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Sunday Chat: 9 PM ET Pet Loss Support
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Sunday Chat: 9 PM ET Pet Loss Support
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Posted by PHCurious on January 10, 2003 at 10:46:55:
In Reply to: Re: Stray cat turned fat posted by Martisimo on January 10, 2003 at 09:35:41:
I agree that consistency is your best plan of action. Feed at the same time each day, and if possible, have the same person give one specific meal per day. For example, one of you give him the morning meal every day, one of you give the nighttime meal, etc... This will also help prevent your cat from "tricking" you into thinking he hasn't been fed yet even though one of your roommates just filled his bowl 10 minutes ago. (One of my cats was really good at that until we caught on. :)
This brings up another suggestion. If you're putting all his food for the day in his bowl at one time, adjust that so he's getting three or four smaller meals instead of one big meal each day. (The daily intake of food should be the same, just break it up into smaller portions throughout the day.) I'd also like to suggest that his biggest meal of the day is given to him about an hour before bedtime so he can go to sleep with a full stomach (and possibly some food left in the bowl), and won't wake you up in the middle of the night.
Another idea is to speak to your vet and see if you can feed him a diet food. If your vet approves, you may be able to feed him a slightly larger quantity of food while still getting the same amount of fat and calories. This could help him feel like he's eating more and make him more satisfied. Check with the doc first though.
The best suggestion, and hardest thing to pull off, is to never put food in his bowl WHILE he's meowing. Doing so immediately rewards him for protesting. Instead, when he sees you heading for the food bowl, wait until he's silent for 10 seconds. As soon as the 10 seconds is up, immediately say, "Good boy" and put his meal in his food bowl. After he's learned that he's only fed when he's quiet for 10 seconds, gradually increase the time required for silence, e.g., fill his bowl only after he's quiet for 30 seconds. Do this for a week, then go to 1 minute. If he is really a cat who lives to eat, rather than eats to live, you probably won't get farther than a few minutes, but it should cut down the overall amount of time he wails.
Finally, whoever is assigned to feed the morning meal should not do so right away when s/he wakes up. Instead, get out of bed and take a shower or drink your morning coffee first. You want your kitty to learn that he gets fed after some other morning ritual, not as soon as you open your eyes.
Best of luck to you! Please let us know how it works out.
PHCurious
Cat Chat Host
:Does he get fed at the same time each day? I feed my cats two meals a day as close to the same times as possible. They do get antsy when it gets near feeding time, but otherwise, they know when their meals are and they don't cry at me for food in between. Also, some cats are just really vocal.
:In the morning before I get up they all surround me like vultures, waiting for me to move after my alarm goes off. If I so much as blink my siamese mix meows like crazy and treks back and forth from my bedroom to the kitchen until I get up. The others are slightly more patient.
:Maybe when he gets used to a set schedule he'll get better, as long as EVERYONE in the household is consistent and doesn't ever give in between meals. If he knows someone's gonna cave it just encourages him to keep going.