Conference misery::feline_v1

    Does he get enough to eat?  
    
    I am still amazed at how much my 7 month old kitten eats.  Constantly.
    But, if i'm eating and he doesn't have food down for him, he tries
    to eat mine.

    He and the other three have access to dry food (which is all I feed)
    at all times, as well as unlimited water.  
    
    
     He acts like he hasn't eaten in months - he's been like this since
    the day I got him.  I don't know if this would be a reason why,
    but him and his littermates had been dropped off at a farm where
    I buy hay.  Actually the reason I took him was cuz he ran up my
    leg when he saw me and was so friendly.  I never thought I'd see
    the day when I wanted an animal less affectionate, but....
                                               
    
     

    Just a thought, but does he have any worm symptoms in his stool?
    Does he seem to be gaining weight normally as a kitten does?
    He may have digestion problems or a tape worm?  I don't know--
    it seems so aggressive of him to be acting that way.  Normally
    when they are happy and the tummy is full, they sleep.  Watch
    for signs of vomiting or stool activity.
    
    Nan

    Have him checked for worms.
    
    kbs
    

    Sometimes constant hunger can be an indication of tapeworm.  Keep
    your eyes peeled for segments or whole ones in the stool.
    
    Kittens can also benefit from vitamins (which might help to
    suppress their appetites by providing additional nutrients), 
    since the craving could be nutrition-related. 
    
    Good luck,
    
    Cathy

    Ah yes, did you by chance borrow my little red boy, Pashenka? 
    
    Okay, here goes, for what it is worth:
    
        Put him in the bedroom each time you eat.  He will eventually
        get the message - this takes a long time.
    
        The reason they  are so frantic for food is probably because 
        they didn't get enough as kittens - Pashenka was a stray that
        wandered into Ray Fusci's mother-in-law's yard in Connecticut.
        He was very hungry - he was also raised on a lot of table food,
        which he no longer may have.  He still tries to hook (and I
        mean hook) food from my plate, but at 15 months, he is much
        much better - he doesn't have to stay in the bedroom every time
        I eat now.  
    
        Be consistant and say no - for a long time.  Maybe just feeding
        the dry isn't enough - maybe put down both wet & dry - wet in
        the morning & evening and dry down all day for him to pick at.
        I, too, wondered if Pashenka would ever trust enough and really
        believe that he could have his own food whenever he wanted it.
        He does and he is really doing GREAT!  Have faith!
    
    E.T.         
    

    Vulture?  Try HOG for Black Thunder.  When she first came into our
    household, she would eat *EVERYTHING* in sight - her food, Lightning's
    food, Deja's food, my food, the dog's food, etc.  I physically had
    to guard Deja's food so that she would have enough to eat.  I was
    feeding them wet mixed with dry each morning and evening with dry
    available at all times.  As to my food, it took a lot of scolding
    to get her to just lay on my shoulders or in my lap withouth trying
    to steal the food.
    
    Just recently, I have noticed a little slow-down on the food in-take.
    She has actually walked away from a dish that isn't empty.  She
    still does check out the dog's food each morning and evening, which
    doesn't set too well with Keisha, but she only takes a couple of
    bites now.  Of course each morning when I first get up and stagger
    to the kitchen and each evening when I drag myself through the door,
    you would swear that I hadn't fed Thunder in *AGES*.
    
    Patience and perserverance are the keys to success.
    
    Sandi (Lightning, DejaVu & Thunder's mom)
    
    

    I have begging kitties.  They firmly believe that when I walk into
    the kitchen, they should have a snack.  *Every* time I walk into
    the kitchen.  So, I take a lot of Siamese abuse during the course
    of a day, as you can well imagine.  Niniane is shameless when we
    have dinner.  She sits next to my chair and meows, and if I ignore
    her, she jumps up on my lap and meows, and if I still ignore her,
    she tries to steal food off of the plate.  Of course, sometimes
    I'll give her a bit, and she won't eat it!!!! She sniffs, looks
    at me, and meows as if to say, "This wasn't what you were eating,
    it looks awful!" and stalks out of the kitchen in a huff.  Of course
    she reappears in a few minutes, just to make sure I'm not eating
    something different!!!!  They both know better than to go near my
    husband (the disciplinarian).  I put up with it most of the time,
    and shut them in the basement during the meal when I have guests.
    
    Mary-Michael

    As for the dry, Elmo rarely touches it.  The dry sits out all day,
    but the cans only come morning and night.  When I open those cans,
    you would think that the poor little Elms hadn't eaten in months.
    
    As a side note, my vet has told me that until Elmo is older (like
    a year or so) his primary diet should be the wet food.  And after
    that, even though I feed the IAMS dry, my vet says not to make it
    his only food source because of FUS tendencies.  (I don't want to
    start another FUS discussion.  There's really not enough cut and
    dry answers.  In the meantime, I follow my vet's advice since I
    trust his judgement.)
    
    So anyway, I would try feeding the little guy more than just dry.
    
    	-Nancy

    Thanks for all the replies.  At least I know I'm not alone.  Toby
    also eats with the dogs.  He actually eats the horses grain if I
    put it down for 3 seconds.  I think what I find most annoying with
    him is his always after my coffee (of course I drink it light).
    I put it on the refridgerator (sp?) if I even have to walk as far
    as the sink.  
    
    You have given me hope, though, that he will eventually, with
    persistance calm down.
    
    Oh, I should give him credit for one thing - he is an excellent
    hunter, specializing in mice, chipmunks and barn rats.  

    
    You really should ask the vet about his eating behavior....he may
    very well have tapeworm!
    

    Hmm.  If he is eating mice and outside stuff - worms could be
    his problem.  
    
    E.T.

    If you confirm that worms are not the cause of this problem, you
    might try what we did: With 5 new kittens in the house who
    determined that they should be able to eat anything on the table,
    we got out the spray bottle.  We set the rules of the table (such
    as, No cats on the table or trying to swipe food while people are
    eating), and then took turns with the spray bottle. The kids (the
    *real* kids) enjoyed it as much as we did!  Everytime we
    sprayed them (with a stream and not the mist), we said "NO!" rather
    forcibly.  Off they would dash and over time, learned to leave us
    alone. Now, we rarely have to use the spray bottle at all; a loud
    "NO!" is often enough to send them running, regardless of their
    activity.  But you know what?  It's always the guilty one who stops
    first--I could swear they know when they're doing wrong.
    
    Jill

    Thanks for all your suggestions/comments.  I just found out my dogs
    have tapeworms, so I am sure the cats do.  I'll be picking up wormer
    from the vet this weekend.
    
    I like the idea of the spray bottle too.  This one particular kitten
    is determined to get on the table if there is food up there.  I
    think that might do the trick!
    
    Thanks for all your help.
    

    What if you got some of Edd's "Peppers from Hell"  Then when the
    vulture gets up on the table and starts to try to steal your food,
    give him one of the peppers to eat.
    
    Maybe then the vulture will decide that he doesn't want people food.
    
    Just an idea I had. . .