all that... and a bag of chips

[newsguyatl]

yeh, my little boy jesse is a cutie, but damn, he seems obsessed with food -- especially chips -- he LOVES them:



i know i shouldn't let him eat them (heck, =i= shouldn't be eating them), but he's just so cute when he gets one in his mouth, carries it to the other side of the room and chomps on it

anybody else have cats seemingly obsessed with food? sometimes, i swear you'd think i never feed these cats -- they're always begging for food, trying to eat mine, scratching at the counter where their food is, and they just go at it like 'animals' when they get their food. i'd tried only feeding them twice daily, b/c i don't want fat cats, but now i'm starting to feel guilty b/c of their begging, so i've been feeding them more lately.

as you can see, nikko's not hurting for food:

[legally blonde]

1. my kitty Morty

He ALWAYS follows me into the kitchen and is constantly begging for food. I feed them twice a day, but Morty always seems to be hungry (or at least he thinks he's hungry).

[newsguyatl]

2. how much do you feed him for each feeding?

i go with half a cup each time for nikko -- little less for jesse since he's still a kitten.

[legally blonde]

17. Probably about the same

But Morty is a little pig, and he eats Manilla's food too.

[Patiod]

3. I've described Little miss psycho before, but...

in search of her breakfast, my cat will start pestering us between 3:30am and 5:30 am. She knocks things off my vanity table and night stand (water, alarm clock, phone, lamp). She runs across our heads. She will sit inches from my face and hit my nose with her paw, and she'll pull at my hair. If we're completely out of it, and ignore all these tricks, she bites. If we put her out of the room and close the bedroom door, she'll throw herself against it for over an hour (and we have downstairs neighbors, who must be able to hear the racket, so we've never let her go longer than an hour, although I'm sure she would).

This morning, she bit me really hard on the arm, and I'm ashamed to say I reflexively smacked her, although in my defense, it was 4am, I was 90% asleep, and I have never done anything like that when I was awake. I got up out of guilt, petted her head, and fed her, and then around 5:30 I heard S.O. say "don't worry, I just fed the cat". So she got her revenge -- two breakfasts.

Because this nonsense has been going on for 3 years, I am constantly tired, and at wit's end. She is otherwise a really sweet, affectionate little cat, but she's driving us crazy. We've tried the squirt bottle technique, which results in an angry, wet cat running across our heads and biting us - no improvement at all.

As you say, she's not hurting for food - there is always dry available, and she gets a teaspoonful of wet food at 6pm & 11pm. If I ever have another cat, I will NOT feed it in the morning, that's one lesson I've learned. I've also learned that they are the stubbornist creatures on the planet.

[newsguyatl]

5. LMAO, oh you poor thing

i'm sorry to laugh at your misery, but that's hilarious...

my cat nikko used to always walk on my face in the morning, and when that wouldn't work, he'd sit on it... he's stopped that ever since i got jesse, now they just pounce on my bed really hard and scare the shit out of me at like 5 or 6 in the morning...

it certainly does sound like you have a little terror cat -- at least one with some issues... lol

post some pics if you have them plz, i gotta see this one ;-)

[Patiod]

8. Two links to pictures

(don't have digital camera or scanner....)

The first is of the Little trying to escape from being photographed the night we got her:
http://tinyurl.com/7oj9h


The next one we took on purpose to capture her looking pissy:
http://www.mycathatesyou.com/cats/search/little/1412

Except in the morning, she is a delightful, affectionate little cat.

[newsguyatl]

10. sweet!

you got on mycathatesyou! nice

i'm trying to get this one of nikko on there -->

[Patiod]

11. GREAT pic of Nikko - What did you submit as a caption?

My caption was lame - I don't know how the Little got on, unless he just could see the sheer evil radiating from her eyes. We do actually believe that if the Little were big enough, she'd probably dispense with begging for wet food, and just go for a calf or a foreaarm.

[IndyOp]

7. I am sorry to hear about your incredibly, incredibly

frustrating situation. If this unhappy interaction has become the primary interaction you have with your cat then that is really bad for everyone.

My experience with a situation like this happened when I got my second cat, Eli. When he was a kitty he wanted constant, constant interaction. All night long he would jump around on the bed and wake up my first cat, David, and the two of them would wrestle and run around the room, and I would yell, and they would quiet down, and then 20-minutes later the whole insane interaction would start again. It was many, many months before things calmed down - because Eli got older. I really, really wish I had purchased a crate and put him in it at night for a few months so I would have enjoyed his company much, much more during the day.

I would suggest that you set up your cat in a safe crate or safe room some distance from your bedroom, provide water, litterbox, toys, and keep her in there from the time you go to bed until you get up in the morning. It seems highly likely that she may yell just about all night long for the first night or two and then after that she may just start yelling in the early morning hours when she is expecting food (and attention). Stop feeding her when you first wake up in the morning - she takes your getting out of bed as a cue that breakfast is coming and then drives you nuts until you get out of bed. I would suggest that you not feed her until you have been out of bed for at least 1/2 hour. You might get a feeding bowl with a timer and set it for a half-hour before you get up in the morning - so your getting out of bed is no longer a cue that predicts breakfast.

I would suggest that you try to make this confinement be 'not a punishment' by putting her food in there when you do feed her and by putting the crate in a room in which your family spends lots of time - living room or kitchen? Don't keep her in there any longer than necessary - leave the door open during the day so she can go in and out as she pleases.

