#1
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This cat will eat ANYTHING..
And I mean anything..
I'm talking about Alley, of course.. You've seen the pictures of her going after tomatoes and bananas (http://www.pets.ca/forum/showthread....ht=alley+devil) but she doesn't stop there! The other day I went to make a sandwich. I put two pieces of bread on the counter and went to get the peanut butter (yes, sometimes I eat like I'm 12).. I heard a noise, and figured she got up on the counter but got spooked. No dice. When I went back to my bread, I noticed there was only one slice on the counter. I went around to the living room, and there she was chowing down on a piece of bread! I then had to chase her for a bit, as she carried it around the room - the slice was bigger than she is! Needless to say, I had to get a new slice of bread.. (who said that cats don't eat grains? ) That's not all - if we leave the fridge open for a second, she's learned how to puncture bags of milk to get the milk out. I was eating cereal the other day and she snatched some of the cereal out of the bowl and took off. We have to lock her up every time we eat dinner, or she'll snatch whatever we're eating (and I mean WHATEVER) off of our plates. And she snatches it so quickly and takes off - as if she hasn't eaten for months and has to horde it. We feed her canned food 4 times a day, so it's not like she's going hungry or anything. She'll do it right after she's finished eating, too! I've tried saying No, I've tried the water bottle, nothing works and now I have no idea what to do. The Ssscat keeps her off of THAT part of the counter, but we can't use it at the dinner table - we end up getting sprayed more than her! HELP!!
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Taken over by: Jake - grey DSH (Aug '98) Alley - spazzy grey tabby (Aug '07) |
#2
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Oh what a resourceful kitty . She would be a survivor out on the streets, that's for sure .
Just out of curiousity, do you have any info on her background? I wonder how she recognizes items such as tomatoes as food? I can't offer any suggestions because my cats don't even jump up on the counter let alone steal food. Puddles will eat banana toast (probably more so the bread she likes) and strawberry shortcake (whip cream), but the other two will only eat cat food and some human meat.
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Cat maid to: Rose semi feral, a cpietra rescue, female tabby (approx 13 yrs) Jasper RIP (2001-2018) Sweet Pea RIP (2004?-2014) Puddles RIP (1996-2014) Snowball RIP (1991-2005) In a cat's eye, all things belong to cats.-English Proverb “While we are free to choose our actions, we are not free to choose the consequences of our actions.” Stephen R. Covey |
#3
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Excuse me a minute....
. . . . . . . . . . . . ....I don't mean to laugh at your...umm...misfortune? I can just envision her whizzing around snatching food . I wish I had some advice to offer you. Putting her in another room while you eat is the only answer I can think of . *giggle*
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"Education is a progressive discovery of our own ignorance." -Will Durant |
#4
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I always think of what a tough cookie she would be if she had to take to the streets
It's funny seeing her trotting across the room with something bigger than her in her mouth, but very frustrating at the same time! I got her when she was about 8 weeks old from a cat rescue. I went to pick her up from their "nursery", which turned out to be some woman's house - she had about 5 adult cats that were hers, and then all I could hear was tons of little mews from her basement.. I guess that's where she was keeping all the kittens - it sounded like a lot of them, but she just brought Alley up to me, so I never got to go down and see them. I do remember that while I was filling out the paperwork I had Alley in my arms and the woman had some sliced cucumber on her table. Alley went right for it - I should have known then! She'll pretty much eat anything - especially stuff in bags - I think it's not a matter of her knowing that tomatoes, etc., are food - I think she thinks EVERYTHING is food. She's also turning my good guy Jake into a beggar too, which isn't cool.
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Taken over by: Jake - grey DSH (Aug '98) Alley - spazzy grey tabby (Aug '07) |
#5
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Other than the cucumber incident, has Alley been like this since you brought her home? Maybe she had to learn quickly how to be resourceful in terms of food when she was a wee kitty if there were so many in the woman's basement .
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"Education is a progressive discovery of our own ignorance." -Will Durant |
#6
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Quote:
It's definitely been bad for a long time - and much more noticible since she's gotten bigger - it could have been a battle she learned when she was little, but you'd think she'd grow out of it by now.. Jake's not food agressive by any means, and never tries to eat her food - she of course, tries to eat his though, and he just lets her - never battles her at all.
