adopted a stray, and the cat eats everything!!!?

Question

I adopted a cat about a month ago. It was a stray, so I understand why it acts like each meal may be its last...but this cat eats everything in sight! It eats our dogs food, anything left out, ripped into our halloween candy...I can't even cook in our crockpot unless I block it off..the cat will dig into that too!! My vet said to be careful with overfeeding, but this cat will go crazy when I get his food...and then he gets into everything else anyway. I'm just worried he will eat something that will hurt him. How can I correct this? Should I just lock him in a room when we're gone? We don't have food out all the time, but with the holidays coming we have more around, and I can't keep everything locked up. how can I quiet his appetite? He will eat until he vomits...I know he doesn't have worms or anything like that..just an overactive appetite...any suggestions???

Answer 1

Most importantly THANK YOU for saving him. God Bless you for showing him the compassion that you have.
I'm no expert but I know a lot about cats and I would like to give you my opinion, k?
Look at it from his perspective though I imagine that's hard. He was out there all alone. How often is it likely that he had a decent meal and how often is it likely he walked around with his little belly empty? I know, it's a horrible thought.
I disagree with taking away his food as this will likely make him resort to extremes to get food in his lil stomach much as he's doing now. After all, that's what he is accustomed to.
My gut tells me that once he understands that this is his home, you are HIS human, and that he doesn't ever have to go hungry again he will stop gorging himself thinking there won't be anymore food.
It's hard for them when you take them off the street like you've done. I've seen them do that for up to six months and we have lots of cats here. I've run a small animal rescue for a number of years and, for example, right now I have 26 cats. Feral strays are the worst. Those poor cats have never experienced a kind human with an endless supply of food and they literally don't know how to respond. I've seen many eat until they get sick.
I would strongly suggest that you leave his food out all the time so that he can begin to more readily accept that this is his food and that he will always have it there when he needs it. When you take away the food he goes back into "find food" mode. I could be wrong but I don't think I've ever heard that a cat perished from eating too much.
I would however caution you, if you haven't had him tested for worms and even if you have, have him wormed. I recently had a sixteen week old nearly die from worm infestation. She exhibited no symptoms and her fecal came back negative also. She ate like there was no tommorow though and I was simply convinvced it was worms. I finally persuaded my vet to give me wormer anyway. Three hours later I found out what was wrong with 1.3 pound kitten. I've never seen a cat with worms like that. It was so bad it nearly brought me to my knees. I was in tears it was so bad. Tests aren't foolproof and one worming doesn't always do the trick either. This cat had been wormed at 3 weeks and at 7 weeks of age.
I wish you both the best of luck. He's a lucky lil guy that he found you. You should be very proud of what you've done for him. A lot of people would keep walking or pretend that he wasn't there.

Answer 2

Well try locking things up in Tupperware - he can't chew through that, can he?

It was great of you to give the stray a wonderful home. Unfortunately you might have to adapt a little bit this Christmas until he realizes he has found his forever home and relaxes (it might take months). Poor 'lil guy! It's only been about 30 days. Give him time and love and he'll come to know that he doesn't need to fight for food! He may never have had a home before, but had to survive the best he could since a baby. He's probably thinking, "Wow! This food is great! I've never had anything like this. I've got to try EVERYTHING!"

You might try giving him his food more slowly, i.e., give him 1/3, wait 5 mins, give 1/3, wait 5 mins, then the last 1/3. Just like people, it takes a while for the food to reach the stomach for one to feel full. Also, cats do well when fed lots of small meals often, instead of one gigantic one.

Best wishes with your new kitty.

Answer 3

Both the strays we took in did the panic eating too. With one it took 2 months to calm down and believe that the food bowl would not be permanently empty if he didn't eat it right away. With the other it took 6 months.

What you can do is stop free feeding and make a point for 2 weeks to feed your cat 3 tablespoons of food every 3 hours. Call them with a food call, and make a big deal of it. Feed them right before you eat, and put the cat in the bathroom while you eat so he won't do 'starving kitty' on your plate. If you're consistent, you can get him used to being called for food and only serve that, then work your way back to free feeding.

Answer 4

My mom actually has a dog like this. She adopted an abused Bernese Mountain Dog (named Holly). Bernies are supposed to be a HUGE breed, but Holly weighed only 35 pounds when we got her at 1 year old. She was supposed to weigh 70 pounds.

Four years later, she is well nourished and even a bit fat. However, she eats EVERYTHING she can get ahold of. The vet told my mom that because she was starved as a puppy, Holly will never feel like she has enough food.

So, perhaps your poor kitty was somewhat starved before you adopted him. Just be patient with him and monitor his food intake carefully. Don't feel like a bad person; it's not like you're starving him. If you can't put all the food away when you're not there, it would probably be best to lock him up until you come hoeme.

Answer 5

It sounds like you just need to carefully control his food-intake, since he is not moderating it himself, like many cats do.

Stick to a regular schedule of feeding, so that he has a routine and can rely on getting food at a certain time each day. This may provide him with enough stability that he won't eat till he becomes sick everytime there is food out.

Place your own foodstuffs in places where he can't easily reach and use a squirt bottle to train him to stay off the counter. You can mist stuff like wrapped foods (candies etc) with a citrus spray that will make them much less appealing to tear into.

If necessary, place him in a separate room with his food, water and litter box when you are out.

I'm not very familiar with dogs, but I think they tend to be fed a few times a day and don't usually have food sitting around, correct? If the dog eats at certain times of the day then place the cat in a separate room while the dog finishes his food.

If there's no medical problem causing his over eating then it's likely he just hasn't adjusted to a life where food is available on a regular and reliable basis and is still eating like he is feral.

Answer 6

Bless his heart... :( He's afraid there won't be any more.

I had a cat like that - I jus left DRY food out for him at all times. First he'd eat it all every time until he must have been so full he would pop.

After a week or so of it being out all of the time, he'd eat and then come by every once in a while to look at the bowl and make sure it was still there and it still had food in it. Maybe nibble a couple of bites.

Eventually, he had normal eating habits.

Answer 7

First of all I would like to commend you on adopting this stray - what a big heart you have. Since you've only had the cat for about a month, he's not 100% sure that food will always be available. Do you keep dry food out for him at all times? One of those self feeders would be great fo that purpose. He will eventually calm down with the food fetish. Good luck to you!

Answer 8

Some great advice here already, but just wanted to tell you my experience of giving a stray a home. My boy had been living in a derelict house for 2 years, then my friend rescued him and I took him in. He was thin but basically healthy. Just like yours, he ate... and ate... and ate. He begged, he stole, he foraged. I'd never seen anything like it, and I've had cats all my life. After about three months, when I was beginning to despair that he'd never calm down about food, he did - and if anything, he became quite a moderate eater. Give it time, feed him normally, and I''ll bet he'll realise soon that he's never going to go hungry again...

Answer 9

He's malnourished from having to fend for himself for so long.Find out from the vet what foods would be good for him.Also i like the dry food readily available for him as well as lots of fresh water.God bless you for taking him in and 1 less for the shelter to put down.

Answer 10

He probably has worms, my kitten I found is the sameway eats her food dog food,knocks over the garbage can & eats stuff she even runs in the kitchen if she hears somebody open the fridgertor.