Hi!
I have a concern regarding my new cats eating habits, but let me give you some background about him first.
I recently rescued this cat in September. He's a handsome and sweet gray male tabby with BEAUTIFUL blue-green eyes, so I named him Jade.
Now, Jade has most of his shots and will be getting neutered on Nov. 12 and getting his boosters. He did not have anything when I got him, though.
He's a very good cat, very nice personality, loves to sleep with me, uses the litter box for everything, has not sprayed (thank GOD) but I need to watch for clawing the furniture/rug so I take him outside on a leash and harness and let him get some air and claw on the trees (he loves that!)
I got Jade from a friend of mine who's Mom wanted to get rid of the two cats they had (the other cat, a solid black male has a home too, so it's all good.)
Jade was outside all the time, they did not like to have him in the house because he would pee in their basement, etc so he was outside all day and night. Since I got him, I have not let him out and I want to train him to be an indoor cat. He got out once, I had a heart attack when I couldn't find him, but I did--he was WAY out towards the woods!! (We live in a very country area.) I have to watch when I go out and come in as he's always at the door, ready to take off. I gently shoo him away from my foot as I come in or go out, he does back off.
Jade is always at the door crying to go outside, but I just ignore him and tell him, 'No.' Anyways, now when it comes to eating, forget it. He's like, insane. He LOVES to eat, he eats very quick, gets very, how do I say it....excited? ecstatic? He's like, wild. He won't even let me pour the dry food in his bowl because his face is like, in the way, trying to eat. It's like, I have to hold him back as I serve him or take the bowl, put the food in there and then place it down and boom, he's digging in. I have no idea why he's like this. He's even on the kitchen counters at night while I'm upstairs (I came downstairs I heard him jump down and run off with something. I went after him and he was wet and had a piece of spagetti in his mouth. I took it away from him and took him upstairs to my room to go to sleep.) But I want to find out why he's acting like this. I need to help curb this habit because this will drive my parents nuts. It was hard enough getting my parents to let me keep him, lol. He's a sweet animal, I love him to pieces, he's my baby boy, but his aggressive food hoarding NEEDS to be tamed.
I thought about a few things:
1. Maybe once he's fixed, his hormones will slow down
2. He was an outside cat basically all his life (he's 10 months, according to the vet)
3. My aunt and I think he was not fed right since he was a kitten
4. He was not fed the proper food--the family I got him from fed him dog food because they could not afford cat food
5. He's a male--are males bigger eaters than females?
I have another cat, she's about 7, who's not like Jade at all. Sure, she perks up when it's time to eat and cries for her food, like most cats, but she does not act like Jade at all.
These are just a few factors to consider. I would appreciate some advice/diagnosis! lol.
And yes, the vet did give me something to put on the back of Jade's neck for worms, I did think maybe he still has worms. I will be taking a stool sample with me when I take him to the vet for his surgery on Nov. 12th.
I have a concern regarding my new cats eating habits, but let me give you some background about him first.
I recently rescued this cat in September. He's a handsome and sweet gray male tabby with BEAUTIFUL blue-green eyes, so I named him Jade.
Now, Jade has most of his shots and will be getting neutered on Nov. 12 and getting his boosters. He did not have anything when I got him, though.
He's a very good cat, very nice personality, loves to sleep with me, uses the litter box for everything, has not sprayed (thank GOD) but I need to watch for clawing the furniture/rug so I take him outside on a leash and harness and let him get some air and claw on the trees (he loves that!)
I got Jade from a friend of mine who's Mom wanted to get rid of the two cats they had (the other cat, a solid black male has a home too, so it's all good.)
Jade was outside all the time, they did not like to have him in the house because he would pee in their basement, etc so he was outside all day and night. Since I got him, I have not let him out and I want to train him to be an indoor cat. He got out once, I had a heart attack when I couldn't find him, but I did--he was WAY out towards the woods!! (We live in a very country area.) I have to watch when I go out and come in as he's always at the door, ready to take off. I gently shoo him away from my foot as I come in or go out, he does back off.
Jade is always at the door crying to go outside, but I just ignore him and tell him, 'No.' Anyways, now when it comes to eating, forget it. He's like, insane. He LOVES to eat, he eats very quick, gets very, how do I say it....excited? ecstatic? He's like, wild. He won't even let me pour the dry food in his bowl because his face is like, in the way, trying to eat. It's like, I have to hold him back as I serve him or take the bowl, put the food in there and then place it down and boom, he's digging in. I have no idea why he's like this. He's even on the kitchen counters at night while I'm upstairs (I came downstairs I heard him jump down and run off with something. I went after him and he was wet and had a piece of spagetti in his mouth. I took it away from him and took him upstairs to my room to go to sleep.) But I want to find out why he's acting like this. I need to help curb this habit because this will drive my parents nuts. It was hard enough getting my parents to let me keep him, lol. He's a sweet animal, I love him to pieces, he's my baby boy, but his aggressive food hoarding NEEDS to be tamed.
I thought about a few things:
1. Maybe once he's fixed, his hormones will slow down
2. He was an outside cat basically all his life (he's 10 months, according to the vet)
3. My aunt and I think he was not fed right since he was a kitten
4. He was not fed the proper food--the family I got him from fed him dog food because they could not afford cat food
5. He's a male--are males bigger eaters than females?
I have another cat, she's about 7, who's not like Jade at all. Sure, she perks up when it's time to eat and cries for her food, like most cats, but she does not act like Jade at all.
These are just a few factors to consider. I would appreciate some advice/diagnosis! lol.
And yes, the vet did give me something to put on the back of Jade's neck for worms, I did think maybe he still has worms. I will be taking a stool sample with me when I take him to the vet for his surgery on Nov. 12th.