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Taken over by: Jake - grey DSH (Aug '98) Alley - spazzy grey tabby (Aug '07) |
#7
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If she's not overly tubby, have you tried feeding her more? When she is fed, does she eat everything with gusto?
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"Education is a progressive discovery of our own ignorance." -Will Durant |
#8
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Cat's eating habits are set when they're very young, like by 7 weeks of age, so it could just be an ingrained thing with her. She may mellow over time, or maybe not.... But luckypenny's suggestion of feeding her more is also a good idea.....
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"To close your eyes will not ease another's pain." ~ Chinese Proverb “We must not refuse to see with our eyes what they must endure with their bodies.” ~ Gretchen Wyler |
#9
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I was asking about her past because I was told by my vet that if a cat has been extremely hungry once in their life they don't generally forget, and will have eating issues in their life.
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Cat maid to: Rose semi feral, a cpietra rescue, female tabby (approx 13 yrs) Jasper RIP (2001-2018) Sweet Pea RIP (2004?-2014) Puddles RIP (1996-2014) Snowball RIP (1991-2005) In a cat's eye, all things belong to cats.-English Proverb “While we are free to choose our actions, we are not free to choose the consequences of our actions.” Stephen R. Covey |
#10
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Another thought came to mind but I don't know if it would apply to cats. When we brought Lucky home, he would eat 4 times the the recommended amount and always act as if he was starved. He wasn't putting on any weight either. In his case though, it was due to intestinal parasites...something I wasn't aware of at the time.
Have you had Alley's stool sampled lately ?
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"Education is a progressive discovery of our own ignorance." -Will Durant |
#11
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Oh yeah, she scarfs down her own food like it's going out of style - I've added water to it to slow her down some.. My boyfriend said she sounds like a little piggy when she eats - it kind of grosses him out
I was feeding her a good amount, but she is getting a little pudgy - it's hard to tell because she's still kittenish (only about 8 months old), but she started to get a little round so we dropped down her amount a smidge (seriously, she only eats a sliver less than before). But she eats the exact same way she was eating before we did that. I don't want to give her too much and have her become overweight, because that was a battle we faced with Jake for many years.. She was eating the same amount my (now) 13 lbs cat was eating, and she still acted as if the apocolypse was coming and there would be a famine for 30 years following it. I just wish there was a way to teach her to not steal our food.
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Taken over by: Jake - grey DSH (Aug '98) Alley - spazzy grey tabby (Aug '07) |
#12
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Quote:
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Taken over by: Jake - grey DSH (Aug '98) Alley - spazzy grey tabby (Aug '07) |
#13
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Quote:
The only thing is that she is putting on weight - she's not fat, but definitely rolly polly..
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Taken over by: Jake - grey DSH (Aug '98) Alley - spazzy grey tabby (Aug '07) |
#14
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If she's "rolly polly" , then that's probably not the case with her.
On another note, was the woman you got her from the Rescue itself? Or was she just fostering for a Rescue? If fostering, have you thought to share your story with the Rescue? It might be something they would want to look in to .
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"Education is a progressive discovery of our own ignorance." -Will Durant |
#15
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if she gainign weight then she is eating enough have u tried putting sdome human food in a dish on the floor while you eat ?
I had a cat like that I tthink its sort of like eat it while its aruond type behavior |
#16
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Oh wow! I've got a couple of food snatchers myself but not as bad as Alley Mind don't run when they've snatched something, they pretty much stay in place.
My Maks is the one who eats the most. He eats with gusto and when he's done he tries to eat off of everyone else's plate. When I mentioned it to the vet she asked if I've seen any worms in his stool. I hadn't, but that's the only thing I could think of when you mentioned her eating.
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There are only two rules at my house: House rule #1. Cats rule. House rule #2. See rule #1. http://nuriaandthegang.shutterfly.com/ |
#17
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Umm, correction...unless it's just her belly that's round which can also be a sign of intestinal parasites.
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"Education is a progressive discovery of our own ignorance." -Will Durant |
#18
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If I ever suspect this, my vet allows me to just bring in a sample (costs about 15-20$) and tests it without having to bring any dogs in.
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"Education is a progressive discovery of our own ignorance." -Will Durant |
#19
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Quote:
Slightly but the woman who had the kittens was a little kooky. Her house was COVERED in cat memorabilia. I love cats, but this was slightly overboard - every square inch of her house had some kind of cat trinket, be it plates with cat faces, pictures, keychains - you name it, she had it.. I've honestly never seen anything like it in my life - there was no room for anything else! So I guess she loves cats .. oh, and there was a young girl that arrived the same time we did - she said she was a volunteer through the rescue..
