# my cat is obsessed with food and its driving me mad!



## Caprice (Aug 7, 2010)

Hi, 

I have a 7 year old black cat, maddy.

She is obsessed with food. She has always been like it but has gotten worse and worse to the point where her life consists of eating and crying for food. She is a small active cat and not overweight. She is an anxious cat personality-wise.

I wake up in the morning. She is outside crying for food. I feed her. She eats some, goes out. Within 30 minutes she will see me, and be crying for food. i'll put her next to her bowl - she doesn't want this food. She wants me to get her new food. Of which she might eat 3 mouthfuls and go off. I might leave the food out, i might put it away. it doesn't matter to her. She will still cry. 

She is very stubborn and will seem to want me to feed her fresh food from the tin, on demand every hour. This is ridiculous. if i don't she cries. she will even grab my leg if i walk away from her! Wha t can i do to stop her being like this?


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## hobbs2004 (Mar 12, 2010)

What are you feeding her? Could be because she is looking for your attention or could be that she doesn't get full up. Has she been wormed? Is she pooping ok?


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## Caprice (Aug 7, 2010)

She eats felix/whiskas pouches. She was last wormed 6 months ago and i very much doubt she is full up, as she only eats a little of the food before discarding it. i sometimes offer her other things like ham or sausages, which she would probably eat if she was really hungry, but shes not interested- the obsession seems to be with cat food and having it on demand. 

i don't know if its a medical problem- i'm inclined to think its a behaviour thing - she started this obsession with food roughly about the time she moved in with a dog. I've had another cat before living with her and she started to get pretty bad then. Now she is the only animal in the house, but shes demanding - she will ask visitors for food, if they pass the precious cupboard where the catfood is. A hedgehog started eating her food when it was outside, and when she saw this, she would generally start eating most of the food that was there. i think she has got problems with / anxiety issues around food.


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## koekemakranka (Aug 2, 2010)

I don't think it is food she is after, but attention. Anxious and clingy cats can be a real pain, I know. I don't think you should keep feeding her on demand like that. Keep her meals to certain set times (2 or 3 times per day). Perhaps you could consider getting a high-quality dry food for her to nibble on throughout the day. Whiskas is not the best quality food, but is OK to supplement a good dry food diet (for the moisture content). 
You could consider using Feliway for her general anxiety, or perhaps a pheromone "good behaviour" collar (I use this with great success for my own rather neurotic cat). If her problem persists, you could, in consultation with your vet, consider a short-term course of an anti-anxiety medication like Clomicalm. This type of behaviour becomes a habit, and often you need a short-term intervention just to break the cycle.


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## kota (Jun 17, 2010)

I agree with the previous posts that it's a behaviour problem. My male-cat sometimes do the same. He cries and calls me to the kitchen even when he is not hungry and begins to eat while I'm washing the dishes, for example, or simply sitting at the chair. Maybe it's comfortable for him to eat knowing that nobody will touch him when I'm in the kitchen.


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## lolabloob (Mar 30, 2010)

my friend's cat won't eat unless you basically stand over her and keep her company!!


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