Ideas on stopping cats getting fed elsewhere

[Dearmariacountmein]

We have 3 active outdoor cats who are raw fed (not looking to turn this into a raw discussion) and have calorie controlled homemade food with all the added vitamins and correct muscle / offal ratios.

They have always been healthy weights but since moving a few months ago they are all rapidly gaining weight, are having poor bowel movements, are bloated and just look less bright. It’s to the point where they are coming coming home with overly full belly’s and obviously not wanting to eat their food.

One of my cats is also intolerant to something in commercial cat food meaning he is projectile vomiting almost daily ( and it’s cat food but also things like chips and pasta shapes).

I’ve brought them tags that say special diet don’t feed on and have dug out a couple of tractive collars we’ve had in the past. But any ideas how we can stop this (short of locking them in which they would hate) and perhaps track down who is feeding them to request they stop.

They are still coming home so I’m not worried that they are moving out just very concerned about their weights.

Put a post on your local FB site to explain the situation.

However, if people don't have 'smart' catflaps there isn't much you can do, as they will go in and help themselves.

I had a cat that had terrible tummy trouble if fed anything different to the usual. We put a 'please do not feed me' collar on him.

Thanks @Thesefeetaremadeforwalking I’ll try the former.

I don’t think it’s a case of them going into other houses via cat flap. My two toms are very territorial (and other cat aggressive tbh) and wouldn’t enter another cats territory.

Have you wormed them? Majority, if not all, those symptoms could be attributed to a high worm load.

All wormed every three months regiously as they are outdoor and raw fed. They are definitely getting food elsewhere as I can see it in the sick that I’m currently cleaning up daily.

Our neighbour had this problem with their cat who was on a special diet from the vet. He's a very social cat, a real Six Dinner Sid. Basically they just tracked the cat to the many places he was mooching at and explained and asked and told again and again until people stopped feeding him.

My two toms are very territorial (and other cat aggressive tbh) and wouldn’t enter another cats territory

In which case they've probably found a very meek cat and are eyeballing it while wolfing down it's dinner

If its chips, pasta etc they might be raiding bin bags? Our childhood cat used to drag back all manner of this from the local takeaway as they didn't contain their waste well.

If its making your cats ill I'd consider a catio or cat proofing your garden (overhang or roller systems seem good) so they can't go further afield.

@urbanbuddha I think I’m going to have to do that.

@AwkwardPaws27 it will be interesting to see where they go. There are a lot of in tact toms in the vicinity of our house I’m not aware of one that isn’t a fighter and would let them eat their food.

If it wasn’t for the fact that there is also cat food in the sick I’d think that too but it’s defo cat food along with the carbs.

He’s a proper outdoor cat and would be miserable in a catio. We never intended on letting them out and had planned for them to be house cats but from a very young age he would sit but the front door crying to go out and starting trying to jump from first floor windows to escape.

Unfortunately if your neighbours aren't neutering their cats there's also a higher chance of fighting & contracting something like FIV.

I wonder if they just dump their cats food and table scraps outside? Some people put stuff out for foxes too.

You can get bright yellow collars with "DO NOT FEED" in big letters, then maybe drop notes through doors / pop up a post on your local Facebook group stressing that it's making the cats ill.

Cat proof your garden to keep them in it. Win-win (for you and your neighbours).

Cat proof your garden?
Some people have unlocked cat flaps and feed their pets outside so don’t think you can stop it if you let them out. They could be roaming quite a long way too

Agree with deworming. May not even be worms. Probably parasites like giardia.

Giardiasis won't be cleared with ordinary worming medication like Drontal. Needs a dose of Panacur

Cat proof you garden? We have a cat flap for our cat and have had visits from other cats eating my cats dry food, would never feed others but we can't control who comes and goes...

@AwkwardPaws27 it’s bloody annoying tbh. I’m not sure why people don’t get their outdoor cats nutured. FIV is a worry but they would be miserable confined to our very small garden.

@BungleandGeorge at our old house they roamed very far (hense haveing some tractive collars) but since we’ve moved they are always within whistling distance and come back quickly when called. The good news is it means that there are only a limited number of places they could be getting food the bad news is that most of the houses have large plots with tall fences and trees making it hard to see if they are in someone’s garden.

@Amrapaali defo not worms or parasites as I’ve seen the cat food in their sick. And vet has said it’s over feeding rather than any parasite with the bloating caused by grains in cat food that they aren’t used too.

I think I’m just going to have to track them and go door knocking.

Unfortunately you can't stop it - it's one of the risks you take when you allow your cats out to roam outside of your property. The only way to keep them on a certain diet is to make them indoor cats, or to cat-proof your garden so they can no longer roam elsewhere.

We once had a cat climb in through our bathroom window and eat our indoor cats' dry food out of the bowl in the kitchen my cats weren't remotely bothered but this other cat was bold as brass climbing in and acting like he'd always lived here, lol.

Many people also put food out for strays, and hedgehogs are also fed cat food so it may not even be that they're being fed deliberately.

Build them a catio and keep them indoors.

Or cat proof your garden.

Put airtags on their collars. Good chance they'll locate them accurately enough to see who's house their in.

OP, do you use an iPhone? There are collars for Airtags (fromApple) that will tell you where your cats are. I know that many people are against collars on cats but since yours appear to be fed regularly elsewhere, they probably won’t have to wear it for long. A friend of mine has an Airtag on her dog‘s collar and thinks it is great and very accurate.

@amylou8, sorry I didn‘t see your post when I wrote mine.

They could be eating out of bins, most people dont feed chips to cats.

Our cat wanders into other peoples cat flaps, she's a right pig but luckily no allergies. Neither neighbour actually has a cat, the flap was from previous owners, they have locked them! I think cat proofing you garden is the best option, we will once we know if our cat is here to stay, it's technically dsd's

My parents cat had a do not feed me collar. They had to tell him that it said 'very handsome cat' to get him to keep
It on. I don't think it's working. He's still on the chunky side. Though he insists he's big boned.

Thanks for all the recommendations.

As mentioned we had some tractive collars which I put on my boys. Noticed they were loitering in one garden so knocked on the door.

Turns out the lady who lived their felt it was her duty to feed my clearly starving cats .

After a slightly heated exchange I’ve advised her that she’s more than welcome to report me to the RSPCA if she thinks I’m neglecting my cats.

We will see if she stops.

I've got five adult cats.

Three siblings (4 years old)
Their Mother (5 years old)
And an unrelated one who decided he wanted to come and live with us two years ago (about 4 years old) and has been accepted and settled in very well.

They've all got good appetites, but.. !

Why do they all go mad over a rotisserie chicken bought from the supermarket, but are decidedly indifferent to being offered freshly cooked chicken that I've roasted at home from scratch?

I don't add any flavourings or seasoning at all (except a sprinkle of salt) when I cook chicken for them, so there's nothing that would taste unpleasant.

It's just freshly cooked meat, and I don't understand why they aren't more eager to eat it.

Any thoughts?