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Taken over by: Jake - grey DSH (Aug '98) Alley - spazzy grey tabby (Aug '07) Last edited by phoozles; April 4th, 2008 at 02:47 PM. |
#20
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I'm a little worried that if I did that, her begging really wouldn't stop. I love hot sauce, and I put it on everything, but that doesn't deter her.. In fact, my boyfriend got some of those pepperoni sticks - they were CRAZY hot, even for me, and Alley went nuts for them - she knew the moment you had them and wouldn't give you the chance even to raise it to your mouth without snatching it - AND she ate it like it was nothing! I'm telling you, this kitten is
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Taken over by: Jake - grey DSH (Aug '98) Alley - spazzy grey tabby (Aug '07) |
#21
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I used to have a cat a long time ago (20 yrs) that would slap her paw on and guard/growl over broccoli and egg rolls - no joke.
Had another cat that swiped a piece of steak off my plate when I was looking in another direction. Your kitty sounds very resourceful for sure.
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Sandy Belle Sheeba - born 11/14/07 at 12:30 pm Linx Jasper |
#22
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Quote:
I tried to train her once - I had a water bottle and everytime she came near my plate I sprayed her and said no. This went on for about 30 minutes - she ended up soaked, but I finally got her to the point where she would sit next to the plate and not lunge for it. She hasn't really gotten better since, though - I believe she was just biding her time.. And she's not perpetually hungry either - she doesn't constantly harass for food - Actually, Jake does that - he knows what time dinner is and will start opening and closing the cupboard doors for feeding time, but Alley doesn't do any of that.. It's so weird!
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Taken over by: Jake - grey DSH (Aug '98) Alley - spazzy grey tabby (Aug '07) |
#23
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Quote:
As for the steak, yep, Alley's grabbed an entire turkey breast off of my BF's plate - grilled cheese sandwiches, burritos - you name it, she's taken it.. and ran with it ..
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Taken over by: Jake - grey DSH (Aug '98) Alley - spazzy grey tabby (Aug '07) |
#24
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maybe its just play ?
i am picturing a soaked kitty sitting on the table still waiting for the dinner plate to be unguarded too funny |
#25
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I guess she got pretty soggy - she went downstairs and my BF thought she had fallen in the toilet, she was so wet. Yeah, so water bottle squirting is definitely out.. p.s. don't worry, I toweled her off afterwards..
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Taken over by: Jake - grey DSH (Aug '98) Alley - spazzy grey tabby (Aug '07) |
#26
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Not me.. I LOOOOOOOVE broccoli.
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Sandy Belle Sheeba - born 11/14/07 at 12:30 pm Linx Jasper |
#27
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Phoozles - reading through this has made my day!! You should write a book - The Adventures of Alley the Thief! It would make you millions. So funny!!
I don't think she is doing anything out of the ordinary considering her beginnings. If she had a lot of other kitties to fight with over food she probably had to take her food and hide with it. It's hard to say how many cats/kittens that woman had in her basement. I think I would follow the suggestions of LP and have her checked for worms. Other than that lock her in another room whilst you are eating.
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Assumptions do nothing but make an ass out of u and me. We can stick our heads in the sand for only so long before it starts choking us. Face it folks. The pet population is bad ALL OVER THE WORLD! |
#28
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I don't have any suggestions to add to what's already been said. Just warn any dinner guests beforehand. |
#29
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Makes me want to see her in action.
Gabby is the only one of mine that has to get locked up while we're cooking. She'll jump up on the counter and grab and run. She doesn't bother us while we're eating though. Cindy |
#30
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*onster puts her hand up*
Bunduk eats, AKA has stolen: bread (pita is his fave, steals the whole bag), cantolope, cucumber, raw meat, cooked meat, fish, any form of plastic (now thats an aquired taste, only for refined kitties ), beans, cereal, tomatoe (dragged it across the carpet..thats toxic tho, be carefull ), mashed potatoes, apples, wendys hambuger wrappers *will kill for those*. Thankfully that's all he's gotten into, for now Best (or worst from my perspective) was when he stole a steak right out of the frying pan!!!! Oh and all missing items are either dragged downstairs to the basement, or upstairs to my carpetted room. |
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