Begging for Food

[catsins]

Hello everyone, a relatively new cat owner looking for help!

I adopted two cats 4 months ago from a shelter, Remus is almost a year old (8.5 pounds) and Sirius is 18 months (12.5 pounds). Remus has a perfect build for his small size but Sirius, while he is a large cat (long legs, long torso), is starting to look overweight (and the vet was happy when he was 10-11 pounds and advised to keep him at that weight). I feed them both with grain-free wet food (I look for quality foods like Animonda Carny or Weruva, ZiwiPeak etc.) and sometimes grain free dry food (Orijen or Acana) when I go away for the weekend and none of my friends can come over to feed them. I switch the food cans and pouches all the time, I usually have at least 10-12 different tastes to rotate and I try to use different brands as well since they seem to not like to eat the same food in a row (neither do I, so I don't judge ).

I tried to calculate average calorie intake they would need, confirmed it with my vet and tried to stick to it, but while Remus seems perfectly happy with the mealtimes and the amount of food he has (he has grown from a kitten to a very happy, active cat and seems to be a perfect weight), Sirius begs for food and it has resulted in his weight gain (he had a perfect weight when I got him from the shelter, maybe a tad bit underweight). At first, I just assumed that I might have calculated things wrong and if he meowed and begged for food, I caved and gave him the food (and probably taught him that if he begs, he will get what he wants ), but now I am a bit worried about his health. He is a big cat, but he is also quite lazy, Remus runs around the house a lot and loves to play with me until total exhaustion, but Sirius ignores all toys except laser and sometimes some toys with feathers and won't even move for a treat if it's out of his paws' reach (really, Remus will jump on the highest shelf for it, Sirius will stare at me until I move it closer). He does play with Remus though, they chase each other and playfight at least 3-4 times every day for good 10-15 minutes. He also eats very fast and then tries to eat Remus' food (and Remus lets him without a fight), so now I always have to keep an eye on them and make sure Remus gets his food while Sirius swallows his food and then stares at both of us with obvious disappointment. 

I work from home, so the current situation is: two hours after every meal Sirius is doing everything to get his food, he meows, scratches things, climbs all over me and my desk etc. basically does everything to get food, and if I go to the kitchen to get myself a meal or water he will be there and beg like he is dying. At the same time, if I do give in and give him food, he won't always eat all of it and while he loves dry kibble, if I put that in his dish, he will maybe eat two, three pieces and then go to sleep or back to begging for the wet food. He does sleep through the night, they get the last meal around 10PM and wake up with me around 7AM, he never wakes me up during the night to get the food.

Besides his growing weight his health is fine according to our vet so it's probably behavioral? Any advice? I've been ignoring his begging for two weeks now and sticking to my schedule but he still does the begging. Should I just have more patience? 

 

[tabbytom]

I supposed that Sirius had been checked for worms? Some cats are good driven. Not all cats are the same. Some eat less and some more. Have he been fed enough? The thing is how much food and how many times a day? You have to equate this two in order to have him fed right. And dry kibbles will make him put on weight and since he is not as active as Remus, though they play at times.
Since he asked for wet food, I'll stick to wet food for both and increase amount or feed more often for Sirius. Since you work from home, you can easily schedule the feeding times. More food, less times. Less food, more times. Just experiment with the amount and number of feeds and you'll get it after a few tries.

 

[catsins]

Yes, he has. The doctor said there are no health issues other than a bit of extra weight. I got him from the shelter and he was in there for a long time (apparently, older cats have a hard time to get adopted and he is also black to make it harder), he was about a pound or two underweight and my vet wanted him to gain a bit at first, which he did. In the shelter, he was free fed with Royal Canin dry kibble and got one can of wet food every morning. He is not a fan of dry kibble and loves the wet food so I stick to wet food, both cats now have a very shiny, silky and soft coats on their new diet so it seems to work in general. 

