So I know that it's very common for cats and dogs to beg for food often, but this is really extreme with our cat. We adopted him at 8 weeks old, so it's not like he spent much time as a stray; he was found alone in a barn at a very young age. Basically, if you have food, of any kind, he will try to steal and eat it. He no longer gets wet food, and is fed the proper amount of dry food twice a day, but he would always act this way even when his diet was different. He isn't exposed to any stressful situations or new people very often, he is very sociable and doesn't exhibit any other odd behaviors. I'm just wondering if he has some sort of metabolic disorder, because I've never seen a cat that begs like this, worse than any dog! He will steal a whole hoagie from you and try to devour it, he will climb up your leg to get to the food you have. He acts as though he is always hungry. He doesn't seem to be malnourished though, he looks like he has a very healthy weight, not overweight, either. Any thoughts/advice would be great from anyone else with this kind of experience, thanks!
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8 Month Old Cat Constantly Begs for food, even human food, devours food so quickly
- Thread starter MitchT10
- Start Date
Do you allow him to have human food at times? One of the most important cat owner rules is to remember if you give them an inch, they want a mile. Even if its a food that would be healthy for cats on your plate, no good deed goes unpunished.
I have always found that if you never give a cat table food, you will usually only have trouble with foods that smell especially good to cats like rotisserie chicken or fresh deli meat. With those kinds of foods, there is pretty much nothing you can do except rigorously train your cat to never go on the table . . . which is highly difficult with some cats.
FYI, two scheduled feedings a day is not the easiest for cats. There might be some feelings of hunger, even if he is objectively getting the right amount of calories. Three feedings would be preferable, even if the times are not equally spaced -- morning, home from work and late evening for example. You may see some improvement by going back to wet food as well -- it has fewer calories per volume, and helps cats feel full, although they may adjust some over time reducing this advantage. Conversely, since you have switched from moist to dry, your cat may be feeling hungrier, especially if the switch of foods is relatively recent and the cat hasn't had time to adjust.
I have always found that if you never give a cat table food, you will usually only have trouble with foods that smell especially good to cats like rotisserie chicken or fresh deli meat. With those kinds of foods, there is pretty much nothing you can do except rigorously train your cat to never go on the table . . . which is highly difficult with some cats.
FYI, two scheduled feedings a day is not the easiest for cats. There might be some feelings of hunger, even if he is objectively getting the right amount of calories. Three feedings would be preferable, even if the times are not equally spaced -- morning, home from work and late evening for example. You may see some improvement by going back to wet food as well -- it has fewer calories per volume, and helps cats feel full, although they may adjust some over time reducing this advantage. Conversely, since you have switched from moist to dry, your cat may be feeling hungrier, especially if the switch of foods is relatively recent and the cat hasn't had time to adjust.
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He is still technically a kitten and will always be hungry. Make sure he has enough of his own food and try not to give him treats at the table.
I didn't realize how persistent a hungry kitten could be until our first propped himself up our plates. Made us start eating at the table again.
I didn't realize how persistent a hungry kitten could be until our first propped himself up our plates. Made us start eating at the table again.
Hi, and welcome to TCS 
It's not uncommon for cats that lived on the streets to behave this way. They're so used to having to search for (and possibly fight for) food that they continue to seek all food out, even when in a good home with plenty of food available. It's like that starving part never quite leaves them mentally.
Having said that, only feeding dry food may be adding to your problems. Wet food is much more satisfying for cats as it's closer to their natural diet (meat - they are obligate carnivores, after all
), and the higher water content means a much bigger portion size than the calorically dense kibble. Switching to an all wet (or even raw) diet will likely help the issue enormously. Splitting his food into smaller, more frequent meals may help too. I have kittens at the moment too, and whilst they're always ready for a meal, by feeding little and often and not giving into begging I can eat my meals in peace....even if one is on my lap at the time.
