WANTS TO EAT, EAT, EAT

[Kentucky Kitty]

When we first adopted Lacy a year ago, she had a hard time holding food down. Sometimes she simply gobbled food, just to throw it back up. So I tried the different types of bowls. And cutting back on portions feeding her at a slower pace. But her throwing up continued. Knowing she had allergies, and seeing what looked like phlegm in the food she threw up, I took her to the vet. She put her on a RX dry food. Can't remember the name of it. But it seemed to make a difference for a while. But her stomach upsets started up again. After researching so many websites connected to how she was acting, I felt she had a digestive problem. So I switched to Royal Cain Brand for Digestive issues. The pieces are bigger so that slowed her fast eating habit down. She's been in good health without throwing up for several months now. Just the expected small hair ball now and then. Now all she wants to do is eat. I am following the directions on the bag. She is 11 lbs. 1/2 cup per day is suggested. Due to her constant demands for more after each feeding I caved in and she is getting 3/4 cup per day now. I feed her 1/4 cup 3x per day. I have come to know that stare she gives me that means "food, food, your starving me.
I know all cats are different. She isn't extremely active. She has a "play date" a couple of times a day, with her brother where they chase each other and wrestle. Sleeps otherwise. Unless she opens her eye and sees me. Then it's the feed me routine again. The vet says cats do not need much food per day. But I feel so guilty. I am trying to follow directions. But she seems truly starved. What is the rule of thumb to feeding her? Just an idea what is right or wrong. If she eats her daily portions thru the day, then she keeps us awake at night climbing all over us, till she finds a face to make her point. Do cats think they are hungry just out of habit? Should I just ignore her when she gets over demanding for more food? Is she healthy and okay with 1/2 to 3/4 cups per day? She loves wet food. But it doesn't seem to satisfy her for long. And the vet says that those calories make her dry food amount to be less. I had less stress raising my twins!!! But she is such a cute little peanut. Her picture isn't a professional one. She's just showing off. Thanks for any helpful comments.

 

[LTS3]

Is your cat a former stray or feral? Those kinds of cats are often food insecure and are always looking for more food to eat.

The general rule for most cats is to feed roughly 20 to 25 calories per pound of ideal body weight daily. The Royal Canin Digestive dry has 350 calories per cup. 1/4 cup 3 times a day is roughly 262 calories daily which is plenty for most cats.

Dry food doesn't seem to be very filling for cat tummies. How much canned food were you feeding in the past? Canned food fills tummies better but since canned food tends to be lower in calories, you may need to feed more than one can daily.

If your cat has digestive issues, you can try a non-prescription limited ingredient diet type food. Royal Canin isn't thought of as a very good brand because of the fillers in the food.

It's ok to ignore the feeding amount listed on a pet food label and the vet Pet food labels often overstate the amount of food a cat actually needs and vets often don't know much about nutrition.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. She sure is a cutie!! How old is she? LTS3 makes some good points. As a general rule, canned food is higher in protein, which is more filling than dry which is higher in carbohydrates (think eating a bunch of potato chips vs. a piece of meat - you will get hungrier sooner with the chips).

If 11 pounds is a good weight for her - and, there are plenty of cats that are just fine at that weight, then at the 20-25 calories per pound of weight, she could use to eat between 220 and 275 calories per day. I would measure out her food to know how many calories you are actually feeding her. Since she likes canned food, serve her that 3 or 4 times a day, and factor in a bit of leeway for some dry food to leave out otherwise to help her 'stave her over' in between her meals.

 

[Kentucky Kitty]

Question: What Digestive Dry Formula Brand would you suggest? The wet food I experimented with were the 1.3 oz individual serving cups. I gave her 2 cups per day at first. (35 calories per serving) She loves it. But with her tummy problems I was afraid the wet food might begin to aggravate that problem again. So I give her one a day. But not every day. I am just trying to find a healthy compromise. Possibly if she has grown out of her medical issues, I could go to all canned food since it's more filling. And natural. Am I going to do any psychological damage to the little girl by not giving her more food when she has already had to much? She just turned 2.
I worry about her weight obsessively because our other rescue, 6 yr old boy, cat has become overweight. I worry so about him. The vet put him on Hills Science Metabolic Formula. The money is insane for this stuff. Nothing available in trial sizes. And the Hills at $45 a bag has no natural ingredients that I could see. Same fillers. Thank you so much for helping me understand a little better.

