? Food behavioral issues

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pevsfreedom

pevsfreedom

Member Since 2015
Say Luna's time to eat is 9am. She'll start howling/meowing around 7am and will not stop. Meowing every 30 seconds for hours. If we feed her at 7, she starts at 5, and so on. When I'm preparing food she LOSES her mind, yelling and hissing and growling at the other cats. She runs around the house all crazy. When I test her blood before she eats I have to restrain her pretty hard because she's so anxious. She will often poop on the floor or the carpet in the room where she eats if she doesn't get fed right away. If we lock her in there while preparing the food she will poop on the floor. She has severe food anxiety issues. I should mention we got her from the shelter a year ago and am assuming someone used to starve her.

Once she eats, she's a completely different cat. She calms down until feeding time and is totally relaxed. She walks out of the bedroom and hops up on my lap and purrs every morning. I posted about this before and somebody said to give her a few tbsp to take the edge off, but that will make her crazier.

Anyone have ideas to get her to calm down before feeding time? When she gets her food she shoves her face in the bowl and literally gets close to choking herself on it she eats so fast. She's eating a very good amount of food (4.125 oz per feeding) so she isn't hungry (I don't think). The last time I posted about this was probably over a month ago and I was assuming it was from unregulated diabetes - but now she's nearing regulation and the ketones are gone so I don't really get what to do to get her to calm down.
 
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Sounds like either medical or behavioral issues going on. Have you addressed her behavior with food and pooping outside the box issues with the vet?
 
It's definitely behavioral because it's only when she gets stressed out around food time. I've been to the vet and had a full exam/blood test and everything is fine besides elevated liver #'s and diabetes of course. He (vet) had nothing to say really about any of it besides maybe arthritis, but that was just a generalization about the litter box and didn't address the food problem - she uses the box fine except when she gets super stressed. He had no clue why she freaks out at feeding time. She literally shoves her face into her bowl and nearly chokes on her food when she eats.
 
Poor thing. Could you use something like Rescue Remedy to calm her? Calming chews? Try something that will calm her down before she eats so she's not so stressed. Try putting out an extra litter box so she has a clean one to use. Perhaps Feliway in the room she leaves accidents on the rug.

Does she have separation anxiety when you leave or are not around?
 
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We rescued a stray a long time ago, Jack, who my former roommate has now. Jack had severe food anxiety when he was hungry as well, I attribute to being outside with a pack of strays and starving much of the time. The behavior never really stopped completely, but did settle down. Consistent feeding rituals/times helps to train them. Foraging type toys can be helpful to release some of that energy that is spent screaming/pacing/etc. We used to just holes in a shoebox big enough to get his paws in, then put treats in there. He didn't get so anxious when he was "working".
 
Does she get along with your other cats at times other than feedings? It could be anxiety related to food insecurity (she thinks someone will steal it or fight her for it). My non-diabetic cat has this issue.
 
Cat Ma said:
Poor thing. Could you use something like Rescue Remedy to calm her? Calming chews? Try something that will calm her down before she eats so she's not so stressed. Try putting out an extra litter box so she has a clean one to use. Perhaps Feliway in the room she leaves accidents on the rug.

Does she have separation anxiety when you leave or are not around?
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No I don't think so, its mostly just food related.
I'll check out that stuff.

Meya14 said:
We rescued a stray a long time ago, Jack, who my former roommate has now. Jack had severe food anxiety when he was hungry as well, I attribute to being outside with a pack of strays and starving much of the time. The behavior never really stopped completely, but did settle down. Consistent feeding rituals/times helps to train them. Foraging type toys can be helpful to release some of that energy that is spent screaming/pacing/etc. We used to just holes in a shoebox big enough to get his paws in, then put treats in there. He didn't get so anxious when he was "working".
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She's been eating at 12 hour intervals for 10 months now (since we got her). No idea what her 'haunted past' might look like. She ONLY does it before feeding time, and has no interest in anything else. During the day she's totally calm and relaxed.

SpecklesandMe said:
Does she get along with your other cats at times other than feedings? It could be anxiety related to food insecurity (she thinks someone will steal it or fight her for it). My non-diabetic cat has this issue.
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Absolutely not. She growls and beats them (she's declawed from previous owners so it doesn't do much) but she gets all kinds of angry around then at food time. She'll 'freak out' even if we lock them up though while I'm preparing the food. We feed her separate from the other 2 because she would eat their food as well.
 
Sounds like a cat who's been starved or semi-starved before you got her. My Siamese (non-diabetic) screams while I get the food ready, then is only really comfortable eating when locked in the bathroom, and even with the doors shut and no other cats there in the room, will look behind her several times while eating to make sure no one is sneaking up on her. I would try Feliway (esp if she has peeing issues), as someone else suggested, but would also put their new Feliway Multicat (different than normal Feliway) in the kitchen and rooms where the most cat fights occur. These are expensive, but they supposedly have an 80% efficacy rate, which is not bad (unless you fall in the 20% it doesn't work for, but then you just return it to Petsmart).
 
