How do you stop a pig??

pjk5900

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I swear, Jo will not stop eating!
Everytime I make a new dish of food she is constantly back at the bowl eating again. I chase her off and tell her to save some for the others, but I turn around and she is back!!
It's really starting to irritate me!!
I brought in a new dish for the 2 newcomers and here she was AGAIN!!
I tell her over and over to stop, or move her to another room, even put her outside, but as soon as she comes back in, it's straight for the dish.
She does not have worms and she is not sick at all, she is just a PIG!!

Is there a way to break her of this??
It's not fair to the other kitties to put the food up, they all eat when they want. Jo has just started this in the past month or so.
 
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pjk5900

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I really would like some suggestions here please!!
 

katl8e

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Not sure if this belongs in Nutrition or Behavior but, since it concerns food, I'm moving it to Nutrition.
 

stormy

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How old is Jo? If she's young she might be in a growing phase and need the extra calories...if not then I'm not too sure what to do other than to put the food up between feedings.
Sorry I can't be more helpful.
 

pat

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Originally Posted by pjk5900

I swear, Jo will not stop eating!
Everytime I make a new dish of food she is constantly back at the bowl eating again. I chase her off and tell her to save some for the others, but I turn around and she is back!!
It's really starting to irritate me!!
I brought in a new dish for the 2 newcomers and here she was AGAIN!!
I tell her over and over to stop, or move her to another room, even put her outside, but as soon as she comes back in, it's straight for the dish.
She does not have worms and she is not sick at all, she is just a PIG!!

Is there a way to break her of this??
It's not fair to the other kitties to put the food up, they all eat when they want. Jo has just started this in the past month or so.
How old is she? Is she overweight at all? Are you sure she hasn't picked up worms from when you put her outside? I assume she is spayed so that pregnancy isn't a consideration.

Telling her not to overeat won't translate to anything she will understand.

What are you feeding them? More details will help
 

hissy

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Was she a rescued stray? If so, the behavior is typical of rescues that have had to fend for themselves for food.

Establish a routine. Put her food down in one room first, shut the door- let her eat undisturbed for 20-30 minutes. Let the other cats eat at the same time in another location. At the end of the 30 minutes, take up all the food off the floor, and release Jo from the room. Do this several times a day, don't free feed any longer, and don't allow her out until at least 30 minutes so the other cats can finish their food.

I have had to do this with Noddy or she will eat everything in sight and then some. I also had her checked for hyperthyroidism but she came up negative, she also does not have parasites- it is just a behavior with her that can't be quenched
 

millyanddaisy

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I have two like that! I never free-feed or they would end up the size of a sofa, but they are constantly scrounging and trying to steal food. They have always been like it. I suspect that with mine it is down to insecurity, the pair of them had been rehomed twice before we took them and they both seem to need constant reassurance. And food.

Sue
 

dr. doolittle

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As Hissy said she could be hyperthyroid. How old is she? Is she losing weight?
It could also be a competition thing. Maybe she is worried that the others will eat all of her food?
 
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