Food Issues

stephanietx

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My 8 yo cat, Callie has food anxiety issues. She wieghs 13.5 pounds (down .5 pounds) and is on Science Diet r/d. I was feeding her between 1/2c-3/4c a day, but the vet recommended bumping it up to 3/4C a day. When I do that, she doesn't play as much nor is she as inquisitive about things. So we're back down to 1/2 - 3/4 C a day.

She was a stray and/or abandoned when she came to live with me about 6 years ago. She's developed a habit of gobbling up her food then throwing it back up. I've cleaned up more kitty barf than I care to!
Now she has marbles in her bowl to help slow down her eating and it's helped tremendously. Also, the dr. gave her a cortisone shot and that's helped as well. She hasn't thrown up in about 3 weeks, except for when she was sick.

The problem is that she constantly hangs out near her food bowl! She'll lay for HOURS by it when I'm home "begging" for more food. If I pick the bowl up, she'll lay in the spot where the bowl normally sits waiting for more food. Is there any way to break her of this habit? It's really hard to ignore the pleading eyes.

Stephanie
 

fonzi

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HI! I'm not sure what the ingredients are in Science Diet, but maybe she needs like more protien in the food and not so much as a filler..
 

sbw999

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I have a couple of thoughts on your cute kitty. First, some "gobblers" who eat too much then get sick have worms, that keep them hungry. A vet can tell you, or sometimes you can see it in their poop. Assuming that you have thought of this already, and she doesnt, I would definitely regulate how much food she eats. For instance give her a small amount of canned food, maybe a third of a can once in the morning, once in the evening, then leave a bowl of hard food that she can munch on when she feels like it. When she is hanging out by her food bowl, just pick her up and bring her somewhere else that she might be interested in to distract her, even an empty box will do, as she will explore it, and her mind taken off it. Hope this helps
 

touro1979

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I personally dont believe in measuring dry food. I have always self fed dry food and my cats have NEVER thrown up and they are going on 16 months old now. I find that when you always have dry food down they tend to pick throughout the day and never consume a large portion which can make them throwup. You might want to try self feeding.
 
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stephanietx

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No worms, so that's not a problem.

Can't self-feed or she'll be as big as a barn! That's pretty much how she got this way. It's like she has no internal "full" indicator. So, we have to portion out her food (basically 3 times a day) or else she'll just eat and eat and eat!
 

kimay

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Since you are feeding a Purina & Science Diet foods, you may want to check your ingredients, main ingredient is more than likely corn or some corn by product. Cats are carnivores, they need real meat, not by products (which could be anything from internal organs to whatever was swept from the floor.) Try a meat & rice based food (like Nutro) Cost is similar to SD, but they eat, poo & shed less. Mamamals that eat corn, poo corn.....and get sick with corn alergies. If not a Nutro product, at least try for a holistic food.


Originally Posted by stephanietx

My 8 yo cat, Callie has food anxiety issues. She wieghs 13.5 pounds (down .5 pounds) and is on Science Diet r/d. I was feeding her between 1/2c-3/4c a day, but the vet recommended bumping it up to 3/4C a day. When I do that, she doesn't play as much nor is she as inquisitive about things. So we're back down to 1/2 - 3/4 C a day.

She was a stray and/or abandoned when she came to live with me about 6 years ago. She's developed a habit of gobbling up her food then throwing it back up. I've cleaned up more kitty barf than I care to!
Now she has marbles in her bowl to help slow down her eating and it's helped tremendously. Also, the dr. gave her a cortisone shot and that's helped as well. She hasn't thrown up in about 3 weeks, except for when she was sick.

The problem is that she constantly hangs out near her food bowl! She'll lay for HOURS by it when I'm home "begging" for more food. If I pick the bowl up, she'll lay in the spot where the bowl normally sits waiting for more food. Is there any way to break her of this habit? It's really hard to ignore the pleading eyes.

Stephanie
 

hissy

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most stray cats are gobblers. You can also elevate her food bowl so she can't gulp her food. When they gobble or gulp they don't chew their food and they swallow lots of air resulting in emesis
 

horatio

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Hissy is rite... some strays indeed gobblers. Like my Rico... he is a stray n was rescued when he was abt 4/5 mths old. initially he kept on meowing (for food) whenever I go to the kitchen (that is where all my cat foods r stored). Therefore, after an advise from my friend, I gave him a big portion n from there I wud measure how much my Rico could eat (whereby seeing how much the leftovers) n i will stick to that amount. Trust me.. Rico is gobbling 2.5 times more than my other cats... luckily Rico had not thrown up even once.. he dun hv worm issues since the vet had gave him deworming 3 times already...

perhaps Steph cud give ur cat the approx amt b4 ur cat cud throw up, if ya know what i mean...
 
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