I feed them 5 times per day (7AM, 10AM, 2PM, 6PM and 10PM) and give them around 200g of food if it's something like Carny or more if it's something like Mongue Chicken & Kiwi (http://www.monge.it/prodotto/chicken-kiwi-2/?lang=en), depends on the food really, I look at calories more than grams. I tried feeding six times but that ends up with Remus skipping meals and Sirius grazing a bit and leaving the remaining food in the bowl. When I try less than five the begging becomes hard to bear. Then thing is, I don't even mind the noise or him acting up, it's just that it breaks my heart to think he is hungry and I ignore him. He is very cuddly and sweet in general, so I feel like I am failing him as a human when I don't listen to what he wants.  

I am afraid to give more food since he is already putting on weight, but I could try more food, less times again, maybe that will keep him satisfied for longer. I also wonder if it might be that he is just very used to free feeding in the shelter and his previous home and is not used to not being able to eat whenever he pleases. Remus was in the shelter for less than a month (he was with his cat mom before that) and has adjusted to new feeding schedule with no issues.

 

[jennyr]

I would stick with the wet food since he likes it and dry is more likely to put on weight. But at a glance, I would say you are feeding too much and too often. It may be difficult but you will have to ignore his pleas for food, which are possibly as much a demand for attention as for food. I would gradually cut him down to two meals per day, look on the instructions for how much to give him per day per kilo of weight and divide that amount between his meals.. The other times, when he asks for food get a toy out and play with him for 15 minutes. That will help his weight and keep him fit.

An ex-shelter cat is used to gobbling as much as he can in case it gets taken and he has also probably not had much personal interaction. So right those two things and he should gradually become less worried about his next meal!

 

[tabbytom]

Yes, like what Mod Jenny R said, ignore his pleas and distract him. Sometimes my boy pleas for food and I ignore him and he'll stop meowing and he just go and lie down somewhere and he forgot all about his food :lol3:

 

[catsins]

Okay, I will try to feed them less often and cut down the amount as well, will start with 4 times per day for a week or two, then 3 times and if possible - get down to two times per day. Remus won't be an issue with this at all since most times I have to call for him to come and eat, will see how Sirius takes it. Although I fed them at 7AM this morning and ignored Sirius' typical begging for food (he did it for good 30 minutes), cuddled with him instead and brushed him and now he is asleep and it's almost 12PM so it might be easier than I thought. 

Now when I think about it, some of the extra weight is probably from him eating Remus' food. I didn't notice that he pushed Remus off because Remus ended up eating small remains from Sirius' plate while Sirius swallowed most of Remus' food so it just looked like two cats happily eating, now when I am monitoring their meals, Sirius gets only his share.

Thank you, everyone, for your advice, I am new to owning cats being owned by cats and I am trying to find a balance between loving and caring about them and not spoiling them, it's harder than I thought.  

 

[jennyr]

Okay, I will try to feed them less often and cut down the amount as well, will start with 4 times per day for a week or two, then 3 times and if possible - get down to two times per day. Remus won't be an issue with this at all since most times I have to call for him to come and eat, will see how Sirius takes it. Although I fed them at 7AM this morning and ignored Sirius' typical begging for food (he did it for good 30 minutes), cuddled with him instead and brushed him and now he is asleep and it's almost 12PM so it might be easier than I thought. :lol3:

Now when I think about it, some of the extra weight is probably from him eating Remus' food. I didn't notice that he pushed Remus off because Remus ended up eating small remains from Sirius' plate while Sirius swallowed most of Remus' food so it just looked like two cats happily eating, now when I am monitoring their meals, Sirius gets only his share.

Thank you, everyone, for your advice, I am new to owning cats being owned by cats and I am trying to find a balance between loving and caring about them and not spoiling them, it's harder than I thought.  

