Wet food has turned my cat into a nightmare!

[moonkissed]

*I am posting this under behavior since it is her behavior and not really about the food I guess.

I started giving my cats wet food about a month ago. They get it twice a day, once in the morning & once at night. Always around the exact same time of day. I am not able right now to give it to them 3 times a day. They also have free access to dry food. They all enjoy the dry food and used to only eat that.

My oldest cat, Kisa who is 9, is perfectly healthy. A good weight, good teeth, etc... she has become a nightmare since I started feeding the wet food.

Almost all day long she sits in the kitchen waiting for food... her ears back, tailing thumping, irritated that I am not giving it to her. I have seen her eat the dry food...so she is not starving she just wants the wet.

If you go into the kitchen at all she is right there under your feet. My kitchen is not large. I have stepped on her countless times, tripped over her, spilled things, broken things. She is laying right behind you. If she isn't doing that she is screaming her head off at you.

She has also started being just a brat. She knows she is not allowed on my desk. But if I ignore her, the second I get up from my desk she jumps up there, lays down and then starts throwing my things on the flood on purpose. She hasn't done this in a long time. Her and I are not strongly bonded. She is definitely my husbands cat and was bought for him. I love her. But ever since we got her she has a habit of doing stuff like this where she will get into my things, and loves to throw my things on the floor... But she hasn't done this in a long time. 

I am the only one that feeds the cats btw. None of my other cats are acting this way. But if she starts screaming in the kitchen they all start running in begging too and my small kitchen is now full of cats screaming at me.

I tried just giving them more wet at their feeding times but they didn't finish it and it just got wasted.

I am at my wits end here. I know the wet food is better for them but I want to stop giving it to them because it is driving me crazy. I am on new medication which is making me very sick, very tired & dizzy. This is not fun for me to deal with at all.

Does anyone have any ideas to help this situation?

 

[fhicat]

First, wet is better for them. Many parents have problems trying to transition their cats from dry to wet in order to improve their health. Yours take to wet naturally.

Second, cats don't do things "on purpose" or "get irritated". When they repeatedly do something, it's due to behavior conditioning. They have learnt that they get rewarded when they do something, so they do it again.

If you insist on not feeding them wet, ignore her when she screams her head off at you. She must now learn that pushing things off your table and meowing incessantly does NOT get her what she wants. If you get up and give her wet when she does that, she has learnt to see that as a reward, so she continues doing it. TO break the habit, ignore her when she meows. Only feed her when she's being quiet -- even if this means you have to change her meal schedule.

This article talks about discouraging cats from jumping on tables:

http://www.thecatsite.com/a/get-off-how-to-discourage-your-cat-from-jumping-on-counters

 

[moonkissed]

Thanks for the reply. I can not afford to feed only wet & not all of my cats are so enthralled with it lol One of my cats just doesn't care at all & it would be very difficult to get him to eat just wet. I want to continue giving them wet but this cat is driving me mad! lol

 Second, cats don't do things "on purpose" or "get irritated". When they repeatedly do something, it's due to behavior conditioning. They have learnt that they get rewarded when they do something, so they do it again.

eh..well she gets negative attention for it because ignoring it isn't going to work when she is throwing stuff on the floor lol. So yes rewarded by some attention, But she still does it when she is being a brat. She knows she is not allowed up there and will do it only when I walk away. So same difference to me.

Thank you for the link, I can not use sticky tape on my desk though as I use it throughout the day to work or get online it would very much be in the way of that! lol

I only give them the wet food at the same time everyday. So if for example it is not time for food and she is sitting in the kitchen begging she doesn't get it unless it is time for it.

But at meal time yes she does scream her head off. I am not sure if I have the patience to wait her out before feeding her...not when she can sit in the kitchen for hours at a time and start meowing everytime I enter. If I tried I think it would end up with her just not getting any because every time she would go crazy. Right now I feed them before I go to bed (so they will eat less dry overnight) so I guess I could make it earlier and then have wiggle room to try and wait her out. Im just not sure it will work at all.

Thanks again. idk it is just a frustrating situation for me, I might just have to suck it up

 

[purrrdy]

What brand of wet food did you switch them to?

If it is a cheap food with coloring and lots of chemical ingredients and grain fillers, I would imagine that it can cause temperament changes, just like in humans affected by certain junk food sensitivities. It could also contain flavor enhancements causing her to crave it like kitty crack - manufacturers love to add flavor/smell enhancement junk to pet foods to attract the animals towards eating it  

I would try switching her over to a high end food with whole, species appropriate ingredients, and zero fillers, if she isn't already on a good one.

 

[Reeseecup]

*I am posting this under behavior since it is her behavior and not really about the food I guess.

I started giving my cats wet food about a month ago. They get it twice a day, once in the morning & once at night. Always around the exact same time of day. I am not able right now to give it to them 3 times a day. They also have free access to dry food. They all enjoy the dry food and used to only eat that.

My oldest cat, Kisa who is 9, is perfectly healthy. A good weight, good teeth, etc... she has become a nightmare since I started feeding the wet food.

Almost all day long she sits in the kitchen waiting for food... her ears back, tailing thumping, irritated that I am not giving it to her. I have seen her eat the dry food...so she is not starving she just wants the wet.

If you go into the kitchen at all she is right there under your feet. My kitchen is not large. I have stepped on her countless times, tripped over her, spilled things, broken things. She is laying right behind you. If she isn't doing that she is screaming her head off at you.

She has also started being just a brat. She knows she is not allowed on my desk. But if I ignore her, the second I get up from my desk she jumps up there, lays down and then starts throwing my things on the flood on purpose. She hasn't done this in a long time. Her and I are not strongly bonded. She is definitely my husbands cat and was bought for him. I love her. But ever since we got her she has a habit of doing stuff like this where she will get into my things, and loves to throw my things on the floor... But she hasn't done this in a long time.

I am the only one that feeds the cats btw. None of my other cats are acting this way. But if she starts screaming in the kitchen they all start running in begging too and my small kitchen is now full of cats screaming at me.

I tried just giving them more wet at their feeding times but they didn't finish it and it just got wasted.

I am at my wits end here. I know the wet food is better for them but I want to stop giving it to them because it is driving me crazy. I am on new medication which is making me very sick, very tired & dizzy. This is not fun for me to deal with at all.

Does anyone have any ideas to help this situation?

 

[Furballsmom]

I am on new medication which is making me very sick, very tired & dizzy.

Hi - did you start this new med about the same time you began feeding the wet food? After reading your first post a couple times, I'm thinking her behavior has a lot less to do with the food than with her concern for you. My furry boy has behaved similarly regarding me. She's more bonded to you than you think.

A couple things; can you have your husband take over the wet food feeding for a couple of weeks, and see if it makes any difference in her behavior? Also, can you find a way to contain her in an enclosed playpen or other room? Your balance issues in addition to a cat (s) underfoot is seriously unsafe for the both/all of you.