My Cat Is Always Hungry

RE: My Cat Is Always Hungry Post By Frances (Guest Post) (09/02/2008) I have a female fixed cat that is about 15 years old and just recently within the past six months, she acts like she is starving. I have had everything checked and found nothing wrong with her. I was told to change her food, she got the runs and ended up with a urinary tract infection, that was not fun. I am still trying to figure this out, nothing seems to work. Thanx for anyone's help. Report Spam or Abuse RE: My Cat Is Always Hungry Post By Jayson (Guest Post) (08/30/2008) My cat is ALWAYS hungry too. As far as I know, he is healthy. He is 5 years old and recently started acting like a little "beggar". He gets fed twice a day, and no sooner after he finishes eating, he wants more. He's turned into a pest, and I don't know what to do. I've tried dry food, canned, low carbs, high sodium. NOTHING works. It's all the same to him. The only time he doesn't want to be fed is when he's sleeping. It's gotten very annoying. Any suggestions? Report Spam or Abuse RE: My Cat Is Always Hungry Post by fasu (3) | (04/28/2008) Contact I'm not an expert on this subject but, part of the problem with a cat who seems to be always hungry might be that as a stray it was hungry all the time. We adopted our cat "Nellie" about five years ago at the age of about two years from a local rescue group. We know nothing of her beginning but, wanted her anyway. She can be sound asleep then wake up meowing and run to her food as if she thinks another cat is after it, that could be the problem with your stray. The cat may not be "Hungry" but is eating the food before another cat gets it. Report Spam or Abuse RE: My Cat Is Always Hungry Post by AJM1271 (19) | (03/11/2007) Profile | Contact My vet told me that the cats will get fatter on dry food than wet food. One of my two cats has a problem with not drinking enough so he has to have wet food or he thows it up. I give them one can of food in the morning to share and one at dinner time to share. Before I go to bed they get some dry food, maybe 1/3 cup and this will take him through until morning. If I know I might not get home in time for dinner time I will give them a little dry for during the day. But my male is always begging to be fed and they have always been fed this way. I think it's a male thing, his sister never begs. I had a male dog that was the same way but our female just eats what she wants and couldn't care about it. Report Spam or Abuse RE: My Cat Is Always Hungry Post By Dan (Guest Post) (02/17/2007) Some of you haven't read his replies. Not all cats can have food out all the time because they will gorge themselves, become lazy, fat and most importantly *unhealthy*. Report Spam or Abuse RE: My Cat Is Always Hungry Post by Cyinda (693) | (01/26/2007) Profile | Contact HI--- I'm the one who wrote the original post. Most of you have said one of 3 things: 1) Your cat may has worms. 2) Check for thyroid problems 3) leave food out all the time ------------------------------------------------ I'll start at the bottom & work up. #3) When I wrote this post Smokey was FAT (or maybe just "pleasingly plump") & never begged for food UNTIL my vet told me to cut his food intake down. When I cut his food intake down by 20% as the vet said to do, THAT'S when he started driving me crazy! I can't just "Leave his food out" because he would chow down all day & that would do nothing for his weight problem. #2) Thyroid: The vet SAID he was healthy, in fact his words were "Very Healthy" - "He just needs to loose a little weight". But you may be right, maybe I should have his thyroid tested. But he has all kinds of energy & is his same old bouncy self. #1) Worms... Maybe??? But would a cat with a worm problem have healthy shiny healthy hair (he doesn't even shed) and he's not skinny (as I've heard worms can make them) Smokey is finally starting to loose a bit of weight, I've found a cat food that satisfies him more. I've removed the carbs from his diet by changing his food from mostly a very high quality dried brand to a low fat / high protein wet food. Not having the carbs from the dried food seems to help his hunger because his insulin is not spiking & falling from the carbs. My question is this: Is it true that a cat NEEDS dried food to help clean his teeth. I've heard both answers, some say "Yes!" some say it's an old wives tale. Is there a Vet out there who knows for sure? Report Spam or Abuse RE: My