 

[maggie101]

When we first adopted Lacy a year ago, she had a hard time holding food down. Sometimes she simply gobbled food, just to throw it back up. So I tried the different types of bowls. And cutting back on portions feeding her at a slower pace. But her throwing up continued. Knowing she had allergies, and seeing what looked like phlegm in the food she threw up, I took her to the vet. She put her on a RX dry food. Can't remember the name of it. But it seemed to make a difference for a while. But her stomach upsets started up again. After researching so many websites connected to how she was acting, I felt she had a digestive problem. So I switched to Royal Cain Brand for Digestive issues. The pieces are bigger so that slowed her fast eating habit down. She's been in good health without throwing up for several months now. Just the expected small hair ball now and then. Now all she wants to do is eat. I am following the directions on the bag. She is 11 lbs. 1/2 cup per day is suggested. Due to her constant demands for more after each feeding I caved in and she is getting 3/4 cup per day now. I feed her 1/4 cup 3x per day. I have come to know that stare she gives me that means "food, food, your starving me.
I know all cats are different. She isn't extremely active. She has a "play date" a couple of times a day, with her brother where they chase each other and wrestle. Sleeps otherwise. Unless she opens her eye and sees me. Then it's the feed me routine again. The vet says cats do not need much food per day. But I feel so guilty. I am trying to follow directions. But she seems truly starved. What is the rule of thumb to feeding her? Just an idea what is right or wrong. If she eats her daily portions thru the day, then she keeps us awake at night climbing all over us, till she finds a face to make her point. Do cats think they are hungry just out of habit? Should I just ignore her when she gets over demanding for more food? Is she healthy and okay with 1/2 to 3/4 cups per day? She loves wet food. But it doesn't seem to satisfy her for long. And the vet says that those calories make her dry food amount to be less. I had less stress raising my twins!!! But she is such a cute little peanut. Her picture isn't a professional one. She's just showing off. Thanks for any helpful comments.

I only give my cats wet scheduled meal. I know one of my cats eats food too fast then throws up,especially dry so that's out. She throws up 3x a week unless I give her medacine the night before. She eats rawz canned. One of my cats wants to continue eating but I do not give in

 

[cataholic07]

Any wet food that is carrageenan free tends to be easier on the stomach as that can cause stomach irritation even IBD. Limited ingredient ones can be easy to digest to. Honestly for your other cat, he doesn't need to be on vet food, just stop feeding any dry and feed wet food only. That will decrease his weight for sure. As long as you read the calories on it and don't over feed. I find some cats always act like they are hungry, strays especially, they always wanna eat. And they will eat nonstop because they have this mindset that they won't get another meal. Halo wet food is good for the really sensitive stomachs. You can also try completely balanced raw. Its great for weight loss and for keeping bellies full longer. And its easy to digest so most cats do quite well on it as there is much less fillers.

 

[Kentucky Kitty]

It is mind blowing to get such common sense information from cat mom's and dad's. Before I found this site, our experience with our two recent adoptions,their nutrition has always been the issue that keeps me awake at night. Our first kitty was a stray that we took in 15 yrs.ago. He became ill at the age of thirteen, very suddenly. I feel it was the wrong food we fed him, and allowing him to graze feed, verses scheduled feedings, that took him away too soon. We didn't know any different. Now with the two most recent adoptions I have become OCD as to how and what to feed them. Both have eating issues. For over a year, I have spent $100's of dollars on different foods. But the shelters appreciate the donations. That helps. I just want to do what's right. I shouldn't have let the vet talk me into an expensive bag of Rx DRY food. I have tried wet food and she loves it. And that does seem to be the most common fix to my worries with both cats from what I get from all the helpful folks here on Cat Site. That is the way I will go forward I think. The over weight kitty is 6 yr old Freddy and he doesn't like wet food though. Although I haven't experimented with other brands yet.
Thank you for your input. It has helped a lot.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

Some cats do have a higher metabolism than others, and some have a slower one, just like humans. It IS possible Lacy isn't eating enough. How does she look? Is she skinny? Are you familiar with the body chart for cats? This thread has some examples: https://thecatsite.com/threads/is-tiggy-twiggy-or-a-piggy.413978/#post-5163293 What has your Vet said about her weight? Anyway, I do agree that she should feel more full on wet food, as long as it's high protein, low carb, which means not a lot of fillers like vegies, grains, that type of thing. And as to Freddy, I have one like him who can gain weight pretty much by just looking at food, and it seems that his greatest joy in life is to eat, sadly. When he went in for his one year check-up, we were told he needed to lose FOUR lbs. Well, that did it. We took all four cats off kibble and although it was a trial, everyone eventually cooperated and ate wet food and eventually the big guy lost his weight. But it's still an on-going issue with him. I have to watch him like a hawk and monitor every single calorie he eats. Poor guy. At treat time I have to break his up into teeny pieces so he doesn't feel cheated.

Anyway, here is an article on transitioning cats from kibble to something else: Transitioning Your Cat From Kibble To A New Type Of Food