Exasperated by greedy cat

[user1473878824]

Hello all. Hoping some of you can help!

This will probably be overly long but want to give as much detail as possible!

We have an incredibly greedy indoor cat (I know, I don’t like it either but hopefully we’ll have a garden next year - for context she was dumped on us by friends but was never an outside cat with them either). I think she might be bored and so just eats, but she has gotten very fat.

We got her a cat food timer, the Andrew James four day one and she just instantly ripped the top off. Got her a different one (PetMate automatic feeder, with the two bowls) and it was MAGIC! No more over-feeding, no more being woken up at 5am and her persisting until 7 for food! Set it for 12am, 6am, 12pm, 6pm. Everyone was happy.

But now she’s worked out how to get into it. If I fill it at 12am and for 6am she eats the midnight food then instantly breaks in and eats the morning food.

At 8am I set it for 12 and 6 and she instantly starts breaking into it and I’m sure she just eats everything as soon as I’m out of the house.

Can any of you recommend an unbreakable feeder before I go insane?!

Would she be able to just have 2 meals a day, not use an automatic feeder. Could a vet nurse see her and help put together a diet plan. Does she get any exercise.

I’ve tried that and she just cries constantly and knocks anything not nailed down over and this goes on for hours, nothing stops it. So I halved her food and did four times a day so she was getting fed at 6am which is when she wants breakfast and she was absolutely happy and lovely until she worked out how to open it. Definitely going to try the vet because she does need a diet plan. We run around with her and play with her a lot but no, she probably doesn’t. She’s a cat, she needs to run around outside, it makes me feel very guilty. I do think some of it is boredom.

I think the timer got her into the habit of not just constantly eating too. I almost cried when she worked it out!!

Naughty girl. Does she have lots of toys, climbing frame, things to try and keep her occupied. The vet can check there's no medical reason for it. It sounds very frustrating,

Can you put just one biscuit in the daytime feeder section with the main food just twice,a day.

She has lots of toys though prefers my shoes a climbing frame is a good idea.

The thing is when she’s getting a little bit of food four times a day she’s golden, no worries at all. I think we just need something she can’t break into!

If she just gets a little biscuit by the time I get home she eats a bit when I feed her and then spends the rest of the evening crying. When she has a routine it was great!

Have you tried different foods? Maybe it isn't satisfying her x

@thismummydrinksgin DP and I were talking about that last night. Going to ring the vet today and see if I can make an appointment.

Our cats had Arden grange dry food for ages and we always satisfied after their one meal in morning and one at night. Then one cat needed lots of teeth out and so I put them on wet food and they just pester me constantly. They may just enjoy it more but they weren't like it before!