Cat food that will keep cats full!!

Just_Peachy

Hello,

I have two cats, one that seems very content with what we feed her and never pesters us for food. For example she will never hang around us while we're eating or sniff at our left overs or jump up on the work top for food etc

Our other cat is the exact opposite and it drives me mental!! she will sit and stare at us while we are eating or try to get at our food, you cannot put a finished plate or glass on the floor as she is immediately into it, she will jump on the table or worktop (my absolute pet hate) if anything is being prepared, absolutely anything to do with food and she is there - even if it's food she doesn't like.

They both are fed the same amounts so I cannot understand why one cat is satisfied and not interested in pestering for food and the other one is constantly on at us. It feels like no matter how much we feed her she still wants more. Both cats are as active as each other, although the 'greedier' cat is 6 years old and the other cat is 2 years old.

I am due to give birth soon and I need to get this sorted as I cannot have a cat jumping on the work tops and table or licking plates, cups etc as it is so unhygenic.

Please can some one tell me what to feed her to satisfy her, or is she destined to always want 'MORE'!!! Currently they are fed 2 pouches of cat food (whiskers, felix supermarket brand etc) each a day (4 in total) and always have dry food put out (again Whiskers etc) which they both eat throughout the day. I know that one cat is not eating another's food, so that is not the problem.

Obviously the least expensive solution to this problem the better.

Thanks in advance.

rising_from_the_ashes

They're a bit like us - some are greedy and others not.

I have a very skinny boy cat who is a fussy eater and wouldn't dream of going on the worktop, trying to pinch food etc.

My wee girl cat is like yours however, and is always looking for food (she's like a feline labrador) - I can be eating my tea and suddenly a paw will reach up and swipe something off my plate! (very annoying).

To keep the cat off the worktop, everytime it gets on, put it straight off and say "no" very firmly. This must be done EVERY time - however, if he/she has been doing it for 6 years - it will take a lot of reinforcement and a bit of time to perfect this.

I'm a bit confused as how you can know they're not eating each others food if it's left out all day for them to graze on?

Is the "greedy" (or other) cat - thin / fat / a bit overweight / just right?

morg_monster

presumably she sees the "superhungry" cat actually eat, so it isn't that the "satisfied" cat is eating all the food.

Perhaps try a better quality food to start with, one with a higher meat % than the usual supermarket stuff. In order to keep costs down it's better to buy these online; there is a website called Zooplus which sells lots of high quality foods - the cheapest ones you may find on there are Smilla and Animonda Carny, they are more expensive than whiskas but not too much more. Also does she drink much water? Just that again that'll fill her up... if she's eating lots of biscuits but not having enough water to go with them her stomach may be not getting as full. Are you able to try feeding them 100% wet for a while, that might be another thing to try (wet food is better for cats than dry anyway, but it's not always easy if people work full time)

It's almost (but not quite) a separate issue; the jumping up on counters etc. Can you keep her out of the kitchen when you're preparing food? I know it's not always possible, our downstairs is open plan so we can't keep our cats out of the kitchen. As the above poster says, you need to be firm & repetitive if you want to break these habits. Not easy when you have got a tiny baby around...

other thoughts - not sure how many meals they get but perhaps stop the biscuits for grazing on and feed them 2 meals a day, one in the morning and the 2nd one as you start preparing dinner so she's full then? Of course if you are home all day to be bugged for food this may not help!

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

I find my lot pester less when fed a small amount of pure meat or fish every so often. Usually mince or trimmings from whatever I'm cooking.

When I've given them fresh liver or kidney, they have slept for 6 hours solid.

jonnyd281

I have the same problem, our girlie cats (x3) will leave about half a pouch of food in their bowls and come back and graze at the rest, our tom will eat his, then demolish anything left in the other bowls, and still beg for food (especially if lasagnia (sp) or roast beef). None of them have worms (all advocated regularly) the tom is just a greedy guts, (he has even been caught steeling food from one of the cats down the road the little so and so) the vet says he is fit and healthy and not underfed at just under 7kgs.

amszephyr

As morg_monster said, it would be well worth your while seeking out both wet and dry food with a much higher protein content: many brands bought in the supermarket have pitifully low meat/protein percentages and as such contain a high proportion of fillers which don't satisfy a carnivorous cat.
I recently converted my cats to Bozita (available from Zooplus/Seapets online) which is a Swedish wet food: it works out about the same cost as feeding Felix for me (I also feed Royal Canin or James Wellbeloved dry food - both available from Pets at Home on BOGOF from time to time) and my two are more than satisfied by the tiny-looking helpings they get becasue the food itself is much higher quality and contains a much higher % of what the cats need.

gunsandbanjos

amszephyr wrote: »

As morg_monster said, it would be well worth your while seeking out both wet and dry food with a much higher protein content: many brands bought in the supermarket have pitifully low meat/protein percentages and as such contain a high proportion of fillers which don't satisfy a carnivorous cat.
I recently converted my cats to Bozita (available from Zooplus/Seapets online) which is a Swedish wet food: it works out about the same cost as feeding Felix for me (I also feed Royal Canin or James Wellbeloved dry food - both available from Pets at Home on BOGOF from time to time) and my two are more than satisfied by the tiny-looking helpings they get becasue the food itself is much higher quality and contains a much higher % of what the cats need.

I feed very similar food to you and my little monster seems quite satisfied. Either Animonda Carny/Smilla/Bozita go down well with him, with Orijen dry food.

Be aware though if you are thinking of changing you may have to 'wean' them off the felix/whiskas etc as it is essentailly junk food for cats and they will be addicted to it!

rising_from_the_ashes

amszephyr wrote: »

I recently converted my cats to Bozita (available from Zooplus/Seapets online) which is a Swedish wet food: it works out about the same cost as feeding Felix for me (I also feed Royal Canin or James Wellbeloved dry food - both available from Pets at Home on BOGOF from time to time) and my two are more than satisfied by the tiny-looking helpings they get becasue the food itself is much higher quality and contains a much higher % of what the cats need.

Totally agree with this - my 2 both get Royal Canin (different types) and although it's slightly more expensive to buy, it lasts a lot longer - and more importantly, all gets eaten rather than having 1/2 a box left - so works out more economically.

Grain free was suggested to me the other day (to try to balance out "pudgy" and "skinny" so been doing some research into that .. (have tried Arden Grange but they wouldn't touch it:().

Has anyone tried this? http://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/cats/dry_cat_food/porta_21/170885