hungry cat

[mouse]

I have adopted a 1 1/2 yr old tom cat. have paid for neutering and shots and wonder what on earth I have got into. I have had cats for the past 35 years but none like this. HE IS ALWAYS HUNGRY!! he spends his day yelling for food, raiding the cupboards and trying to climb into aytthing that may contain anything edible. He eats elastics, leaves, licks the carpet, the fish tank, cleans out the other pet food bowls even when empty.
he does not have worms. He's gained a couple of pounds since we've had him( 3 Months). I've changed his food to something more nourishing than his previous owner gave him.
he steals bananas, strawberries - whatever he can get his paws on. Locking him out of the kitchen doesn't work. he yowls constantly.
At night he is put in the basement with the other cat. If you wake up at night you can hear him yowling that tom cat yell. he is very cuddley too and lays an ownership paw on your leg when you are eating. But how do i stop him from constantly looking for food?
p.s He has lots of toys which he ignores.
Mouse

[Csara]

Has he been thoroughly checked out by a vet? Sounds like he may have a thyroid issue that is making him constantly hungry. Poor little guy. I know it must be very frustrating for you, but I'm sure there is a reason for his behavior. Hope your vet can help you figure out what it is. Good luck!!

[jana]

I second C's advice; definitely have him checked out by a vet. He could have thyroid problems or diabetes.

[angelrenee]

The licking the carpet and eating elastic and stuff doesn't sound normal to me.

Some of his hungryness could be from being a stray (I assume he was since you called him a tom cat, let me know if I'm wrong). One of my kitties used to eat every bite of food she could find until the weekend she ate three very full bowls of food as soon as we left for an overnight trip. Sick kitty. :(

Anyway, I have a friend who has a kitty with a thing about her food bowl. Because she was a stray for so long without much food, she has this need to never see the bottom of her food bowl. If she did, she'd come yowling. The thing is that as soon as you put food in the bowl, she'd eat until she could see the bottom! They finally just had to ignore her inbetween feedings and eventually she toned down a bit. She never was a completely "normal" kitty, but not half as spastic about the food bowl.

I know he's seen a vet since he's been neutered and had shots, but I wonder if they'd have some insight into his weird behavior as well?