I’ll have what you’re havin’

fornana

TCS Member
Thread starter
Adult Cat
Joined
Jul 11, 2015
Messages
128
Purraise
74
Location
USA- North-East
My cat Abraham is a magical red head with fascinating behaviors. One such behavior that baffles me is his love affair with food.

In your opinion, or from your experience, based on the findings below should I be concerned? Is his behaviors more related to anxiety, an underlying medical condition, or is this normal?

SURVERY: Does your cat(s) do this too?

BACKGROUND

Abraham was an ex-feral. Although he acts like Mr. cool I believe he has subtle behaviors to suggest he actually has some anxiety issues. This includes his complete dread of being held or picked-up; his face buries into the nook of your arm as his RR increases, followed by cries of protest and squriming. 

First of all he did spend much of his early years outside. In-fact the tip of one of his ears is clipped. The rescue I got him from at first thought he was too wild and had planned to return him back to his colony, but thankfully they gave him a chance.

He took awhile to get use to my apartment, but is now doing very well. He has gotten use to his companions and loves being the boss of the house.

SITUATION

Abraham loves to eat, and he eats everything. I’ve never seen anything like it, and I find it bizarre that he goes after virtually all kinds of foods (except fruit). Cats taste buds work differently from us; for example they can’t taste sweet stuff, yet Abraham will beg you to share your cookie.  As long as it’s not fruit he will sit next to you, paw at you, cry, and not give up until you either leave the room (and shut the door behind you), or give him a treat. I always try to avoid giving him human food because I know that’s bad for his health.

Once my husband brought home cupcakes from his work. They were securely (we thought) in a box left on the kitchen table, and well Abraham, managed to jump on the table, knock, over the box and eat half the cupcakes while we slept. My first clue was when he greeted me in the morning and his chin was covered in black crumbs.


Exhibit A. The morning after

He does live in a relatively small space (1 BR APT.) with no access to the outdoors. He does share this space with me, my husband, and our other precious ex-feral Flavia.

Flavia and him do get along. Flavia is a very submissive girl and is very sweet. Abraham and Flavia often share the same chair, and they love to wrestle with each other. Having another cat, regardless of their seemingly friendly relationship, does increase stress to a certain amount.


Flavia and Abraham being cuties

HIS DIET

I feed him Blue Buffalo dry food (indoor + grain free), and Merck wet food (usually chicken, rabbit, or turkey). I would love to cook his food, but have yet to do the necessary research. From what I’ve lightly read it seems to be a rather complex balance.  

I try to go by what the bag says which is around 3/4-1 cup of dry food a day, and then I also give him 1-2  servings (1 tsp) of wet food a day.

I also give him, on average, 4 treats a day (various brands).

MEDICAL HISTORY

He is around 2 years old. I first got him sometime in February of this year. I did take him to the vet after I picked him out at the rescue, but at that time I did not notice these behaviors. My plan is to go to a vet sometime this month and clear him of any medical problems.

He has no known health problems currently and is UTD with his vaccines. He is a big guy, not weight wise, but structure wise. He weighs around10lbs because I watch his weight. But I am sure if I gave into him more often he would weigh a 1,000lbs. 

What medical problems should I be concerned of based on his s/s?

Besides his appetite, he is rather unremarkable; his coat his beautiful and shiny, has lots of energy, likes to play, doesn’t usually spray, no compulsive behaviors noted other than his food obsession, etc.

I know with diabetes the most common signs are increase urination, and thirst. He has none of those s/s.  Increase appetite, however, is an indication of diabetes.

I know humans eat their feelings, but do animals do the same? Is that how they channel their depression and anxieties? I would think they would more often stop eating (which is very dangerous and can lead to hepatic issues). 

CONCERNS

My major concern is if this is not normal behavior, and if he has an underlying medical problem.

If you have any recommendations, experience, or thoughts...please comment!
Thanks for reading! =)
 

LTS3

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Aug 29, 2014
Messages
19,209
Purraise
19,695
Location
USA
I've heard that ex ferals have food anxiety and will eat anything they can until they learn that food will always be available. I'm sure TCS members with former ferals can explain more about this.

Canned food tends to be more filling than dry food. Could you feed more canned food and less dry food? Dry food can cause weight gain because they are so calorie dense per cup. Is 10 lbs your cat's ideal weight? If so, he needs to eat roughly 200 to 250 calories daily to maintain his weight. He may need more or less so feed accordingly. Is the dry food left out all day for snacking on?

A cooked diet doesn't have to be complicated at all. One of the easiest ways to to use cooked  boneless meat and add a pre-mix such as EZComplete  and some water. Stir to combine, portion out into serving sized meals, and freeze. Here's more info about home cooked diets: http://www.thecatsite.com/t/264153/home-cooked-cat-food-resources Just wanted to throw that out there so you can read up on home cooked diets.

I don't know if Feliway or other pheromone product would help with food anxiety. I think it just calms cats who are stressed out. It's worth giving a try, IMO.
 

denice

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Feb 7, 2006
Messages
18,839
Purraise
13,146
Location
Columbus OH
A vet check is a very good idea to rule out medical issues, at his  age though this is probably behavioral.  It probably results from his time as a feral.  If you watch nature shows the big cats in the wild do this.  When they have a successful hunt they gorge, kind of like when there  is  food better eat all that you can type behavior.  A feral would be the same way.  When they become a pet food is always around but that instinct to eat if food is around is still there.  Sometimes they will eventually come out of this but it can take a very  long time.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #4

fornana

TCS Member
Thread starter
Adult Cat
Joined
Jul 11, 2015
Messages
128
Purraise
74
Location
USA- North-East
Hello fellow cat people thank you for your replies! 


