Worried my cat is becoming food-obsessed or possessive

Hi all,

My male cat (~18 months) has recently begun exhibiting worrisome behavior around food. His sister and he have been on a diet for approximately two months to bring them back into guidelines as provided by our vet. However, as we approach their weight targets, he has begun to orchestrate his entire day around food and the way he interacts with our other animals.

Examples:

• Relocating his lounging spot to be next to the food bowl
  • He will not budge unless an activity, such as play, is going on and sleeps next to the bowl as well
• Pushing our dog (~12 months old) out of the way to steal some of her food. She is significantly bigger but very sweet so she does not fight back.
  • Same thing with his sister to a lesser extent
  • All animals are fed in proximity to each other at the same time
  • He will leave his food, even when his bowl is still full, to try to stop the dog from eating. Sometimes two to three times a meal.
  • Currently babysitting every meal to make sure everyone eats appropriately
• Running into the closet where we keep the food when anyone is in that room
• Aggressively pursuing human food
  • Jumping into the sink to lick cooking dishes
  • Pulls the drain plug (rubber thing in the sink) up if he smells food in the disposal
  • Entering the dishwasher or dashing to the trashcan to get food if some is left on a plate
  • Attempting to grab food from my or my fiance's hands or plates
    • Grabbed a frozen yogurt popsicle off the stick while I was taking a bite and has attempted to eat the opposite end of a sandwich that I was eating, as I was eating it.
• Chewing through packaging to get access to food
  • This includes loaves of bread, pet food, treats, etc. If it comes in a bag that he can see or smell the food through, he will go after it.

You get the idea. We currently feed him twice a day and have attempted to break up the meals to be three times a day to help him stay full. We have tried two separate foods, the latest being more fibrous, to also help with that. We also remove the food bowls when it is not feeding time to minimize visual stimulation. All the animals get treats in addition to their food. Discussion with the vet led to him getting a slight increase in food quantity approximately two weeks ago however, in my opinion, the worst of the behavior has been exhibited since then.

I am concerned that he will soon become aggressive or possessive and we will need to feed the other animals in a separate location, isolate him during our personal mealtimes, or do other major corrective measures. Thank you in advance for any advice or suggestions you may have.

submitted by /u/hardchoices90
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