Other than that, don't give in to his begging. If he never gets human food (or only gets a little taste in his own bowl at his next mealtime) he's far less likely to bug you. It'll be hard at first, but he will get the message if you're consistent.
It's not uncommon for cats that lived on the streets to behave this way. They're so used to having to search for (and possibly fight for) food that they continue to seek all food out, even when in a good home with plenty of food available. It's like that starving part never quite leaves them mentally.
Having said that, only feeding dry food may be adding to your problems. Wet food is much more satisfying for cats as it's closer to their natural diet (meat - they are obligate carnivores, after all
), and the higher water content means a much bigger portion size than the calorically dense kibble. Switching to an all wet (or even raw) diet will likely help the issue enormously. Splitting his food into smaller, more frequent meals may help too. I have kittens at the moment too, and whilst they're always ready for a meal, by feeding little and often and not giving into begging I can eat my meals in peace....even if one is on my lap at the time. Other than that, don't give in to his begging. If he never gets human food (or only gets a little taste in his own bowl at his next mealtime) he's far less likely to bug you. It'll be hard at first, but he will get the message if you're consistent.
I'm definitely watching this because I was about to post a similar question when I saw your thread. I have an 8 month old kitten named Ezra who I've had since mid December. He's always had a decent appetite, but for the last 4-5 days, his appetite has increased significantly and he's acting like I starve him. Today, over the course of 4 meals, he ate 10.5 oz of wet kitten food (!), and a few tablespoons of kitten kibble, and was still going after my 4 year old cat Kiernan's dinner frantically. A few hisses convinced him to back off, so maybe hissing at your cat may discourage food theft. Fortunately, they both have microchip feeders so I don't have to worry about him taking her food when she's not there.
Ezra's increased appetite seems to coincide with longer play periods, so he may need more calories, but I'm just guessing on that one. This evening, for example, he played with his mouse toy for 2 hours before drowning it in his water bowl. Then after a brief nap, he still had enough energy to get an extended period of zoomies then play with Kiernan for 20 minutes. Is your kitten more active than usual?
After tonight's nonstop begging, I gave him another teaspoon of kibble and he's finally settled down for a nap. I worry that topping him off with a kibble snack is overfeeding him, but I don't want him to be hungry either because he's a growing active kitten. He's not particularly excited about his kibble, so I'm hoping that by giving him a food that he'll eat but isn't a favorite will discourage him from thinking that begging results in treats.
In my case, I have a hard time determining which changes are normal developmentally and which are him settling into a new home with both Kiernan and me. Kittens are certainly challenging!
Ezra's increased appetite seems to coincide with longer play periods, so he may need more calories, but I'm just guessing on that one. This evening, for example, he played with his mouse toy for 2 hours before drowning it in his water bowl. Then after a brief nap, he still had enough energy to get an extended period of zoomies then play with Kiernan for 20 minutes. Is your kitten more active than usual?
After tonight's nonstop begging, I gave him another teaspoon of kibble and he's finally settled down for a nap. I worry that topping him off with a kibble snack is overfeeding him, but I don't want him to be hungry either because he's a growing active kitten. He's not particularly excited about his kibble, so I'm hoping that by giving him a food that he'll eat but isn't a favorite will discourage him from thinking that begging results in treats.
In my case, I have a hard time determining which changes are normal developmentally and which are him settling into a new home with both Kiernan and me. Kittens are certainly challenging!
I am wondering if he has been checked for parasites? That can increase a need for nutrients. Worms can come from a single flea. I do know that as I brought in ferals, they were very used to a constant hunt for food. They could not count on a steady food supply and it left them steadily grazing/eating if they located food. Feral cats need more calories to survive so it’s kind of built in to constantly hunt and your kitty is still young enough to burn a lot of calories. I agree with the previous posts. Wet food could help and more frequent feedings. I did find that over time and after learning that the food would always be available, the rescued kitties did, finally, get filled up! Lol Sometimes I felt like they must be storing the food in their tails!
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