@LTS3

I’m still learning about cat nutrition 


No I never leave free food. He would sit and eat everything in one sitting; no joke.

I will make sure to ask the vet what she thinks his ideal weight is and then based on that I’ll determine his actual calorie needs. It will be good to know if he’s overweight…. “Companion animals are considered obese when their body weight is 20% or greater than ideal, and overweight when between 10% and 19% above ideal” (Preventive Veterinary Medicine, 2015).

That’s a good tip about the wet food. That’s exactly what they found in a study published in Veterinary Medicine: “Dietary water can decrease energy density, add weight to a diet making it more filling, and be added in high amounts without impacting a diet's palatability or digestibility” (2012). In the study they also found cats fed purely wet food were slimmer. That is extremely important considering obesity is considered the second most common health problem in pet cats in developed countries.

Although avoiding a dry diet may decrease the risk of overweight/obesity, dry food diets may offer benefits to cats such as improving oral health status.  According to a journal published by MDPI “Periodontal disease (PD) has been recognized as one of the most prevalent diseases in cats, affecting around 70% of the domestic cats over two years of age [1], and 85% of those aged over five years. PD is a generic term of a plaque-induced inflammatory condition, affecting the periodontium…... several factors, such as: gender, age, breed, diet, chewing behavior, and systemic health….. It is suggested that good hygiene of the feeding bowl should also be considered to avoid bacterial build up, especially where cats are fed wet food, as bacteria is the main trigger of plaque development, leading to PD” (2015). I’m curious what raw/cooked fed cats are given to supplement their oral care.

Wow thanks for the link!
There’s a lot of credible sources in that post. As you can see I like links (and sharing information). I find it complicated because I look at it so scientifically and every nutrient.  Like before I clicked on your link which really outlines everything… I was looking up my own information, and I’m reading stuff like this “It is important to also assess the EFA content of the cat foods as well, including LA, AA, DHA and EPA. Adult cats require a dietary source of LA for proper membrane structure, growth, lipid transport, normal skin and coat condition and maintenance of the epidermal permeability barrier” (Australian Veterinary Journal, 2016).


Interestingly from that same source they did a study on popular cat food brands (both dry & wet) in Australia, and this is what they found: “When compared with the Australian Standard, 9 of the 20 cat foods did not adhere to their ‘guaranteed analysis’ and 8 did not adhere to the standards for nutrient composition. Also, various deficiencies and excesses of crude protein, crude fat, fatty acid and amino acid were observed in the majority of the cat foods”( Australian Veterinary Journal, 2016). That’s certainly disappointing.

I’ve never used pheromones I’ve seen them in the store, but don’t know much about them. Is that like aroma therapy? Aroma therapy I love…I wonder if it’s used for cats.

References

Gosper, E., Raubenheimer, D., Machovsky‐Capuska, G., & Chaves, A. (2016). Discrepancy between the composition of some commercial cat foods and their package labelling and suitability for meeting nutritional requirements. Australian Veterinary Journal, 94(1-2), 12-17. doi:10.1111/avj.12397

Mata, F. (2015). The choice of diet affects the oral health of the domestic cat. Animals : An Open Access Journal from MDPI, 5(1), 101-109. doi:10.3390/ani5

Rowe, E., Browne, W., Casey, R., Gruffydd-Jones, T., & Murray, J. (2015). Risk factors identified for owner-reported feline obesity at around one year of age: Dry diet and indoor lifestyle. Preventive Veterinary Medicine, 121(3-4), 273. doi:10.1016/j.prevetmed.2015.07.011 010101

Wei, A., Fascetti, A., & Villaverde, C. (2012). Does wet food equal slimmer cats? Veterinary Medicine, 107(6), 252. Retrieved from http://avmajournals.avma.org/doi/abs/10.2460/ajvr.72.7.918
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #5

fornana

TCS Member
Thread starter
Adult Cat
Joined
Jul 11, 2015
Messages
128
Purraise
74
Location
USA- North-East
@Denice

Very interesting observation; they do indeed gorge themselves. I guess it will take Abraham awhile to forget about his time out on his own. I feel sympathy for him because he gets so excited over every piece of food, and I’m trying to be a good cat mom & giving him extra food isn’t a good solution.

I do sincerely hope this behavior gets better. I will look into the feral forum as LTS3 suggested.

Thanks for your help 
 

LTS3

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Aug 29, 2014
Messages
19,209
Purraise
19,695
Location
USA
Originally Posted by ForNana  

 I’m curious what raw/cooked fed cats are given to supplement their oral care.
Toothbrushing and / raw gizzards and raw bone. I personally feed my cats raw and brush their teeth with pet toothpaste


I've never used Feliway but many TCS members have. There are many threads on the subject: http://www.thecatsite.com/newsearch?search=feliway&type=35
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #7

fornana

TCS Member
Thread starter
Adult Cat
Joined
Jul 11, 2015
Messages
128
Purraise
74
Location
USA- North-East
Thanks for all your suggestions =)

“raw gizzards”
My husband from time to time eats gizzards and other organ meats. In his culture just about every part of the animal is eaten. Going to his church's cookout is always interesting.... Organ meat though is a great source of taurine for cats as I’m sure you know.

Wow interesting, so you brush their teeth? I’m going to look into that for my kitties. Abraham especially has smelly breath.  

I’ll keep Feilway in mind! Thank you! 
 
Top