Stray Obsessed with food still, eats too much

calikat

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I adopted a stray over three years ago. She's has adjusted very nicely with trust and our love, but she is still obsessed with food and so fat! She is not a large cat but has a huge belly, looks like a football. I switched to diet food and she's still very fat.

When I recently learned from the vet that cat owners should be feeding cats 90% wet food, I started feeding my three cats twice a day with wet food and leave some dry out for snacking or when I come home late. I thought the high-protein food would help her lose weight but she's not only SAST with eating her ball as quickly as possible she eats whatever's left from the other cats bowls. If I don't watch her, she'll even steal from them before they're finished. I now put less food in her bowl because I know she'll be eating out of the other bowls.

I get it. She's a survivor. That's how she live, but I need to get her weight under control. Do you think some reverse psychology my work? Like if I gave her the most food in her bowl or more food then she could even imagine available at once? Will she then finally get used to the idea that there will always be food for her?

Other ideas?
 
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calikat

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Oh, I should mention that she was skinny as bones and eating leaves when he we found her, so we understand her trauma from starving and doing whatever she could to survive.
 

ritz

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That's a tough one; Ritz is like that.  She literally did not know when/if her next meal was coming from before she and her litter mates were rescued from the font of my condo building--after a 20" snow storm.   That was four years ago.

I was feeding her three, 3 oz cans of Fancy Feast Classic and she was still hungry; in desperation I switched her to raw (loves it) over two years ago.  Her appetite is a little better, but she still wants more food.  I admit I sometimes give her more than she needs.  (In interest of full disclosure:  I have an eating disorder, so this behavior pushes ALL sorts of buttons.  I believe this cat specifically came into my life in part for this very reason.)

I too have thought about reverse psychology but I don't trust her enough !  One poster (who feeds raw) feeds one of her (many cats) a lot one day, and less the next day, to control the cat's weight.  I believe it is working, albeit slowly.  That would be an interesting experiment.

With three cats it's even more difficult (Ritz is an only child). Can you feed them in separate rooms?

Also, as you have kind of learned, 'diets don't work'--that is, diet cat food is usually full of fillers (carbohydrates that cats have NO need for) and scarce on what cats really need protein and fat (yes, fat).  "Need" is different from "want".

Specifically what canned food are you feeding them/her?  FF Classic is a decent food--low in carbohydrates--if money is a concern.  Also I would stop the kibble all together, and free feeding.
 

ondine

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We have a fatty too (Molly) and everyone was on diet food because of her.  We started scheduled feeding, no free feeding at all.  They all went a little bonkers at first but now they're used to it.

Molly, who would gnosh on kibble just because (I would her here munching at 2 am!)  has lost a couple of pounds.  She could still stand to lose a little more.  Our food obsessed cat has to be fed separately, in his own room, and we have to keep him locked in there until everyone else is done and the dishes are taken up.
 

msaimee

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The last feral I took in this past August was very malnourished, anemic, and had a bullet lodged in her pelvis, and then she almost died after the spay surgery. She is obsessed with food, too, and just starting to get a little plump. I'm in the process of switching her to weight management dry food, which she and the other cats seem to like as well as the regular food, so this is my strategy. I don't want her to ever stress about food again in her life. I give her and the others a little wet food twice a day. My two older cats are not fans of wet food. They eat mostly dry food and drink a lot of water. They're 13 and 14 years old, so they have been fine not being on a wet food diet. There are a lot of theories out there about what cats should eat, but ultimately, as long as the cat is getting proper nutrients and is healthy, that is what is important.  I don't think there's any one "right" way to feed it.

Have you gotten your cat checked by the vet and discussed this with him or her lately? Thyroid problems can make a  cat ravenous. When my one older cat starts scarfing up food, I know his thyroid is out of whack and his medication needs to be adjusted.
 
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dsue

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Same exact thing happened to stray Lyla I adopted who really got overweight. My vet gave me some great advice which worked. I only feed wet food . I only feed 2 x per day then pick up food. In the wild cats don't smell food all day long which causes them to eat more. I redirect her to play , brush her, etc. when she complains & Sometimes just have to tolerate the complaining... I also separate her from other cat so she can't sneak her food She lost weight and is much happier and more active. Hope that helps!
 
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calikat

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Everyone, thanks for your great suggestions. They are all very helpful and I truly appreciate it! 
 
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