Cat obsessed with food, but not overweight

[BabyLucy]

One of my Cats, Lucy is OBSESSED with any food. When I got her as a kitten, it was just her and I in my apartment and I could leave food in her bowl and she would just eat a few pebbles at a time whenever she felt hungry. Once I moved in with my fiance and his cat Baby (Lucy was a few months old at this point) who also only ate a few pebbles at a time out of her bowl, Lucy would eat ALL of the food, including Baby's. Eventually we started feeding them small amounts 3-4 times a day, which we are still doing. This keeps her from over eating, but we have to sit next to the bowl and feed her pebble by pebble, at the same time babysitting Baby while she eats so that Lucy doesn't steal her food. It is very time consuming! Lucy will also do things like walk over us in the morning and meow for food, run in circles by the closet door where we keep the food, get into bread and other food on the counter, rip the garbage bag at the top where it sticks out to get in the garbage (we had to invest in a new garbage can and stack books on it), also if you feed them and wipe your hands on your pants she will start licking your pants! She seems to be our problem child, as she also has other behavior issues. She is obsessed with cords, ESPECIALLY white cords, like for an iPod. She will tear them to shreds and we have spent hundreds replacing random power cords. We bought a bitter spray that seems to help a little but we have to conceal all cords in our house as best we can. My fiance has a little less patience than me and threatens to get rid of her, but I can't do that! I don't know if anyone has had this happen to them or has any suggestions on why she's doing this? Any advice is appreciated!

[Freedom]

You did not say, how old is Lucy now?

First, I suggest take her to the vet for blood work. This could be a thyroid issue. This is how overactive thyroid, hyperthyroid, manifests itself.

Next, what food are you feeding? Low quality foods, like you find in grocery stores, are full of fillers with no nutritional value. Use a high quality grain free food, like Taste of the Wild, Blue Buffalo, Felidae.

Finally can you feed them in separate rooms? Set the bowl down, close the door and set a timer so you don't forget her! Ten minutes should be plenty, but see how long it takes for Baby to finish. Then open the door and let her out.

For the cords: I had one cat who loved to chew on cords. I coated my cords with Vaseline. This is a bit messy and the coated cord will collect EVERY DUST BUNNY for miles around, lol. But the cat didn't like it and stayed away. After a few months of doing this, I was able to stop, the cat lost interest. During those months, I did have to reapply the Vaseline a few times, and I had to use paper towels to clean the cords and apply again as the dust collection was amazing! But that is all behind us now, so it worked.

[aTailOf2Kitties]

My cat Toby has the same food obsession that started when I brought Havoc home (even though it was 3 days later and they knew each other beforehand). I feed them obth at the same time but Havoc is easily distracted so I fave to follow him around with the food bowl until he finishes, or lock it in the pantry closet to keep Toby from eating it. I have to put the kitchen trash in there too or Toby will get into it. He'll also jump on the counters and pre-rinse any dirty dishes we haven't put in the dishwasher yet. Sounds like the same kind of situation with your cats. I think Lucy sees Baby as competition for food, even though she's not to the point of outright aggression. I assume they get along, even if it means they ignore each other? My guys have never been best pals, but the only time they really really fight is if Havoc smells another cat, but only sees Toby. Toby is the dominant one so he doesn't take kindly to threats from Havoc. All Hell breaks loose after that, and I have the scars to prove it.

Like Freedom said, I'd get Lucy checked by a vet just to be sure that her obsession is purely behavioral and not a nutritional deficiancy. Also, to see if a possible dental problem makes her want to chew. If it's behavioral then there are a few de-stressing products out there to try. A medical deficiency can be corrected with a diet change or supplement.

Some cats just don't gain weight as easily as others do so if Lucy isn't overweight then she may just have a high metabolism or otherwise be burning off calories. My Toby would weigh 20 pounds and eat me out of house and home if I let him, so I really have to work at keeping extra food out of reach.