Why is my cat always hungry?

I_am_mad

Some of you may remember me talking about my new cat last week. We will have had her on 2 weeks on Saturday now. Ever since we have had her she is constantly miaowing for food and she now knows where her food is and she tries to open the cupboard which I have now had to tie shut. It is really annoying as all through the night I can only hear banging as she is trying to get into her food.

I feed her 3 meals a day for breakfast she has a whiskas pouch with some Iams, for lunch she has a cup of Iams and then for tea she has the same as breakfast. So I think she is being fed plenty?

She has not got worms as she was strongly wormed before we picked her up from the shelter. But it is really starting to annoy me now as she keeps asking for food. Could it be that she is just greedy or bored as we have not let her out yet?

Thanks

I_am_mad

I have said I am feeding her Whiskas pouches. What do you mean by feeding her properly?

Fire_Fox

How old is she and how heavy? Is she neutered? What do you mean by a cup? Are her poops healthy, once a day, well formed and not smelly (sorry to be gross)? How much meat protein is in the food you are giving, I suspect IAMS is pretty low and the pouches are often high in jelly (water). A high carb/ grain food can make the blood sugar rise and fall swiftly, which can lead to hunger pangs and sugar cravings.

She may be bored if you are not stimulating her enough, does she have plenty of solo play and interactive toys, things that move around independently? Have you considered putting the dry food in a feeding ball so it keeps her occupied for longer? Can't you isolate her from the kitchen at night? Did the rescue tell you she was greedy or liked her grub?

KiKi

Did she have a previous owner, or perhaps wasn't fed enough?
Does she eat all her food when she has it? Is there any left?
Does she have any biscuits to graze on?

Cats are naturally grazing animals, so perhaps leaving some additional biscuits out during the day might help. It sounds like you're feeding her enough (although I wouldn't feed Iams, personally, as the protein content is too low), but if she really does seem hungry then perhaps leave some more for her and see her reaction. You might find it settles her.

You could test this by leaving a *massive* bowl of biscuits for the day, along with a pouch, and monitor her behaviour. Does she try and eat it all at once? If so, that's bound to be behavioural (no cat would need to eat a HUGE bowl, so she may be worried that she won't be fed again). If she grazes, then she perhaps just needs a bit more - or it might even be that she wants to be able to access it as and when she can.

I feed mine biscuits in the morning which they scoff, but then I immediately refill the bowl and they graze on it all day. They don't like seeing an empty bowl and not being able to snack if they're hungry. They get a pouch in the evening and graze on that, too.

Cats don't always respond well to 'set' meals, so try that and see how she goes. If not, perhaps a trip to the vet to check she hasn't picked up anything, or has a stomach problem. Or try a different food - preferably one with a higher protein content (which is what I suspect dehaani was implying).

HTH
KiKi

charlie-chan

My cats are exactly the same.

I feed the older one two sachets and a small cup (or about 20g) of dry food and for the kitten, he gets one and a half sachet as well as 30g dry.

I would keep feeding your cat as normal but offer dry food to graze on. I would keep food locked up and any empty sachets into a bin they can't get into if they are like my kitten.

He overate/licked all the sachets in a bin he knocked over and he was sick due to it. Silly cat .

I_am_mad

Hi thanks for all the replies. When we got her from the rehoming place they said nothing about her appetite and I forgot to ask. She was found as a stray so I am thinking that she is used to searching for her own food which might be why she is hungry.

When she gets her food she eats it all in one go so I fear that if I left biscuits out for her in the day she would just keep eating them until she was sick I dont think she would leave anything for later on. The rescue centre said not to feed her biscuits as they tend to give cats diarrhea, we started on go cat biscuits but then moved onto Iams after a friend recommending them, what biscuits does everyone else use? She is a lovely cat but is getting on my nerves when all I can hear is the kitchen cupboard banging!! I have had to tie it shut.

She has toys left out for her but then she never plays with them, she would rather sleep than play. As i suspect she has never learnt how to play as she has has kittens very young, she is only 2 now. She has been neutered yes but I am unsure as to how much she weighs, she has a very tiny frame. She goes for a poo twice a day and they do actually smell really bad, they are formed ok though I think, she did have diarrhea when she first came to us but now it has settled.

