To really regret getting the cat?

[Reallyhatingcat]

I’m not the source of all evil I’ll doubtless be dubbed as here, but I really can’t STAND the cat.

He is obsessed with food. Has had five pouches already today but is under my feet constantly demanding more. It’s like he’s insatiable.

I’ve put him out - I have to for my own sanity when he’s like this. But it means we can’t have doors or windows open.

He is fine health wise, not thyroid or anything. It’s just sodding relentless and it’s making me SO frustrated that I can’t relax in my own home, every time I move he goes thundering through to the kitchen!

Did he have a very difficult very early life where food was scarce. My cousin's cat was like this. Regular mealtimes is the way to go assuming your absolutely confident worms aren't at work

Yes, my poor cat was not happy.

You have my sympathy 😭 they really can drive you mad sometimes. Mine also likes to harass me for food then the second I fill his bowl he just sprints out the kitchen instead.

Your post really reminds me of a YouTube video

This is a really useful article outlining the five pillars. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1098612X13477537

cats comfort-eat if there’s nothing else going on.
by improving their lives in other areas you often find they rely less on food

It would be nice to just spend time with him but the second you shift from one buttock to another he charges off

Unfortunately a lot of kittens come from people who have no idea how to raise a litter. It seems quite common for some 'breeders' to feed a whole litter from one plate which obviously causes conflict and ongoing food issues/insecurity around resources.
I would seek advice from a feline behaviourist if it's affecting you that much.
My cat isn't bothered about food (she is obsessed with me though and has separation anxiety and follows me from room to room) My neighbours cat however has stole from my stove top and lap before, and regularly tries to break in for food!

What food are you giving him? Some of the cheaper food is just shit and not filling at all.
if you’ve had him checked recently for hyperthyroidism

How long have you had him? I adopted a street cat, he went through a period of wanting to eat constantly as he must have beem unsure if he'd have a meal tomorrow. He's settled down. Still a twat though and will steal food from neighbours if he prefers their cat food pouches

I think you've made a rod for your own back

Feeding a cat five pouches a day is ridiculous

Our cat has two pouches a day and some dry food. Roughly the same time each day

You need to somehow try and bring five pouches right down to nearer two

The vet told us that wet food is lazy food and it isn't actually that good for cats

Agreed.

Although you might find he goes and harassed the neighbours instead!

What food do you give him?
What exactly did the vet test for?
Is he wormed?
What does is day look like? Do you play with him?

I'd try:
Expensive all meat food
A slow feeder
More stimulation - look at Jackson Galaxy on YouTube on how to play with your cat
Trying to teach him tricks- as he is very food motivated he should be good at it, look up teach your cat to sit and go from there

I feel your pain. I adore our cat, but He is a fat relentless greedy arsed beast who won’t leave me be. I’m up feeding him all the time. He actually comes to get my dh in the night by tapping his face and meowing. If you don’t get up and feed him , he actually sits on your head until you give in. We are in cat slave hell.

Ours is greedy, one of the two especially. But I think the more you feed them, the more they expect / want. Ours was overweight a bit from over feeding, despite acting starving.

After a vets check, we scaled back to twice a day and I think they then only expect food twice a day (still miaows for an hour before feeding time though!)

Is your cat average weight / under / over weight?

Not sure what you do at night but I recommend shutting the cat away so you at least get a good nights sleep. Ours went to bed in their own room from when we got them and our remaining one still does. I also think cats like routine more than some people think and some can be trained.

I try and feed dinner at the same time most days, even if I’m getting bothered an hour earlier. We used a water spray to train ours to stay out of the kitchen (it was dangerous for them to be in there under our feet) - it worked with one but not the other!

I agree with pp, you need to get in to a routine so the cat knows when it will be fed. When we first got our rescue cats, they had had to scrounge for food. We had to feed them the appropriate amount for their age and size in small amounts 6 times a day for 2 weeks, then 4 for 2 weeks then 2. The rest of the time they "asked" we distracted with cuddles, toys and just not feeding them.

It takes patience but you need to train him.

This is my boy to a tee, even just lifting him to give him a cuddle and walk about with him and then he's happy for a small while 😁

I adopted cat last year, it took 6 months for her to stop rushing to me for food when I went in the room. She had a hard life before and had been very thin and hungry, she knows she will be fed now. Not as much as she would like but 3 meals a day.

If your cat was unsure of getting food before it might be a similar situation, or he is bored. Unless you are feeding junk food (Felix, Whiskas, supermarket stuff) which is full of fillers, and often compared to a Chinese takeaway where you are hungry half an hour later.

If like my 3 cats pouches don't fill them especially our boy. So there's always a bow of dried food also and they do all go out and there fine

I could have wrote this. My cat is exactly the same and i cannot bear it lol . He will eat a whole packet of food next min we will catch him on the kitchen tops eating any scrap of food we have made the mistake of leaving out, licking food dishes etc. he gets in bins , rips bags open. Once i caught him in the cupboard chewing through a loaf of bread !

Some cat food has catnip in aswell to make it more attractive. He might be stoned and looking for his next fix!

Also, if your cat needs feeding frequently, you can’t ever go out for a day 😳.

I think the answer is set meal times.
My cat weighs about 4 kg and only has one pouch a day plus dry food at set meal times. This is under guidance from the vet because he used to weigh 5kg which vet said was too much. At first he used to pester me for food but gradually got used to less. He still has the occasional day when he seems perpetually hungry, so I give him a little something extra, but generally he's used to it now