Cat Is Always Hungry Post by ruby ramona (6) | (01/26/2007) Profile | Blog! | Contact Hi, I agree with Darlene, have your vet run a thryroid check. This is very important. My 15 year old cat was very listless and pale, nose and paws. Off we went to the vet and discovered a thyroid problem which in turn can actually attack muscle tissue. Darcy had no other symptoms apart from hunger, up until it was extreme. He is now fine and has a thyroid tablet every two days and also a heart tablet daily. (the heart muscle was affected and he has heart failure). He has been on this medication for around 7 months now and doing fine, still have to watch how much he eats though. Also worm your cat with a good quality all wormer, supermarket brands are not as affective, you can get drontal from your vet. Good luck :) Report Spam or Abuse RE: My Cat Is Always Hungry Post By Robin (Guest Post) (01/03/2007) Hi, I leave my cats food out all of the time. They eat what they want and then thats it. I have five of them and mine don't seem hungry all of the time by keeping food out for them. Also, my cats are not over weight either. My vet said that because they have access to food all of the time that they know its there when they want it. Robin Report Spam or Abuse RE: My Cat Is Always Hungry Post By Darlene (Guest Post) (12/31/2006) My first thought is that you kitty has picked up a case of worms which unfortunately they can do easily. We have had cats for 20+ years and some of the behavior can be attributed to boredom or neediness - Mom I need you to play or love me and FEED me please. Alot more serious are the health considerations - underlying diabetes or thyroid problems. With the thyroid their metabolism is jacked up off the scale and they are constantly hungry and will eventually start to break down their fat and lose weight because they need it to just have enough nutrition to get through the day. Have a thyroid test done -not too expensive and not every vet considers this. We learned the hard way with a cat that almost died. Another consideration is the type of food. Growing kitties need extra calories from food that is easily digestible. We feed dry food and supplement with tuna packed in water about every other day. Not oil but water and it mixes with the dry and makes a nice meal. We also give our cats reverse osmosis distilled water which is available at Walmart for about .64 cents a gallon. We do this because one of our cats had a terrible problem with kidney stones and we found out that a culprit was the minerals in water. She is 6 years kidney problem free and is a breed that is reknown for kidney problems. Good luck with your problem and if your vet can't help you consider switching vets. Not every veterinarian is a "cat" person, we learned that they hard way also. You might consider going to a pet chat forum and posting there where others may have had the same problem. It couldn't hurt to ask. Report Spam or Abuse RE: My Cat Is Always Hungry Post by Cyinda (693) | (12/29/2006) Profile | Contact Hello, I'm the one who posted the original question. To answer your question: ---> My cat gets a high quality dry food in the morning & wet food before bed. (high protein & low fat, no carbs) ---> Also, He's an indoor/outdoor cat... so he's not as board as an indoor only cat. We have a big yard where he hangs out & hunts bugs etc in. I just found these great web sites for obesity in cats: ---> http://www.thepetcenter.com/imtop/catweight.html ---> http://www.dooyoo.co.uk/pets-and-animals/obesity-in-cats/1021185/ ---> http://www.catnutrition.org/obesity.html One more question, About Tape Worms. He's only been wormed once (I think they need it at least twice?) (he's not quite 2YO. He has a healthy VERY shiny coat & the vet says he looks very healthy... I guess I should get him wormed again just to make sure. Report Spam or Abuse Request: My Cats Are Always Hungry Post by lewis_admin (1320) | (12/29/2006) Profile | Blog! | Contact I have 4 indoor cats; 2 male and 2 female. The 2 female and the 1 male are fixed. The other male is 3 months old. I feed the cats twice a day, in the morning and evening. My problem is they want to eat constantly. If I go out in the kitchen they are there wanting to be fed. If my hubby comes in from work, they are there wanting to be fed. The male that is fixed will eat so much he will throw-up. Does anyone have a clue what is going on with these cats. The male will also get into the trash and turn it