Cat always hungry

[SiberianCat]

My senior cat (FIV+) is on prednisolone, relatively high dose (5mg every day) because of chronic bronchitis.
He is ALLWAYS hungry, I feed him wet only (he can't tolerate dry, I tried so many different brands, tastes etc but he always get diarrhea after dry), 4 smaller meals a day, 200-250g daily.
He doesn't have any signs of hyperthyroidism or diabetes, so I think it's from steroids? Is there anything I can do?

 

[Morpheus1967]

Has he actually had his glucose levels checked? My cat wasn't showing any signs of diabetes either, other than being hungry all the time. I mean, he would literally sit at his bowls and yell at you. Brought him in to be checked, and his glucose level was so high that it hit the highest level on their chart.

Has the always being hungry coincided with the start of the steroid treatments?

 

[SiberianCat]

Has he actually had his glucose levels checked? My cat wasn't showing any signs of diabetes either, other than being hungry all the time. I mean, he would literally sit at his bowls and yell at you. Brought him in to be checked, and his glucose level was so high that it hit the highest level on their chart.

Has the always being hungry coincided with the start of the steroid treatments?

Vet told me his hunger is due to steroids, he's on prednisolone since March this year. He was found in October last year, just skin and bones so he was always hungry but not this much.
I will call my vet to check his glucose.

 

[DebfromPhilly]

Hello, I'm having the same problem with my new cat (age 3.5). I purchased a slow feeder for her, and that did help some. I purchased a few slow feeders, and after trying all of them decided this was the best for my new kitty: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09GFCH4DK/?tag=thecatsite. The other ones have holes that are too small or too difficult to get into. With this one, as long as I slightly mash the food into the center groves, it slows her down quite a bit without making a huge mess, and without frustrating her. I've also started feeding 4 meals a day. I'm only feeding her wet food, because it's lower in calorie per amount of food (so she can eat more), and because it's better for them. I have an automatic feeder coming, one for each of my cats, called CatMate C500, because it has space for ice packs for wet food. From what I've read, hungry cats are less (shall we call it) insane (LOL) when there is a machine deciding when they get fed. From the reviews on the product, reviewers agree that the begging stops when they start using auto-feeders. I haven't gotten it yet. It's scheduled for delivery tomorrow, so we will see if that helps.
Something I started doing a couple days ago with some success, is preparing cat meals for both cats in my pantry/laundry room (just off the kitchen). This has reduced new, hungry cat's aggression toward me (screaming/yeowling) and resident cat (boxing). Not sure why. I think it must have something to do with not being able to smell the food as well and not being 100% sure that it's their food that I'm working on. Not sure if this would be a forever solution, because new cat has started yelling at me again this morning, while I was prepping their food, like she has caught onto the prep in another room/closet.

 

[SiberianCat]

Hello, I'm having the same problem with my new cat (age 3.5). I purchased a slow feeder for her, and that did help some. I purchased a few slow feeders, and after trying all of them decided this was the best for my new kitty: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09GFCH4DK/?tag=thecatsite. The other ones have holes that are too small or too difficult to get into. With this one, as long as I slightly mash the food into the center groves, it slows her down quite a bit without making a huge mess, and without frustrating her. I've also started feeding 4 meals a day. I'm only feeding her wet food, because it's lower in calorie per amount of food (so she can eat more), and because it's better for them. I have an automatic feeder coming, one for each of my cats, called CatMate C500, because it has space for ice packs for wet food. From what I've read, hungry cats are less (shall we call it) insane (LOL) when there is a machine deciding when they get fed. From the reviews on the product, reviewers agree that the begging stops when they start using auto-feeders. I haven't gotten it yet. It's scheduled for delivery tomorrow, so we will see if that helps.
Something I started doing a couple days ago with some success, is preparing cat meals for both cats in my pantry/laundry room (just off the kitchen). This has reduced new, hungry cat's aggression toward me (screaming/yeowling) and resident cat (boxing). Not sure why. I think it must have something to do with not being able to smell the food as well and not being 100% sure that it's their food that I'm working on. Not sure if this would be a forever solution, because new cat has started yelling at me again this morning, while I was prepping their food, like she has caught onto the prep in another room/closet.