It is very hard - they can be so persuasive. I have two males with mouths like shovels whom I have to keep away from the others' bowls. One of them is diabetic so he must only eat his special diet and I have to put him in a cage for an hour night and morning to get everyone eating the right food! Another of mine can open the fridge, so at night I put a chair in front of it. I don't want to advise you on amounts since every cat food is different - amount of water, grain, veg etc, but mine on normal diet get a grain-free high protein food, a large can between them night and morning. That works out at a half-tin per cat per day. They are perfectly healthy and happy on that amount. Some foods contain a lot of fillers like grain and vegetables, that cats don't need and can't even digest, and some foods have huge amounts of water added. So you might need more food to give them the nutrients they need. I would buy the best food you can afford and work it down to 2 meals per day. If you look in our Nutrition forum there is loads of advice on types and amounts of food, and although opinions can vary, I am sure you will find some useful information there.

 

[tabbytom]

My boy was a rescue, not from a shelter but from a drain and he was alone in the dark when he was found. He was scrawny when he was brought home. He could have been starved for days. When he 1st came back, he gobbled up the food in no time and that went on for a we,elk or so till he finally realized that no one is rushing or taking his food away.
Well, he ate lots and we happily feed him but he never gorge himself. Once he's full, he'll just walk away and till today, he's 11 months now (he was 3 weeks when we too him home), he ask for food when he's hungry and we'll feed him, but he does not over eat. Of course we are monitoring his weight.
So it's easier for you as you work from home and you can train him and gauge his eating patterns and keep tab in his weight.
I always give in to my boy but he does not take advantage of me :lol3: [emoji]128149[/emoji][emoji]128149[/emoji]

 

[catsins]

JennyR, indeed they can! The tiny meows and sad eyes are so hard to resist! And since they are shelter cats in my head I feel like I need to make sure they are extra happy to make up for their past experiences (Remus was taken home by someone else and then brought back to shelter a few days later because he "wasn't playful enough" and Sirius was thrown on the streets by previous owners who moved to another place and he spent many months in the shelter because nobody wanted a black cat). I base the amount of food I give on calories and/or what the brand suggests as well e.g. Animonda Carny has cans of 400g and they recommend around 200g for a cat that is Sirius' weight (so half a can per day is what they each get and it's a complete, high protein food) and some other cans I have are all around 80, so they will get 2-3 of those (depending on nutritional value, they all are grain and other unneeded stuff free, but some are high in moisture and a bit less protein so I give 3 cans instead of 2). That said, I do give them some treats (but not every day) and I think since Sirius ate Remus' food that could be the main issue. It happened for at least two or three months until I realized it (shame on me). I will also try to play with Sirius more to get him more active to help him burn those calories. Luckily they can't open a fridge And Sirius does not care about any of the human food while Remus is the one that wants to taste everything I eat, I think Sirius is just loving his wet food a bit too much. When I got them home and gave them their wet food he was purring after every meal for the first week and licked his bowl until it was spotless. I will check the  Nutrition forum, though! Thank you for all the advice! 

TabbyTom, your kitty sounds like Remus. He also only eats as much as he needs and never overeats, he even helped me to figure out his portion sizes since I could see how much he leaves in the bowl. And his weight is perfect according to our vet. Which is a bit ironic since at the shelter they warned me that he seems to be on the heavier side (when he was a kitten) and I might need to watch him and make sure he doesn't get overweight, then again they also said he sleeps all day and is very lazy and he is the opposite at home

, we have a lot of playtimes and even if I am busy he will play by himself a lot as well. And Sirius was the underweight one that they couldn't help to gain weight. I think that was due to the food they gave him, dry kibble with grain, which he doesn't like at all. I can give a piece of Orijen kibble to Remus as a treat and he will be excited about that one tiny piece, Sirius looks at the dry food as it's offensive.  That said he would also probably eat tuna all day if it was up to him while I try to stay away from the fish on a daily basis. Also, if your kitty is the one in the photo, he looks adorable!!!

 

[tabbytom]

catsins, yeah just like what you said, '..........since they are shelter cats..........I feel like I need to make sure they are extra happy to make up for their past experiences.........'
That goes for my boy January. I just wanted to give him the best for all that he went through [emoji]128149[/emoji][emoji]128149[/emoji]
Yes, the avatar is January and thank you. He was 2 months old then.