Meya14 said:
With scheduling feedings, Jack went from screaming about food all day long to only before meals, and that never stopped completely. The toys helped a lot though. This is kind of what we'd make and it kept him busy instead of freaking out. You'd have to use low-carb freze-dried treats instead of kibble of course.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B009R3SFBC?psc=1/?tag=Babble-20&ref=tsm_1_pi_s_amzn_Yhuf3K
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I think we've tried something like that before and she was too (dumb) to figure it out lol. She kind of looked at it then looked back at us and walked away. And Luna sounds similar - she only screams before food. She starts going "mrow... mrow" every 5 seconds for about 2 hours before we eat until it's feeding time which is quite grating.
 
pevsfreedom said:
Yeah I saw feliway mentioned I wasn't sure what it was.
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It's a synthetic cat phermone. They have it Amazon but it's better to get it from Petsmart if there's one near you so that you can return it for a refund with the receipt if it doesn't work. This is from their website:
"When a cat feels comfortable in their environment, they rub their cheeks against objects leaving a facial pheromone. Feliway is a synthetic copy of the feline facial pheromone used by cats to mark their territory as safe and secure.
By mimicking the cat's natural facial pheromone, Feliway creates a state of familiarity and security in the cat's local environment. As a result, Feliway can be used to help comfort and reassure cats while they cope with a challenging situation such as moving or traveling. Feliway helps reduce or prevent unwanted behaviors caused by stress."

Multicat is specifically for cat vs cat tension. I think it's a synthetic version of a phermone a mom cat releases while nursing kittens. You can look here for more info if you are interested: http://www.feliway.com/us/NEW-Feliway-MultiCat

Feliway works for one of my cats but not the other.
 
Yeah, we always were worried about what the neighbors would think, Jack acted like we were torturing him, screaming and howling and running around. Finding a distraction is hard when they are so fixated. He was a little less annoying than another cat I had though that was quiet, yet a food freak. She once -opened and climbed in the freezer- to eat the frozen vegetables because she was hungry and we weren't home.
 
pevsfreedom said:
Yeah I saw feliway mentioned I wasn't sure what it was.
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That stuff, frankly, hasn't worked for my cats but others here report success with it. I do have success with calming chews.
Have you tried giving Luna catnip toys before feeding time? That could keep her busy and happy.
 
Cat Ma said:
That stuff, frankly, hasn't worked for my cats but others here report success with it. I do have success with calming chews.
Have you tried giving Luna catnip toys before feeding time? That could keep her busy and happy.
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I might. I think I'm underselling how crazy she gets :smuggrin:
 
Meya14 said:
Yeah, we always were worried about what the neighbors would think, Jack acted like we were torturing him, screaming and howling and running around. Finding a distraction is hard when they are so fixated. He was a little less annoying than another cat I had though that was quiet, yet a food freak. She once -opened and climbed in the freezer- to eat the frozen vegetables because she was hungry and we weren't home.
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I was eating a burrito the other day and turned my head and Luna OUT OF NOWHERE yanked it out of my hand onto the floor and was shoveling it into her face. It was impressive to be honest. I don't mind the freaking out WHEN I'm preparing but the two hours of "meow... meow" in my face while I'm sleeping are pretty bothersome.
 
You poor thing. That has to be very nerve racking. I was going to suggest Feliway and saw that Cat Ma suggested it too. On a small tea towel, spray 3 sprays onto the towel and then rub that on the areas that she is having the accidents and near where she is sitting and howling. I had a litter box issue with my civvie cat while we were doing renovations and he did not like the fumes of paint and floor varnish. The feliway and rescue rememdy in their water did the trick. Also, maybe some cat nip for Luna when she starts howling to mellow her out a bit. Good luck!
 
Yowza. What a situation!!

I don't have any advice that hasn't already been posted. Isn't it amazing how they can tell time?

Let us know if Feliway works.
 
Cat Ma said:
Why do we even need alarm clocks when we have one staring in our face?
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With Luna this is no exaggeration. I could literally use her as an alarm clock. If I need to be somewhere at 9, she wakes me up at 7. I forgive her though because after she eats if I go back to bed she comes and lays on my head for hours, and also sleeps on my pillow every single night with me.
 
Better that she sleeps on your head and not in your face! For all she puts you through, she really has you wrapped around her sweet little paws.
 
@pevsfreedom can I ask if this food behaviour has always been the way with Luna, or only since Dx? Reading your thread, I'm thinking you adopted her knowing she was diabetic?

Anyway, do you think a timed feeder would help her, or would she go nuts with food just out of reach? I'm thinking that when the compartment opens, BAM! The food is right there, no waiting.
 
Brashworks said:
@pevsfreedom can I ask if this food behaviour has always been the way with Luna, or only since Dx? Reading your thread, I'm thinking you adopted her knowing she was diabetic?