Try to really increase the positive interactions you have with her during the daytime hours -- take time to play with her during the day, including some games where she burns off some energy. If getting you to feed her is her main way of interacting with you then that's all she knows to do in order to interact with you. Maybe consider getting a second cat so she has company and can run around with her pal. (That will be a whole other challenge!)

During these changes you might try giving her some Rescue Remedy - a flower essence available at your local healthfood or healthy food grocery store - it will reduce her anxiety and help her adjust more quickly.

[Patiod]

9. Thank you for the suggestions IndyOp

I've printed out your post, and will certainly talk it over with the S.O. and see what's workable. The "burning off energy" before bedtime looks viable, as is the rescue remedy. And maybe the crate and timer if all else fails. She certainly does equate waking us up with getting food.

We live in a small one-bedroom no-pets apartment (the landlord is reasonable, and will ignore one small, quiet animal), so another cat isn't an option. Just like your experience with Eli & David, we boarded a friend's cat briefly when The Little was a kitten, and the two of them would wake us up every morning at 3:30am on the dot fighting - we'd go out into the living room to see a ball of cat rolling around the room making horrible noise. My S.O. used to yell "Hat and Gloves - I'm not kidding you two - you'll be my winter hat and gloves if you keep this up!!!!" Of course The Little instigated it.

Most of our interactions are great - she greets us when we come home, she sits next to us or on our lap when we watch TV, comes out on the deck with us if we're outside - is just generally a happy part of the family except for this escalating 3:30am nonsense.

[IndyOp]

15. Most of our interactions are great - Wonderful!

I think that early morning waking is really common in cats and a pain in the ass. My friend's huge, overweight, black cat George insisted on getting food in the middle of the night. She would wake up, weave her way into the kitchen at 3 or 4 am, drop 2 kibbles in the bowl and go back to bed and George was happy with that. The feline mind is impossible to understand. I used to leave out dry food 24/7 - neither cat gained weight, so I was lucky.

Exercise ideas - exercise helped *a lot* with Eli - it may be the biggest help with your cat given that you are in a small apartment:

Minnesota Hooping Bugs (inexpensive & impressive!):
<http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=243x6017>

Bug on a Post (inexpensive - though a potential decorating challenge):
<http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=243x4253>

Interactive Toys:

Da Bird (wonderful!):
<http://www.thecatconnection.com/Da-Bird-Cat-Teaser.html>
<http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=11643&N=2002+113121>

Panic Mouse (another DU suggestion & it's automated):
<http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=243x7469>

Laser Mouse Toy (my friend Gretchen swears by this one, you can sit on the couch and with the flick of your wrist keep the cat running full speed back and forth across the room):
<http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/Prod_Display.cfm?pcatid=2972&inm=1&N=2002+113121+113563>

Cat toy on the end of a fishing pole (much fun!)
<https://secure.highspeedweb.net/~ldcpet/aa-cattoys.htm>

Let us know how it goes with your furry friend.

My Golden Retriever is now growling at the Lab - it's time for me to take them for a walk. Boredom inevitably leads to dog conflict!

[demnan]

4. It's the salt

Try him on canned kippers - I'll bet he goes nuts for those!

The little nipper is still growing, so it's understandable he's hungry alot.

Here's something you can try him on - get some yoghart and warm it slightly in the microwave. I was making yoghart when I got one of my kittens and he loved it. It was good for him too, unlike the potato chips, which have too many carbs for cats (who don't handle high carb foods well).

[newsguyatl]

6. yogart eh?

that sounds like a good idea, i think i'll give it a try!

thanks

[legally blonde]

18. kitties love yogart

My cat Manilla loves yogart--he gets very excited when I get it out. I give him a spoonful on the lid.

[Eurobabe]

19. My orange cat LOVES yogurt too

If he hears a lid popping off in the kitchen, he's up on the bar stool like a shot. I put some on my finger and he licks it off. He likes Brown Cow the best, Stoneyfield second.

[Lorien]

12. The Goblin kitty is obsessed with food

I have yet to ask his new owners how THAT is going, lol! He would climb your leg if you had ANYTHING edible in your hand-and he'd eat almost anything, too.He especially loved cheese, bread, and anything sweet. :shrug:

Puck also loves potato chips, and Miro just loves food, period. Oberon, my largest cat, isn't really into food that much. Funny about that!

[newsguyatl]

13. somehow i guessed that miro loved food!!!

ha!!!

[regnaD kciN]

14. Andrew, our resident fat-cat...

...has a thing for saltines. He will try to steal them out of your hand (of course, he'll also try to steal any other food out of your hand, too).

And I once had a cat that liked to eat lettuce. And one that would beg for raisin toast, then carefully remove the raisins and leave the toast.

[virgdem]

16. You are not alone...

my guys love potato chips. They beg for chips every time I have a bowl out. It doesn't matter what kind either. Chips, ruffles, or Fritos - they aren't picky. One time when I had a Tupperware party, my cat Tigger attacked the bowl of chips I had put out and ran away down the hall with the chips in her mouth. We laughed about that for months.

As far as the amount of times you feed them, try feeding them small meals 4-5 times a day and before bedtime, so they won't bug you during the night. That works for me. By the way, I think your cats are adorable.

[Patiod]

20. Forgot to mention how cute those pictures are

Jesse is too cute for words.