Do cats stress eat??

I was wondering if stress can cause cats to over eat.
Spyder would always be frantic about eating his food. But since Milo is no longer here and the attacks have stopped, Spyder is not quite as frantic about eating as he was.
I don't know if it's all just coincidence or what, but I just find it curious.

Any thoughts?

Could be that he was very 'protective' over his food and wanted to eat it just so the other didn't steal it from him. Moss used to eat a lot when we had him as an indoor cat because he was bored and stressed. He goes out now and is fine

I have only heard of them going OFF their food when stressed. But there is no doubt that Ellie, who is definitely a problem cat and gives off signs of stress constantly in the form of sucking, kneading and reassurance-seeking behaviour, as well as occasional litter box issues, is also the greediest of my three and will eat all the time if I let her. So I don't know.

Jamie has always reacted to a visit to the vets' office with a very loud demand for food once we get home, regardless of the time of day or when his last meal was. He's the first pet we've had that does that. He also seems to eat less when he's treated by his favorite vet, and positively gorges when he gets his least favorite one.

My boyfriend's household has five cats. All except the alpha cat (a tiny female who has never been more than 5 pounds) are overweight. The youngest cat started off as a half-starved kitten and now weighs about 16 pounds. Cats who fear lack of food, either from previous starvation or having to fight territory battles for it, seem to eat more. That's just what I have noticed.

Hmmm...I've noticed that Nano eats more aggressively when it is thundering and lightning during a rainstorm. She definitely pigs out much more than she does during normal weather. So...could be a stress thing and she uses food to re-assure herself. Not really sure?

I don't think it's a coincidence at all. It's the absence of Milo, as you suspect.

I think cats can over eat due to stress. I had Charlotte for 1 year when I adopted my kitten, Izzie. Charlotte was very territorial with her food and wouldn't allow Izzie to eat from the food area (I had 2 bowls). Additionally, Charlotte kept eating ALL of the food and gained about 3 pounds. It took about 2 months before Charlotte adapted and stopped engorging herself with food. She actually lost most of that weight now.

Thanks for the replys everyone!
Seems like Spyder isn't the only one.
I never would have thought stress would cause cats to over eat, as Jenny mentioned I thought it would only put them off their feed....hmmmm.....

Originally Posted by stormy

Thanks for the replys everyone!

Seems like Spyder isn't the only one.

I never would have thought stress would cause cats to over eat, as Jenny mentioned I thought it would only put them off their feed....hmmmm.....

Click to expand...

Can you train your cat to not gorge himself? I have been feeding my kitten wet and dry little bits at a time for about a half hour at a time (it takes forever) because if i put it all on the plate he gorges himself and throws it up.

Cats do stress eat. Often times at the clinic after treating a cat who is particularly fractious if you put them in their kennel with their food they will eat right away because they are so stressed out.

Can you train your cat to not gorge himself? I have been feeding my kitten wet and dry little bits at a time for about a half hour at a time (it takes forever) because if i put it all on the plate he gorges himself and throws it up.

Click to expand...

One thing you can do is throw the food on the floor [so he can't eat it all in one big pile] put some objects in his bowl that he has to eat around, like a tennis ball, or just feed multiple small meals throughout the day. I can't say that you can really teach them to not eat fast... some animals are just really concerned. My sister's horse eats so fast she chokes, so she has to have her food watered down.