over hunting for food. Help please, they are driving me crazy. Pam from Lincoln, DE Answers: RE: My Cats Are Always Hungry My kitty is almost as bad. I think they are bored. I've started giving her only half the amount I normally would in the morning and at night and spread the other half out over the day. A half dozen kibbles in her dish seems to satisfy her during the day when she wants a treat. (11/23/2005) By wendee RE: My Cats Are Always Hungry I did wet food in the morning and evening and left dry food all day. They only eat like that because they know they have to wait all day to eat again. If food is left for them after a while they will trust it to always be there and wont gorge themselves. Also for your trash, wash every can or bag that has a food smell as you use it. If its something that cant be washed such as the meat packets then take them outside immediately. The thing is they wont just eat something thats OK for them to eat out of the trash. They will eat the styrofoam that meat comes in and other undesirable things. HTH (11/24/2005) By christi RE: My Cats Are Always Hungry I have 4 cats myself, and one is a little beggar too. I checked in my vet book, and it says this is a common thing. If you feed more than one together, it can be a competition, they may be bored, or they might just like the taste. Some cats and dogs will eat until they retch. I have to feed my dogs separately, as two of them will eat everything in sight. Hope this relieves your mind, just try not to overfeed. (11/24/2005) By Lori RE: My Cats Are Always Hungry How much are you feeding them? Four cats need quite a lot of food. Maybe they are acting hungry because they are simply not being given enough food. Try feeding them more and making sure they have food and water available at all times. (11/24/2005) RE: My Cats Are Always Hungry You don't say whether you are talking about dry or wet food, but cats are not like dogs that you feed 2-3 times a day... dry food (any kind as long as they like it) and water should be available ALL THE TIME since cats will graze all day. It they are only getting fed twice a day then it makes sense that they are driving you crazy. If I happen to be gone when my cats run out of food, when I return and fill it, I have one that will eat so fast (as though the old fat cat is starving or something!) that within a few minutes she is vomiting the entire meal back up. They are such creatures of habit. If they are only begging for wet food then you need to pick one time each day to give them some. Stick with it and they will eventually quit begging all day. And if you keep it to about a big teaspoon full at a time then you won't have any of them barfing it back up no matter how fast it was eaten. I have 2 and one of them will eat her wet food real fast so she can try to steal some of her sisters food. I have to actually stand there and watch to keep it from happening. Hope some of this helps. (11/25/2005) By Susan RE: My Cats Are Always Hungry I agree with Annie - it might be the type of food you are feeding them. My cat use to whine and acted like he was hungry all the time until I changed his food - then he was fine. (11/27/2005) By RE: My Cats Are Always Hungry I would ask your vet as well. If you try all the various food tricks listed on here, and it is still the same I would have the vet check for parasites. (12/20/2005) RE: My Cats Are Always Hungry Be aware that certain foods make some cats hungrier. If there are no parasites and your vet has no clue, try switching (gradually) to another brand food. Know what's in the ingredients. The more meat is usually the better. My future-husband's cat used to be rather thin and peed a lot. Other than the peeing, she had a rather asymptomatic urinary infection. After taking care of that, the vet recommended a low-sodium cat food to prevent kidney stones. The food has turned this cat into a raving food-lunatic! Diet food and senior food is rather famous for this. It must taste really good. But anyway, we're deciding what we'll do about this. We don't seem to even have the same cat anymore. Never wants to go outside, just wants to eat eat eat. Runs back and forth to the food bowl whenever we get up. But we're not feeding her more than about a half-cup a day. (10/17/2006) By marijke RE: My Cats Are Always Hungry be careful, because constant hunger in cats can often be a sign of an underlying health problem, e.g. tapeworms. (12/13/2006) By Sian Report Spam or Abuse