Fussy cat waking me up

hampshirebabe

My cat is only about 18 months old, but he's suddenly become really fussy at night time. I'd been giving him Bozita cat food, which he was mostly happy with, but then switched a few months ago to Butcher's Classic because its cheaper, even if I have to feed a bit more. But now at night time he just wants to eat all night long, I give him some dry which he's just plain refusing now, and keeps crying for more food, although he's becoming very fussy and wont touch certain ones, I've left it down thinking he'll eat it when he's hungry, but he wont. The trouble is at night he makes so much noise he wakes everyone up, he scratches at the doors, and meows so loud I have to get up and feed hi or he'll wake the kids. My husband is getting fed upo and keeps threatening to lock the cat outside all night.
Any suggestions what I can do? If I go back to a higher protein cat food might it keep him full longer, although he was ok for ages on the new one. I think partly its because its so cold and wet outside he stays in instead of playing with his mates.

worried_jim

Stick it outside!

donnac2558

Do not stick it outside.:mad:

Read this and know why you should not!

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/northern-ireland/puppies-made-to-suffer-and-a-cat-torn-to-pieces-belfast-father-and-sons-admit-one-of-the-vilest-animal-cruelty-cases-ever-seen-by-uspca-29916485.html

The current food is not filling him enough, or he feels lonely.

hampshirebabe

I'm more likely to put my husband outside than my cat, but he's not lonely, he's quite welcome to sleep on the bottom of my bed, but he wont sleep, he just wants food, and then a couple of hours later he wants more food, then more food!

themull1

Give him a large amount of food in the evening before bed, has he been checked for worms etc?

Gold_Dust_2

Try switching back to the Bozita, or maybe even raw as that keeps them full for much longer. You could also try moving the bowl to just outside your room? Horribly smelly, I know, but he might go for it if he knows that you guys are close. A couple of my cats wouldn't/won't eat unless someone was around, it's annoying but that might help. You could also try a feliway diffuser if he's feeling stressed or unsettled by something. If that doesn't work, I'd get him checked at the vet's because a voracious appetite can be a sign of various health problems.

donnac2558

Okay quick thought.

When did you worm him last?

When out and about he could have picked up eggs which are now full grown worms.

georgiesmum

donnac2558 wrote: »

Okay quick thought.

When did you worm him last?

When out and about he could have picked up eggs which are now full grown worms.

Just what i was going to say.

Snuggles

Are you sure it's really food he is after? It sounds to me like he may be bored. If he is not going out much due to the weather he won't be getting rid of much energy. My cat is the same, she is full of beans and if we don't spend time playing with her during the day she is very restless at night, scratching at doors, trying to get into drawers and cupboards, meowing etc.

We try to play with her as much as we can, using feather toys and a laser toy to get her running around and jumping until she is breathing heavily. We try to do this two or three times a day for about 15-20 minutes each time. She also has lots of toys she can play with by herself, such as a Catit track, kickeroo, toy mice etc.

At 18 months old your cat will still need lots of stimulation to use up all his energy and if he's not doing this by going out, you need to provide activities for him indoors. If you are already doing this, then a vet check would be a good idea.