• Skyline969@lemmy.ca
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    1 year ago

    My cat is broken. Any amount of food put in front of her will be eaten as quickly as possible. Even if it makes her puke from being too full. She has zero self-regulation. She’s a former street cat so maybe that’s where she gets it from?

    The only way I prevent her from inhaling her food in literally (I timed it - literally) 30 seconds is her lick mat. Mush her raw food into the mat so she has to lick it up instead of just smashing her face into a wad of meat. Now it takes her maybe a minute and a half.

    • SolarNialamide@lemm.ee
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      1 year ago

      One of my cats used to be this way. She was also a former stray, so I assumed it was from that. It got worse when I started feeding her at specific times because she got too fat. I had a problem when I got a new cat though because he wouldn’t eat everything in one go but I also couldn’t free feed because then my girl would just eat everything. I gave her a dewormer (which I never did because they’re indoor only cats) and while she did have some problems with diarrhea for a little while, the food obsession is totally gone now. So it may be worth it to see if there’s an underlying issue at play. It’s normal for former strays to be like this for a while but after a few months or years they should learn to trust there’ll always be food.

      • Skyline969@lemmy.ca
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        1 year ago

        She’s had multiple rounds of deworming. My vet has given her a clean bill of health, but yet she still eats all food like it’s the last in the world.

        It’s going to be a challenge eventually - my girlfriend has two cats that free feed. If we move in together, my cat is going to need to learn to chill the hell out or we’re going to need to get one of those smart feeders and only authorize her cats.

    • omgarm@feddit.nl
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      1 year ago

      My girlfriend’s cat has the same issue. Mother died and the litter was found a day or so later. Now he eats literally everything (I believe it’s called pica) and has no self regulation.

      • BottleOfAlkahest@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        Pica is the desire to eat non-food stuffs. Rocks, glass, ash etc. So if your “literally” was used correctly then it’s possible pica. In people it can mean a mineral deficit which causes the abnormal cravings, so maybe check that he’s not short something mineral wise.

        • omgarm@feddit.nl
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          1 year ago

          He eats hair bands, plastic and other stuff so yeah. My girlfriend has brought him in for many checkups and they haven’t found anything wrong. I’ll bring this up as well to be sure! Thanks.

          • Skyline969@lemmy.ca
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            1 year ago

            My cat used to eat any amount of garbage bag that hung over the edge of my garbage can. Got her on a mineral supplement, that issue went away relatively quickly. It’s cheap too - I think the supplement I got was $15 or so. Been giving her some every day for six months or so and I still have a third of a can left.

    • fossilesque@mander.xyz
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      1 year ago

      My former feral cat seems to have gained manners for everything but the box of Dreamies. As soon as she finds it, she’s trying to drop it from height to break it open.