My cat's obsession with food is driving me insane. Please help.
I have a 12 year old tabby (paying the cat tax) who is obsessed with food. I've had him since he was a kitten. Other than his asthma, he is in excellent physical heath. I'm currently treating his asthma with an inhaler.
Other cats:
He's lived with multiple cats (roommates, foster cats, etc) in the past, but we've also been through a few years where he is the only pet. Currently, my roommate has a cat (about 5 years old) and I adopted a kitten (cat tax) I was fostering because I love her (she's 4 months old now). I'm feeding my cats a combination of science diet wet and dry food. My roommate keeps her cat's food in her bedroom with the door closed, and we let him in and out frequently through out the day. The kitten sleeps in my bedroom at night where I leave a full bowl of food out. She will graze on it all night, never finishing all the food.
History:
He over eats if he's the only pet, and he over eats if he has friends to play with. I noticed this eating problem when he was about 2 years old. I would fill the bowl, and he would eat until he vomited, then he would go back and eat more. He wouldn't stop eating until all the food was gone, then he would proceed to beg. He once chewed through a bag of hard food while I was at work. I came home to a bloated cat and vomit all over the house. I keep the bags in a plastic container now.
Begging:
He starts begging about an hour after I feed him. He will approach my desk while I'm working, tap my legs with his paw, and rub against my legs for hours until I feed him again. He will follow me around the apartment, exist under me in the kitchen, run in front of me to trip or block me from walking away. I accidentally step on his paws or tail because he is, for lack of a better word, omnipresent.
What I've tried:
His vet does not think he is diabetic, so I've ruled that out. I've tried a water spray bottle to get him to leave me alone, but he comes back to continue begging after just a few minutes. I used to feed him 3oz twice a day. Now I feed him 1.5 oz 4(ish) times a day. I use puzzle/food dispensing toys, but he will come beg once they are empty. I have not tried an automatic feeder, but it doesn't seem to work in homes with multiple cats unless you buy the expensive RFID collars.
He's a very sweet kitty, but this food thing is making me crazy. Any advice would be very appreciated.
Edit: a word
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from Pets https://www.reddit.com/r/Pets/comments/eedy7h/cat_with_polyphagia_in_a_multicat_home/
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