more lately. Maybe he's like me and wants to eat more in the winter

 

[jcat]

Mogli is a little Garfield and would eat till he burst. I try to ignore the constant begging and keep food in "child-proof" plastic storage containers in cabinets with child locks.

 

[rlavach]

There are lots of different types of child safety locks, many of which don't require attaching to the cabinet. We rent also & I have to lock several cabinets. Mine hang off of each handle by a plastic loop & then have a lock in the middle that you need to press 2 buttons at the same time to unlock. If my cats could figure out that...I'd be in trouble. 

I also ignore the cats when they beg. By not responding, at all, they eventually stop trying. But it does take patience. 

 

[haze n blaze]

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• haze n blaze
• Jan 23, 2015

Oh yes. Climbing in the fridge was a new one for me when I took this

 

[rubysmama]

Haha! When they sleep, if I even crack a cabinet open, they fly in there! They are the kitchen police. Keeps me from snacking too much!

Ruby keeps me from snacking too much too. One time I tried to sneak a snack by going into a bedroom, closing the door (not tight) and quietly opening a bag of chips.  Didn't work.  Next thing I knew the door was opening and she was meowing. 

 

 

[cats4sky]

Oh yes. Climbing in the fridge was a new one for me when I took this

great pic!!! my little one does this as well, he will hop right in...lol!

 

[molly22]

image.jpg

• haze n blaze
• Jan 23, 2015

Oh yes. Climbing in the fridge was a new one for me when I took this

Adorable.

 

[malt]

Ha! My grandma has responded to her (frankly terrifying) cat's very harsh and insistent meows by just feeding the cat whenever she demands it. She's a fat cat as a result! Tabby's a rather unique case though. 

 

Mum has found a compromise with her cat, Jasmine: Jas gets 3 pouches of food a day, which is more than she needs, but not much more. After that, if she wants more, tough. She gets thoroughly ignored. 

I've actually got the opposite problem with Mama cat. She doesn't seem to know how to pester for food! I free-feed with her because she's always been underweight, but sometimes the plate will be empty for ages without me noticing. When I do finally notice and put food down she chows down as if she was really hungry, but before that she hadn't made a peep over being hungry! I'm much better at checking her plate and filling it up now, and she's getting a bit better at actually telling me when she's hungry, but after living with Tabby and Jas it was quite a weird change!