Anyway, do you think a timed feeder would help her, or would she go nuts with food just out of reach? I'm thinking that when the compartment opens, BAM! The food is right there, no waiting.
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She's basically always been like this and yes we adopted her knowing she was a diabetic. The last few months she's gotten a bit more 'annoying' with it but I think it's because she realized it works.. the shelter said they had a hard time getting her into good BG #'s because she only ate dry food - well I put a stop to that but she's still a food fiend!

I don't think I can use a timed feeder because we have 2 other cats and we have to separate Luna from the other 2. She tries to eat Mushu's food and Mushu always wants hers.
 
pevsfreedom said:
She's been eating at 12 hour intervals for 10 months now (since we got her). No idea what her 'haunted past' might look like. She ONLY does it before feeding time, and has no interest in anything else. During the day she's totally calm and relaxed.
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Neko with her acromegaly was completely obsessed with food. The benign pituitary tumor results in excess growth hormone being sent out - think teenage boys appetite. Patrolling counters, stealing food out of plastic bags, and really stressed around meal time. A couple things helped. First she gets several small meals spread out before nadir. Then it wasn't just one or two events a day. Second, I got her an autofeeder and she started hovering near him (his name is Otto) instead of bugging me, whenever Otto is on the floor.
 
Wendy&Neko said:
Neko with her acromegaly was completely obsessed with food. The benign pituitary tumor results in excess growth hormone being sent out - think teenage boys appetite. Patrolling counters, stealing food out of plastic bags, and really stressed around meal time. A couple things helped. First she gets several small meals spread out before nadir. Then it wasn't just one or two events a day. Second, I got her an autofeeder and she started hovering near him (his name is Otto) instead of bugging me, whenever Otto is on the floor.
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Can you use the autofeeder with wet food? I loved the autofeeder for dry food, but when Natasha started an all wet food diet I put it in storage because (I'm imagining that) the wet food would dry out in a few hours (I live in a warm climate) and she wouldn't eat it then.
 
pevsfreedom said:
I don't think I can use a timed feeder because we have 2 other cats and we have to separate Luna from the other 2. She tries to eat Mushu's food and Mushu always wants hers.
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Are they separated at mealtime then because of Luna's behavior?
 
Wendy&Neko said:
Neko with her acromegaly was completely obsessed with food. The benign pituitary tumor results in excess growth hormone being sent out - think teenage boys appetite. Patrolling counters, stealing food out of plastic bags, and really stressed around meal time. A couple things helped. First she gets several small meals spread out before nadir. Then it wasn't just one or two events a day. Second, I got her an autofeeder and she started hovering near him (his name is Otto) instead of bugging me, whenever Otto is on the floor.
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:( That sounds just like Luna. Last thing I want is a acro diagnosis (no offense Neko!). I'm also interested can you use an autofeeder with wet food? I might try the small meals thing though I'll have to seperate her from the others. I take it I'd feed her a bit less am/pm right?
 
A popular feeder around here is the Petsafe-5. There is a small area under the feeding tray that I put a tiny gel pack in. Of you can just add some water to make it soupy so it won't get crusty. In warmer climates, you can add an ice cube on top of the food. Extra water is good for diabetics anyway.
 
pevsfreedom said:
Luna eats alone
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At least she's not drinking alone...

I've heard some people freeze a bit of wet food and then put it in the auto-feeder in the morning and by the time the feeder opens, it has defrosted enough to eat. And hey, who are we kidding. Luna would eat frozen food. :)
 
Wendy&Neko said:
A popular feeder around here is the Petsafe-5. There is a small area under the feeding tray that I put a tiny gel pack in. Of you can just add some water to make it soupy so it won't get crusty. In warmer climates, you can add an ice cube on top of the food. Extra water is good for diabetics anyway.
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These are all good suggestions. So far Natasha is creeped out by soupy food. I suppose eventually she would have get used to it. The frozen idea might work (@granadilla). Pork popsicles. Mmmm mmmm!
 
Dern! I am so sorry I missed out on this thread!
It's my non-diabetic alpha that is the chowhound Audrey II! He is not diabetic, not overweight, and sweet as pie except at mealtime. And, this is a new development since Tucker's dx. He got used to the wet food mini meals super quick and yowls, climbs the cabinets, hangs by his claws on bedroom door etc ETC. And.
HE WILL NOT SHUT UP NO MATTER WHAT.
I have been a bit too exhausted and foggy to devote alot of time yet, to addressing this. It's on the list. :blackeye:
One thing I do know, in order to keep him from hanging on my door yowling at 4:30 am...if I can separate him and give a larger portion, he sleeps later. Not ideal, just a quick fix.:facepalm:
 
If someone already posted this suggestion, my apologies, I didnt see it- but have you tried dividing the meals into 3 or 4 meals a day instead of two? Since she starts crying for food 2 hours before mealtime maybe eating a little more often would help. 2.75 oz x3/day maybe? It's better for diabetic cats anyway to eat several mini meals a day anyway. I actually feed 1.4 oz 6 times a day. Every 4 hours.....24/7....

Also you mentioned feeding in bowl and she nearly chokes. Try spreading out the food on a plate to get her to slow down.

Good luck and keep us posted.
 
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