Why does my cat act strange with food?

Kip is a 10 year old American Short hair. She was my husbands cat and then she came to live with us when we got married about a year ago. Several years ago she lived in a multi-cat home and we think she had to fight for her food. She got better about it for a while but we live in a one bedroom apartment and every time we walk past her bowl she runs to it like she needs fed even if she ate 10 minuets before that. She gobbles it down all at once before we go to bed and then will wake us up in the early hours of the morning trying to get fed again. If anyone has any tips that would make her stop being so crazy with food it would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

Honestly, to some degree, she is just being a cat   Mine will sometimes come up to me as though I haven't just fed them too, and though I have two they do not compete with one another for the food as I feed them separately, equal portions.

Do you feed her dry or wet, how many times a day do you feed her, and how much do you feed her at a time? Does she gobble it down no matter how much you feed her?  (I guess what I really mean, is it possible she is legitimately still hungry or is she more of a hungry hungry hippo who would eat cups and cups of food and STILL act like she wanted more  ).

One tip to avoid getting woken too early in the morning is to leave some dry out overnight, but if she eats it all immediately it may or may not help. Another is to simply ignore her if she wakes you before a certain time, over and over again. For that to work thoughyou really have to totally ignore her, and it really has to be every time.

Hopefully others will come along soon with more advice.

tulosai said:

Do you feed her dry or wet, how many times a day do you feed her, and how much do you feed her at a time? Does she gobble it down no matter how much you feed her?  (I guess what I really mean, is it possible she is legitimately still hungry or is she more of a hungry hungry hippo who would eat cups and cups of food and STILL act like she wanted more 

).

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  I was going to ask the same questions. It does sound like she's still hungry.    How is her weight?

It is possible that her gobbling it down so fast is a result of competing with multiple cats. In some multi-cat households that aren't monitored closely, you eat quick or you don't get any. But the wanting more and running to her bowl makes me think she's still hungry. 

My Caesar had food anxiety when I brought him home from the shelter. He would eat very fast and look around cautiously with wide eyes while he was eating, like he was genuinely fearful of someone taking his food. He was tense and never looked down at his bowl, but always around him and in front of him. If one of the other cats got too close, he would go into defense mode. As a result of this, he ended up regurgitating the food a lot and the first four months were very challenging. The solution was to feed him upstairs in my bedroom on top of my high bureau/dresser because that is where he felt comfortable.

I really don't know what the solution is for Kip, but I think looking at her diet and making sure she's getting enough to eat is a good place to start.

She eats dry food. They tried wet food with her before but she doesn't like it. We feed her a big scoop in the morning before work and then again when we get home. She gets fed a scoop every 3 hours or so though out the night and then again before bed. If we give her more food she just eats it all at once. Her weight is really good. She isn't thin but not chunky. She is right in the middle. Probably about 10 lbs. Is it possible that she runs to them because she is reminded of it when we walk by? When she was at my mother-in-laws house before we got married her bowls were in a half bathroom by the kitchen and it was a bigger house and I never saw her run to them if we left the room. She hasn't been in a multi-cat home for about 6 years.

When was the last time Kip was at the vet for a check-up? Constant hunger can be a symptom of a medical condition with hyperthyroidism being the first to come to mind.

About 6 months ago. She was perfectly health at her last check up. I did try giving her a little more food at night before bed and that seemed to work for her waking us up in the morning.

Thanks everyone!