Last year we took in a 2-3 yr old neutered boy. He was fed friskies kibble and canned food. He was presenting with food allergies so we switched him to Primal Raw and FROMM kibble. Unfortunately he was still having skin issue so we took all kibble away and now only give him rabbit or venison primal frozen raw. He's about 20-21lbs currently so per the primal bag we give him 6 nuggets twice a day (it suggests 5-5 1/2 pieces per day for cats 10-12lbs).
But still, he steals food every chance he can! From the dogs bowls WHILE they're eating, the cutting board if you step away for a moment while making dinner, constantly counter surfing for bags of food or things he can bite into, running to the fridge when it opens. Don't leave your dinner unattended bc he'll be there to eat it up if you do.
Is this typical MC behavior? How do we combat this? Feed him more? That can't be the answer, to what end? He's still young, is he growing and needs extra nutrients? Is he bored? He's so sweet but man, he can be a bully when it comes to food.
We too have similar behavior with Saxon (10mo, 15+lb). He eats like a dog and rushes to the other cats bowl to take his food. He will also try to eat anything on the counters. We don't have a good solution right now, but we do monitor and discipline him when he tries to take food not his. He is young, big, and growing. We will watch his weight over time and work to keep him from getting too heavy.
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I fed mine as much as he wanted, literally kept topping up his bowl until he walked away. He eventually calmed down and learned that I wouldn't starve him. MCs have a bit of a food complex in my experience.
I also think they benefit from 3 or 4 smaller meals rather than 2.
I fed my MC, Shizu, three times a day and three times as much as my domestic medium hair. And yet, he was skinny as a rail! Had to get a smart feeder that read my cats' microchips and would only open if the right cat wanted to eat.
All of my cats are free fed (3DSH 2MC) and none of them are ravenous nor try to steal human food. They all self regulate quite well, including the new MC kitten. He snacks frequently because he’s young and growing but doesn’t gorge himself or bother us if we have food
I'm struggling with what to feed him as he's suffering from seemingly many different food allergies which is why we took away the kibble. I'll look for something a bit safer for him.
My 5 month old eats his serving and then his brothers’. Luckily for him, they’re not big fans of wet so it isn’t an issue and helps me not waste lol.
https://preview.redd.it/vkcfq1v3ykcg1.jpeg?width=4284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d900e4b41264ca21a7d9ad45e6100a9abc1661c8
Same color 💕
So handsome
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Both of these hooligans (age 9 months and 3 months) try to steal human food ALL. THE. TIME. yet they get 2 cans of kitten soft food each PLUS unlimited kibble all day so yeah, I think it’s a Maine Coon thing.
I see a timorous beastie 😼
Beautiful🤍
Looks viscous!
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In his natural state lol
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My boy Salt who is turning two soon (and looks very similar to your baby :D) is phenomenally bad at eating 😭 I get the Royal Canin Maine Coon kibble which are quite big, and he can take upwards of like 30 seconds to eat a single bit of kibble 😭 he also takes said bit of kibble out of his bowl and crunches it onto my floor 💀
He has a lot of loose skin to grow into because he is very slow at eating, but last time I was at the vets she said he was at a healthy weight, but he is a slinky boi so he would probably be a bit slimmer than some other MCs out there :3
Ours was just recently about 20.5 lbs and was told he's a good weight but yes, he does look rather slinky. I just assumed he's still growing into the build.
Also, I love this bed of his.
Your cat is gorgeous. I think he is just growing so he wants more to eat.
Thank you, we're mildly obsessed with him. I'm thinking maybe a teenage growth spurt may be causing this lol
It sounds like he’s due for another growth spurt. Don’t MC cats continue to mature until they are around 3-4 years old? That’s what I’ve heard.
I think that's around what I've heard too so maybe it is another growth spurt.
Have you consulted with a veterinary dermatologist? They may be able to help if it’s actually allergies
We consulted with the regular vet and we've started with an elimination diet. It's worked for the most part. However, he keeps stealing everyone else's food and continues to break out bc of this. He's a stealthy ninja when it comes to sneaking food!
I believe it! Have you seen microchip feeders?
I love seeing housecats in their natural environment on the couch sleeping.
https://preview.redd.it/j7qr7r12fwcg1.jpeg?width=4284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=79bd63109dd8b7d494696a7d19d8f4d1dad904d7
This is Bayun, he will be two in April. He Hoovers food. He steals from my dog. We had to switch to small kibble for my pitty mix. Because he cut his gums.
He gets his own bowl of food. While still being hungry enough to steal from my Abyssinian mix .
He’s still a little thief and steals anything he can. He also loves bread and will chew through any bag he can find.
Sorry OP, I think this might be normal behavior 😂. We feed him a high protein diet and now, anything our dog eats. (Even if we’d rather not ) We’ve taken to leaving out large bows of kibble and feeding meat when we make dinner.
Cute thing, my dog and Bayun are super best friends .
My 10 month old goes through 4 x sachet of food a day and will still try and steal food off your plate! He’s an absolute food goblin!
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Mainecoon and Mainecoon mixes are basically dogs in cat suits