Thanks again and I hope my information can help anyone who can give me advice.

LittleMissAspie

Try dangling a piece of string around her, she might go for that.

Orijen and Acana are good healthy brands and I recently tried my cat on Hills for sensitive stomach which seemed to go down quite well.

My cat's poos were seriously smelly even on the healthy brands, then we grew a pot of cat grass for her (can get the seeds on ebay, they are wheat grass and oat grass seeds) and she likes to have a nibble on that every day, since then it hardly smells at all.

HappyMJ

I_am_mad wrote: »

I have said I am feeding her Whiskas pouches. What do you mean by feeding her properly?

Pouches and tins contain 85% water so it isn't really food unless served up in larger quantities. My cat has an entire can a day 400grams or the same as 4 pouches and also has dry food as well. Some cats just eat more than others as long as she's not putting on too much weight then let them eat as much as they want at least for your sanity.

pigpen

lol.. Because it is a cat!

They will eat everything put in front of them.. they are impossible to fill. Realistically they don't need that much to eat but they are furry stomachs!

Iams are notoriously poor nutritionally so like eating salad really.. you eat, you burp you are hungry.. Mine have tinned meatblob but have access to go-cat biscuits 24/7.. they are actualy the only ones they will eat and hey need to have access to water too.. cats often like running water and you can get fountain type things.. mine are gross and use the loo as a water fountain!

KiKi

I_am_mad wrote: »

Hi thanks for all the replies. When we got her from the rehoming place they said nothing about her appetite and I forgot to ask. She was found as a stray so I am thinking that she is used to searching for her own food which might be why she is hungry.

Ah! So psychologically she probably just think that she's not going to be fed again because she's never had a human slave before! Poor thing.

I fear that if I left biscuits out for her in the day she would just keep eating them until she was sick I dont think she would leave anything for later on.

Possibly, but unless you try you won't know - cats are grazers. And if she is sick, it will be once, then that's it, you know not to do it again. But if she does eat her lot then has something to graze on, then it might help reassure her than she has food there to go back to.

The rescue centre said not to feed her biscuits as they tend to give cats diarrhea, we started on go cat biscuits but then moved onto Iams after a friend recommending them, what biscuits does everyone else use?

Depends on the quality of the biscuits, though! Some brands are excellent! I use Royal Canin at the moment. I would never touch Iams, nor any supermarket brand.

She has toys left out for her but then she never plays with them, she would rather sleep than play. As i suspect she has never learnt how to play as she has has kittens very young, she is only 2 now.

Do you play with her? Encouraging her is a great way to do it. Also, there are these things called 'Zebedee' mice which are AMAZING - my cats go CRAZY for them, I think you can buy them at Pet Supermarket. They're catnip, but they're 'proper' catnip herb, not just smelling of catnip. They're wrapped in a material that means the cats can really smell it, and they go crazy for them.


If you can afford to, I would change from Iams to a better high-protein brand (Royal Canin has high-protein ones), and from Whiskas to a brand like Animonda. She may be getting cravings, and it may help psychologically.

Also, when she's pestering you, try distracting her with affection and toys and cuddles, that might help break the cycle.

I would, though, put more food out in the morning. If she does eat too much for a few days, it really doesn't matter. But cats don't *tend* to overeat (some do, of course!), so there's a good chance she'll eat a lot, but then have some left to graze on. Or, feed her, wait for her to eat, then refill the bowl.

What you shouldn't do is feed her when she tries to get into the cupboard or - like a child - she will 'learn' that she gets what she wants, and it will just carry on. Distracting her is better, or ignoring her. I know that's a pain, though!

Gotta love a cat.
KiKi

rubyrara

My darling boy Rufus is always starving, he eats tixce a day, he will eat all his biscuits if there are any left out and he hunts and eats it all.

He is sometimes so full he will be sick as he has eaten too mcu but this doesn't stop him doing it again.

We got him from a shelter and suspect he had to scavenge for food previously, so now gobbles everything he gets within moments.

He is learning slowly, but he's a cat and I can't resist feeding him treats when he looks at me with thise big eyes!