When former stray cat Carmen visited her family, she expressed a desire for food.
She always seemed hungry, even after eating. Whenever she spotted a crumb on the floor, she would quickly eat it.
So, why does former stray cat have food obsession? A stray cat that showed up recently in Morganfield, Kentucky, has an unusual problem —he’s obsessed with food.
It’s no secret that stray cats can get into all sorts of trouble. For example, they often get into fights with other cats or steal food from humans.
However, this stray cat has an unusual problem—he has a severe food obsession. He eats everything from dog food to French fries to cereal.
He even tries to eat cooked chicken! Although this stray cat’s behavior may seem strange, it’s actually common for stray cats to crave food that humans eat.
Stray cats often scavenge food from dumpsters or trash cans. They probably associate food with human contact, which gives them a happy feeling.
Why Does Former Stray Cat Have Food Obsession?
Stray cats tend to be cautious around humans and prefer to hide instead of approaching people.
However, this stray cat never hid from people.
This is likely because he came to a trusted family that was able to give him love. So, his former stray cat had a food obsession because he was stressed or anxious.
A cat had eaten up everything in his owner’s house—including his owner’s clothes—because he was stressed or anxious and couldn’t cope with it.
The feline had also scratched his face after he couldn’t eat all his owner’s clothes, and the owner had to take him to the veterinarian’s office for injury treatment.
The cat was then given a sedative, and the owner had to leave him alone for three days.
The cat also drank a lot of water after not eating for eight days, so the owner had to take him to the vet again.
The cat then started eating again and gained weight. The man’s cat was also given anti-anxiety pills and put on a special diet to control his stress.
How To Help Get Rid Of Former Stray Cat’s Food Obsession
Maintain Food Safety
You should always make sure the food you give to a stray is fresh and safe to eat.
Nothing is worse than placing cat chow in front of a former stray and then realizing it smells stale after a few days of storage.
If this is the case, it will get fixated on the food and refuse to move on until you feed it something else.
Stray cats are aware of the dangers of contaminated food and won’t touch it until it’s been sanitized properly.
Play Interactive Games
You should try to play games with your former stray as much as you can to help it get accustomed to human interaction.
This is one of the most common ways that a feral kitten learns to trust humans and eventually come indoors with them.
They’re used to doing many different things, like fetching, hunting, chasing, and playing fetch.
This does not always mean you have to buy toys for your former stray; you can even improvise some by tying a toy to the end of a string and letting the cat chase after it.
You should provide the stray cat with toys that it can play with by itself because it still needs to learn to trust people after being abandoned on the streets.
This activity benefits the stray because it keeps the animal occupied and it also helps teach it how to socialize with other animals as well.
To get the most out of your time playing with your former stray, you should pay attention to its reactions because every response helps build its trust in you.
This will ease its mind since you will know that you can trust it too.
Utilize Pheromones
It is also critical to relax the feline’s muscles because this will help you build trust with your former stray.
This is not hard to do; all you have to do to achieve this is rub the feline gently on the back or belly.
Eating food should make the cat happy and relax the muscles of the stomach, but if it doesn’t want to eat for some reason, you can rub its back instead, and it will feel more relaxed as a result.
If that’s what you’re looking to do, however, you must first ensure that the feline is not sick or injured, because you don’t want to cause any harm to the kitty in the process.
Pheromones are loved by cats and can help the animals develop trust in humans much faster.
This is also what you should be looking for when searching for a new home for your former stray.
If it likes the area or house you are offering it, it will not hesitate to move in with you if you give it a chance to do so.
Maintain A Strict Feeding Schedule
You should begin feeding your formerly feral cat at specific times of the day and keep it on the same schedule every day until it becomes used to it.
Food is a source of pride for cats, and they will avoid eating something that they don’t find tasty anymore.
When left alone, a stray cat will starve to death, so you need to feed it properly to prevent this from happening to you and the pet as well.
The cat’s chances of survival are slim if it can’t find food on its own, so you should make it a habit to feed it every day and keep it on a set schedule until it adapts well to it.
When a cat comes home, it needs time to adjust, and this will make that transition much easier for it if it’s used to eating at the same time every day.
It will still need time to trust you at first, but as you continue to feed it daily, it will slowly become more trusting of you as time passes by.
Also Read: Do Used Tea Bags Keep Cats Away?
Final Words
These are the most important things to remember when dealing and living with a former stray cat.
If a stray cat has a food fixation, begin by feeding it by hand every day until it becomes accustomed to having you around when it eats.
A mixture of these suggestions should make it easy for you to adjust to living with a former stray, as it will be much easier to bond with it eventually.
It will take time, of course, but you can speed the process up if you apply some of the tips mentioned above; all you need to do is be patient and everything will work out just fine in the end.
The cat has a past and it doesn’t have anyone to take care of it anymore, so it’s best to give it a chance at living a better life with you instead.
You will need to work extra hard at first to gain its trust, but once it does, things will be a lot easier for you and it will give you so much love in return that it will all be worth it in the end.
