I'm writing on behalf of my aunt, who has two young cats. The cats are female littermates, less than a year old, both indoor cats. I believe she adopted them from the local humane society.
Anyhow, lately the cats, Ellie and Rosie, have been out of control when it comes to food. They constantly beg for more food and if allowed, will eat so much food that they throw up. They destroyed the box that their canned food was stored in in a matter of minutes one day. The eat any scrap of human food that is left out for more than a minute or two and have even started pulling things like apple peels out of the garbage disposal to eat. The other night I was on the phone with my aunt and the buggers knocked her tea off the counter trying to drink it when she had her back turned for a moment. My aunt has two small children, so keeping the cats from eating inappropriate food is a problem. Lately the cats have even destroyed several of her daughter's toys, chewing on them as a puppy would.
At night things are even worse. My aunt is having a really hard time getting any sleep because the cats come begging at her bedroom door for food in the night. She tried shutting them in the laundry room, the room furthest from hers, but the cats made such a racket they woke the kids. Another night she tried free feeding them so that they'd have more than their fill, but they just ate it all, vomited it up, then came begging for more. Finally, in a moment of weariness and desperation, she tossed the cats outside, hoping for peace. Unfortunately, they quickly figured out where her bedroom window was and spent the remainder of the night howling at her and scratching on the screen.
My aunt keeps a very clean almost bare house, so poor housekeeping really isn't a factor. She's an experienced cat owner, as am I, and we've never seen this kind of behavior before. Her vet's only suggestion was to squirt them with a bottle, but that had absolutely no effect on them. She's very disciplined and kept it up for quite a while, but obviously is still having problems with them. The food is high quality--Science Diet, I believe, so poor nutrition is also not likely.
Anyhow, my aunt is at her wit's end and thinking she may have to find a new home for the cats in order to get some peace, but is hesitant to do so, not only because of all the unwanted animals in the world, but also because her 6-year-old daughter has had to deal with a number of losses recently. If anyone has heard of anything like this or has any advice, we'd be very appreciative to hear from you. Thanks so much!
Anyhow, lately the cats, Ellie and Rosie, have been out of control when it comes to food. They constantly beg for more food and if allowed, will eat so much food that they throw up. They destroyed the box that their canned food was stored in in a matter of minutes one day. The eat any scrap of human food that is left out for more than a minute or two and have even started pulling things like apple peels out of the garbage disposal to eat. The other night I was on the phone with my aunt and the buggers knocked her tea off the counter trying to drink it when she had her back turned for a moment. My aunt has two small children, so keeping the cats from eating inappropriate food is a problem. Lately the cats have even destroyed several of her daughter's toys, chewing on them as a puppy would.
At night things are even worse. My aunt is having a really hard time getting any sleep because the cats come begging at her bedroom door for food in the night. She tried shutting them in the laundry room, the room furthest from hers, but the cats made such a racket they woke the kids. Another night she tried free feeding them so that they'd have more than their fill, but they just ate it all, vomited it up, then came begging for more. Finally, in a moment of weariness and desperation, she tossed the cats outside, hoping for peace. Unfortunately, they quickly figured out where her bedroom window was and spent the remainder of the night howling at her and scratching on the screen.
My aunt keeps a very clean almost bare house, so poor housekeeping really isn't a factor. She's an experienced cat owner, as am I, and we've never seen this kind of behavior before. Her vet's only suggestion was to squirt them with a bottle, but that had absolutely no effect on them. She's very disciplined and kept it up for quite a while, but obviously is still having problems with them. The food is high quality--Science Diet, I believe, so poor nutrition is also not likely.
Anyhow, my aunt is at her wit's end and thinking she may have to find a new home for the cats in order to get some peace, but is hesitant to do so, not only because of all the unwanted animals in the world, but also because her 6-year-old daughter has had to deal with a number of losses recently. If anyone has heard of anything like this or has any advice, we'd be very appreciative to hear from you. Thanks so much!
