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Food aggressive cat??
Peen
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
We currently have three cats. We've had cats for 16 years as a family and longer than that individually, we know cats, we're pretty well versed in their quirks. But one of our cats now is extremely food aggressive, way way more than my wife and I have ever experienced, and we're kind of at a loss for what to do about it. We can't leave any kind of any food out and around, in or out of packaging, because she'll tear into it to get to it, and it doesn't matter what. We left for a day and she ripped up a bunch of my kids' Halloween candy, going through a closed Ziploc bag and the individual wrappers to get to it, that's how extreme it is.
To be clear, she is by no means starving. She's fed wet food twice per day (morning and evening) and we have an automated food dispenser that drops 1/8 of a cup of dry food 4 times per day, which we were hoping would just get her used to the idea that she wasn't being deprived (we also use it to feed them when we leave for a weekend). She's also not ill, she's been to the vet twice in the past year and they've run every test they can think of to account for it and she got a clean bill of health.
Also, there's nothing in her background that would account for it. Her litter was surrendered to a shelter when they were born and we got her and her sister when they were 4 months old, she's never been out in the wild fending for herself, and her sister doesn't act like this at all.
So yeah, have any of you experienced a cat behaving this way and if so did you find anything that's helpful? We've done all of the googling, we've read all of the things, I'd really like any anecdotal assists that you have because nobody else's advice has been helpful or productive.
To be clear, she is by no means starving. She's fed wet food twice per day (morning and evening) and we have an automated food dispenser that drops 1/8 of a cup of dry food 4 times per day, which we were hoping would just get her used to the idea that she wasn't being deprived (we also use it to feed them when we leave for a weekend). She's also not ill, she's been to the vet twice in the past year and they've run every test they can think of to account for it and she got a clean bill of health.
Also, there's nothing in her background that would account for it. Her litter was surrendered to a shelter when they were born and we got her and her sister when they were 4 months old, she's never been out in the wild fending for herself, and her sister doesn't act like this at all.
So yeah, have any of you experienced a cat behaving this way and if so did you find anything that's helpful? We've done all of the googling, we've read all of the things, I'd really like any anecdotal assists that you have because nobody else's advice has been helpful or productive.
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There is also Feliway which is supposed to be an anti-anxiety pheromone but I have never seen a difference when we have tried it on any of ours.
Try sitting with them on your lap and explaining philosophy, starting with Nietzsche. 🤔🐱
Three of them are food aggressive! Extremely so. To the point that we bought our house specifically because it doesn't have an open kitchen. They're different depending on the food - one likes butter the most, so she can't be in the kitchen when butter is involved. Another loves bread so much that he'll tear into our grocery bags when we get home looking for it. The third is mostly just aggressive about his own meals and tries to steal from the others bowls if he finishes early.
That said, we installed doors on our kitchen so we can cook and bake in peace. The doors don't latch since they're bi-fold, so we had to take the handles off because they figured out how to hold one handle and kick off the other door to open it, then we installed latches on the interior so we can keep the doors closed while cooking. We mostly cook vegan recipes so it often isn't a huge issue until the cooking oils come out, they love olive oil!
We also keep all food items secure in a pantry that they cannot open. We have a bread drawer that you can slide up to open but they figured out how to open that. We tried keeping food in the cabinets above the counters but they figured out how to open that and sort of ladder-climb up the shelves to reach the food. They get their food at the standard eating times and get some snacks in-between and they're completely chill until we bring out the olive oil or tofu. I have to reiterate that they are a great weight and the vet always comments on their perfect health. We even brush their teeth every day! (We've gone off the deep end)
The cats have won. It is their house. We are at their mercy. The doors are holding for now, but we're not sure for how long. Send help treats!