TheCatSite.com › Forums › Our Feline Companions › Behavior › Very odd eating behavior!!!
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

Very odd eating behavior!!!

post #1 of 10
3/4/11 at 12:44am
Thread Starter 
Just adopted a cat from the spca. He is super nice, a little shy, but loves laps and purrs a lot. He had been nibbling on his dry food and eating a bit of his wet food. Its been two days now and my husband decided to treat him with some turkey. Well, he went insane. I mean insane! Just attacking it an gulping it down and then looking for more and meowing a ton.

He had at the time both a bowl with the Science Diet (they were feeding at the shelter) and tiki cat wet food that I purchased). Even the higher end cat foods I offered do no seem to be that great to him.

I was so shocked as I have never seen a cat react to food like he did to that turkey. I was literally backing away when my husband demonstrated it.

Do you think he was just fed table scraps before? And thus is holding out for them and super hungry? I was afraid my finger was gonna get eaten by this pervious mellow sweet cat. I think the solution is no food except cat food -- but no sure what to think!
Reply
post #2 of 10
3/4/11 at 1:30am
Awww it's possible?

A couple of years ago l had to stop my Jack having wet food because it was making him sick, so when l finally found one that didn't have many additives in he wolfed it down as if he was scared incase he wouldn't get anymore, and he was growling while he ate. l think he was warning my other two cats off just incase they wanted his, which they didn't because they were still eating theirs

Try mixing a little turkey in with his normal food so he'll get used to it.
Reply
post #3 of 10
3/4/11 at 9:29am
Oh, that's my little girl! I got her as an adult, and she must have had people food before. But, God help me if I'm trying to eat a turkey or chicken sandwich, and I'm absolutely terrified to try serving Thanksgiving dinner at my house. I can just see Dharma jumping on the table trying to grab a leg for herself.


While she's a healthy eater and will eat her cat food (which is important - plain turkey or chicken doesnt have all the nutrients she needs), the moment the turkey comes out, wow! Standing on her hind feet literally screeching for some! We've come to a detente - when I make a sandwich, I offer her a little bit - and then tell her 'all gone'. She keeps looking, but I think now she realizes she'll get her treat again - just not today. She'll then go back to eat her regular food.

As said, you could mix in a little turkey as a treat with her wet food - and maybe, if you're up to it, offer her a tiny turkey treat at a consistent time during the day.
Reply
post #4 of 10
3/4/11 at 1:09pm
Maybe Science Diet isn't meeting his nutritional needs, cats are carnivores, after all.

http://www.catinfo.org/#My_Cat_is_Do...ne_on_Dry_Food
Quote:
4) Cats are strict carnivores which means they are designed to get their protein from meat – not plants.
Guess he's telling you that the turkey is good for him.
Reply
post #5 of 10
3/4/11 at 1:30pm
Maybe he just liked the turkey a lot. Lynxx when he was a kitten got lobster on 4th Of July. He ate the whole thing in 1 gulp. The lobster was bigger than him. He loved it! It took 3 days to get him to eat something else. He only wanted the lobster. Midnight went crazy over Purina Pro Plan Kitten. He refused to eat for a week when he couldn't have that. Luna goes crazy for all human food. Most of the time she can't be out here with us, when we eat.
Reply
post #6 of 10
3/4/11 at 2:33pm
SD meets AAFCO standards for all the nutrients cats need - pure turkey or chicken would not. It can be tricky finding the best food for any particular cat, but millions have thrived on commercial foods. And raw feeding can also be tricky - you have to make sure all nutrients are included, and it's not as simple as some internet sites would have a person believe.

Also, it's generally suggested that a newly adopted cat be gradually transitioned from whatever food he was eating at the first home. Some cats can transition immediately - many more have digestional problems if you switch too fast.
Reply
post #7 of 10
3/5/11 at 12:06am
Thread Starter 
Thanks I will try mixing the fresh meat into his food. I have a food called Premium Edge that I will be transitioning him to...I never was a big fan of Science Diet but as he was being fed that at the shelter, I did not want to change it immediately. I put a touch of the new food in with the SD today and he literally picked out the pieces of the new food leaving the SD behind. Not one piece of premium edge was left in his bowl. My reason for not being a fan of the SD is that the first ingredient is chickenBY PRODUCT and the second is corn and as a PP said, cats are carnivores. His new food is more of an atkins diet ... no corn and no by product in it. I don't want to annoy anyone who feed SD and I know they have different types (not all have by product and corn as their main ingredients) but I have to say by product meat is not what I want my kitty to eat! Luckily, cats are small, so feeding an expensive whole food is more affordable.

Oddly Ming Miao is not liking his wet food!!!...just loves that dang turkey. I need to stop DH from treating him and do the mixing in bit.

I sill can not believe this kitty was at the shelter! He is so perty!
Reply
post #8 of 10
3/5/11 at 9:47am
Quote:
Originally Posted by darlili View Post
Oh, that's my little girl! I got her as an adult, and she must have had people food before. But, God help me if I'm trying to eat a turkey or chicken sandwich, and I'm absolutely terrified to try serving Thanksgiving dinner at my house. I can just see Dharma jumping on the table trying to grab a leg for herself.


While she's a healthy eater and will eat her cat food (which is important - plain turkey or chicken doesnt have all the nutrients she needs), the moment the turkey comes out, wow! Standing on her hind feet literally screeching for some! We've come to a detente - when I make a sandwich, I offer her a little bit - and then tell her 'all gone'. She keeps looking, but I think now she realizes she'll get her treat again - just not today. She'll then go back to eat her regular food.

As said, you could mix in a little turkey as a treat with her wet food - and maybe, if you're up to it, offer her a tiny turkey treat at a consistent time during the day.
Yep, I agree!!! Just add small bits of turkey in with the wet food, and ONLY offer it that way. Don't feed those scraps by hand. I made the mistake with Presley, he goes absolutely, positively nuts for turkey or chicken sandwich meats. Same thing, devours it like he has never eaten before in his life. I had to stop doing that when I would make lunches. He still tries to grab some when I make sandwiches, but I refuse to let him have any scraps anymore. I have created a monster
Reply
post #9 of 10
3/6/11 at 10:22am
Welcome to TCS, Lynniecat! And congratulations on your new family member.

In reference his behavior - as the public becomes more aware of cats' special dietary needs, raw feeding has become ever more mainstream. While it's unlikely your kitty was fed a raw diet previously, it's not impossible. Also, if he was on his own for a while, he might have had to catch his own food, in which case, he would recognize the raw meat as his natural diet and hunger for it.

Either way, I've seen cats flip out for raw food and it can definitely be unsettling if you're not expecting it.

Glad to hear you're transitioning off SD, for the very reasons you mentioned. If you can migrate to a wholly canned diet, so much the better. Cats don't have the thirst drive to balance a dry diet and those fed kibble are often chronically dehydrated (which, as you can imagine, stresses their organs).

I won't belabor the point, but I do want to address the multiple "turkey and chicken alone don't have enough nutrients" comments. Raw turkey and chicken are as healthy for cats as apples and spinach are to humans - but, like apples and spinach, are just one of the building blocks of a healthy diet.

I think adding raw bits of whatever (unseasoned) meat you're having for dinner to your kitty's wet food is a great idea.

Good luck getting your boy on a new menu, Lynniecat!

Best regards!

AC
Reply
post #10 of 10
3/8/11 at 11:21am
Mine goes nuts about popcorn and wheat bread or wheat thins...lol
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: Behavior
TheCatSite.com › Forums › Our Feline Companions › Behavior › Very odd eating behavior!!!