Cat On Diet Suddenly Eating Non Food Items Off The Floor

[Lisannez]

Hi, our 13 year old Tuxedo cat has always been a fat cat. She is about two pounds overweight and we have tried everything to get her to lose. She has not gained in about 5 years yet every time we go to the vet we are lectured about her losing weight and my fiance goes on a kick where he tries to get her to do so, and it NEVER works! We have tried every food, every behavior modification and I have come to the conclusion this is just her weight. It has been almost two months now and she has lost 1/2 a pound which she put back on in a few days. She's healthy she's been checked many times, and we do play with her and she exercises as to be expected for her age. Personally I am following the prescribed diet, but have come to the conclusion that this is just her weight.

Normally when we put her on a diet, she will meow for food for a week or two and then adjust. But this time we have not been so lucky. In the two months she has started yowling for food and screaming. The only time I have ever heard such a sound is when she was physically hurt. She will gobble up her food and then immediately come begging for more. We are feeding high protein gluten free food to her. But again we've tried it all. She is obsessed with food to the point that her day consists of begging for food and sleeping. She does it when we are not here we have a nest camera so we know, although not as much as when we are.

But the biggest concern for me is that now she has started to eat non food items off the floor, just anything she can find. She has never done this before. Yesterday she ate a feather from a down pillow, this morning she tried to eat a large piece of yarn that came off a carpet, a few days prior she tried to eat a band aid, a piece of plastic you name it if it's on the floor she's trying to eat it. We have to chase her around the house with things in her mouth like I used to do with my friend's dog. I understand her being curious and wanting to chew it or lick it but she usually would spit it out. I am very concerned that she will eat something that she should not and end up very ill. We are being very good about vacuuming constantly and picking things up but in a house you are bound to have something on the floor. What could be causing this? is it the diet? She does not eat litter, at least not yet.

 

[LTS3]

Can you list exactly what your cat's diet is? Brand of food, dry or canned, amounts daily? Current body weight and what the vet would like her to weigh?

It sounds like you're going the weight loss diet too fast and drastically reducing calories. That would cause any cat to actually be starving for food which leads to naughty behavior like eating non-food items, constantly screaming and begging for more food, etc. Weight loss in cats needs to be done very very slowly over months so you need lots of patience Here are some weight loss tips: Feline Obesity: An Epidemic of Fat Cats

Is your cat fat to the point where you can't feel the ribs and the cat is sort of rounded in shape? Here's a chart:

 

[Lisannez]

We feed earthborn tuna (Monterrey medley) wet cat food to her. I believe they are four oz cans. We were giving her two cans a day. The vet told us to reduce it to 1 1/2 cans a day and that's what we are doing. We were told to stop the dry food because it caused weight gain. I did the math based on what i learned on here to figure out what to feed and the earthborn was highly suggested. Our other cat cannot eat gluten so it works for both. She gets a greenie treat (one or two) every other day. She has plenty of water. She weighs 17 pounds, the vet says the ideal weight is 15 pounds, but I honestly cannot ever remember a time where she weighed that. No we cannot feel her ribs, she's pretty chubby. Honestly I think this is her weight, you know how some people are just a bit heavy? But my fiance takes the vet to heart and insists on dieting.

 

[LTS3]

It's ok to disagree with the vet

Yes, some cats may naturally be on the heavy side like people. As long as the cat is getting enough calories daily and is otherwise healthy and active, I honestly wouldn't worry if those extra 2 pounds won't come off as long as you're at least trying to get them off.

The Earthborn tuna is 121 calories for a 5.5 oz can, 66 calories for a 3 oz can. One and a half of a 5.5 oz can is about 181 calories. Hopefully you're not feeding the 3 oz can because one and a half of those can sizes is just 99 calories A 17 lb cat should be eating closer to 425 calories, eventually 375 calories for the ideal 15 lbs. So you're way underfeeding your cat at the moment, hence the naughty behavior. Not feeding enough calories also puts a cat at risk for fatty liver disease.

Toss the diet plan out the window for now. Feed your cat more food to satisfy her hunger. That's about four 5.5 oz cans (or 7 of the 3 oz cans) of the Earthborn tuna. It might take a week or two for your cat's tummy to be happy. Then slowly work on the diet. I woudn't reduce the calories by more than 50 calories or so at a time and only reduce more when weight loss has been achieved.

Can you mix in other varieties of the Earthborn brand or feed other brands? It's not good to feed only seafood to a cat. Can I Feed My Cat A Fish-based Or Fish-flavored Diet? If you need a gluten free food because of your cat other, try this chart: Check This Out.... Chart For Cat Food Ingredients

 

[Lisannez]

It's ok to disagree with the vet

Yes, some cats may naturally be on the heavy side like people. As long as the cat is getting enough calories daily and is otherwise healthy and active, I honestly wouldn't worry if those extra 2 pounds won't come off as long as you're at least trying to get them off.

The Earthborn tuna is 121 calories for a 5.5 oz can, 66 calories for a 3 oz can. One and a half of a 5.5 oz can is about 181 calories. Hopefully you're not feeding the 3 oz can because one and a half of those can sizes is just 99 calories A 17 lb cat should be eating closer to 425 calories, eventually 375 calories for the ideal 15 lbs. So you're way underfeeding your cat at the moment, hence the naughty behavior. Not feeding enough calories also puts a cat at risk for fatty liver disease.

Toss the diet plan out the window for now. Feed your cat more food to satisfy her hunger. That's about four 5.5 oz cans (or 7 of the 3 oz cans) of the Earthborn tuna. It might take a week or two for your cat's tummy to be happy. Then slowly work on the diet. I woudn't reduce the calories by more than 50 calories or so at a time and only reduce more when weight loss has been achieved.

Can you mix in other varieties of the Earthborn brand or feed other brands? It's not good to feed only seafood to a cat. Can I Feed My Cat A Fish-based Or Fish-flavored Diet? If you need a gluten free food because of your cat other, try this chart: Check This Out.... Chart For Cat Food Ingredients

Thanks so much the people on this site are so helpful! I checked the cans and they are the 5.5 oz ones and yes we can certainly mix in other proteins . She’s not picky about food and she’s not the type of cat that gets tummy issues if you change her food up. She has no issues with gluten it’s her sister. It’s just easier to feed them both the same but we can change it.

I will try what you said and I see the theory behind it. Overfeed her and then reduce the intake in the hopes that will work. If not honestly I think we will just put her back to her old schedule and so long as she does not gain leave her alone. It’s funny how humans life experiences dictate their cat parenting. I guess it’s just like with kids. My fiancé was a chubby kid and his parents put him on WW at 10 and criticized his weight constantly. He’s not overweight. So when the vet says the cat is fat his first instinct is she must lose weight she can’t be fat. Me? My response is to question everything!

Thanks again