cats constantly stealing food

[iloveglee]

Is this normal behaviour for cats? Our neighbours have two cats, about 9 months old; they are outside most of the time and are constantly stealing food - they eat the seed and dry bread put out for the birds, they take bread off the top of the pond put there for the fish, they come into the house (ours not their own) and steal our cats' food, they gobble it like they have never been fed and growl and hiss if you try to take it away. We have spoken to the owners, they say they are fed properly and there is nothing that they can do, cats are like that. I have two cats and they never eat like it's the last thing on earth for them. When the warmer weather comes they are going to become a nuisance and we don't quite know what to do.

[ummmm]

I've never known a cat like that either...

Maybe they have worms...

[mccfluff]

murph is a pig but she only eats bread if there's marmite on it and then she generally licks it off, rather than eat the bread. sound slike there is something wrong bread and seeds is not in a cats diet!

[society]

Your neighbours probably don't feed the cats, or feed them enough.

Or, they are food kleptomaniacs!

[iloveglee]

Well we thought that they probably are not being fed properly but the owners are quite adamant that they are and they have been wormed so its not that. We don't know what to do next, I am pretty sure if we fed these cats ourselves they would just move in

[JonnyBoy12]

A man goes to the doctor, and says "I think I have got kleptomania".

The Doctor says "Have you taken anything for it"?

The man says "Yes, A Video, A Car and a Stereo".

[rowanwitch]

We have a few local cats popping in for snacks bread, cake, the dog biscuits we put out for the magpies.....I think it's just because its there.... they leave the bird seed alone though

[Budgie1]

Years ago I had a visiting cat much like that. Tiny, skinny little thing that wolfed down any thing it could get it's paws on. My two cats, far bigger and older than her, were petrified of it. It spent much of it's time sleeping in my utility rrom, daring my two to come in for their food. After a couple of weeks of this I found out that it's home was just the other side of my back garden. It was actually about 8 years old (not the young kitten I thought it was) had ample food in it's own kitchen and a comfy bed. I think she was just a con cat.

There again my own cats will ignore their own cat food all day but if I put it out in the evening for the hedgehog (when it's all dried out and not nice) they will go and eat it off the lawn. That's cats for you.

[tox]

A neighbour's cat used to come in, however, since I fitted a Petporte Smart Flap only my own microchipped cat can enter, the other cat's microchip will not operate the flap although not cheap they work, I was particularly worried about my cats food being eaten before she had a chance.
Dry bread should not be given to birds, moisten it first. Also with regard to food for the hedgehogs discourage cats from eating it by placing under a box or an upturned cat/dog bed.

Hope this helps.

[milly143]

My cat used to let himself into our old next door neighbours house because he knew they were nice enough to give him food, despite him having a never ending supply in his own house. He's just a greedy little bloater.

[iloveglee]

Having observed these cats, I think the problem is behavioural. They are slim and sleek but apparently have some siamese in them, and having got a hold of them you can't feel their spinal bones and ribs as you can with underfed cats. They were apparently removed from their mother at 4 weeks old which is much too young in my opinion, they haven't had enough maternal input to teach them their manners when eating. Also, when they were tiny kittens they were only fed twice a day on ordinary, not kitten food. I think they have learned that they have to gobble up anything they can get their hands (paws!) on just in case that's the last they get. Their owner told us he had been thinking of getting rid of them if they didn't stop jumping around. They are not cruel people but I really don't believe they have any understanding of how to look after cats. They are put out in the morning, whether they want to go out or not, and are out until late at night. It makes us wonder really why they had them - they were very cute as babies and their kids were full of them, but now they don't seem very bothered.