Hy, thank you for your response, I'm glad you found something that works for you. But in my case things are a bit different. My cat is hungry because of steroids, he doesn't have problems with fast eating, he actually eats very slow and small portions (50g food 4 times daily, wet only).
I can't leave his food on the floor because of my other cat, she wants to eat everything . I thought of buying microchip feeder so only he'll be able to eat his food, but it's too expensive for me right now because all of the vet's visits.
What kind of automatic feeder do you have in mind? For wet food? Cause I only saw for dry food?

 

[DebfromPhilly]

Hello, I totally understand, and I've had kitties on steroids before, and yes, it is a very different kind of hunger. Sorry for the "off" reply. The CatMate C500 & C300 automatic feeders have space for ice packs, comes with one set of ice packs, and extra ice packs are available for purchase. It is made for wet or dry food, and the 300 has space for 3 meals and costs about $50. The 500 has space for 5 meals and costs about $60. Here is a link to both on Amazon, https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01AUYLVU8/?tag=thecatsite I believe they are about the same price everywhere on line. From what I understand CatMate feeders have some technical issues but that their customer service is very good. It may be better for your situation to save up for the microchip feeder though? The reason I purchased them (arriving today) is because in the reviews, everyone says that their cats stop yelling at them for food, which would be an amazing feat in my home. So sorry about all of your bills and your tough situation with your furbabies! I truly hope you find some solutions that will make your home more peaceful/less stressful. Cats are so lovable but so hard to figure out, and legitimately have real problems. Best wishes to you!

 

[stephanietx]

Steroids can cause diabetes in kitties (and humans). I would ask the vet to check for diabetes. I have a kitty who gets prednisolone every couple of days (for asthma) and she is starving the first day. We distract her with play and that usually helps.

 

[Uncled]

Can you add canned pumpkin, not pumpkin pie filling, to his wet food? It will bulk up the volume of food without adding to many calories.

 

[SiberianCat]

Can you add canned pumpkin, not pumpkin pie filling, to his wet food? It will bulk up the volume of food without adding to many calories.

Thank you for suggestion but I really don't want him to eat anything other than meat. No carbs.

 

[di and bob]

Try some deli shaved meats, such as turkey. They are something to eat that doesn't have a lot of calories.

 

[terestrife]

I have a cat mate feeder and it makes my life so much easier. The incessant begging has stopped. My cats let me sleep! I use the machines for their food and snacks. So they know they wont get any food by asking me instead they need to go wait by their machines.

I home cook their food so I create portions of frozen wet food. I wake up in the morning and grab their frozen meal and place it in tthe machine to open up later in the day. At night i add their morning meal. I freeze the food so Ican just grab it and dump it in the machine. Makes me life easy and the cats have less stress.

 

[Margot Lane]

i have a cat mate feeder and it is GREAT. Just remember human error: don’t wash or get wet the part with the little clock on it! My cat has the “pred hungries“ too. Because of this, I also weigh him frequently on a baby scale. Try not to always give in to his hungries, or you’ll end up w/ a very fat cat. Little portions, the way you’re doing it, sounds great. Does he get B 12 shots?

 

[SiberianCat]

i have a cat mate feeder and it is GREAT. Just remember human error: don’t wash or get wet the part with the little clock on it! My cat has the “pred hungries“ too. Because of this, I also weigh him frequently on a baby scale. Try not to always give in to his hungries, or you’ll end up w/ a very fat cat. Little portions, the way you’re doing it, sounds great. Does he get B 12 shots?

No b12 so far, why this is good for? We have vet appointment next month so I can mention B12 shots.