Very hungry cats what am I doing wrong??

[MillieDalt]

Both our cats (1 year old moggies, rescues, Mummy cat was feral) were overweight when we last took them to the vet and he recommended reducing their food. We have done this and their weight has reduced slightly and maintained but they are insanely hungry all the time. We literally couldn't feed them enough, even if we doubled their food (which I have done on occasion to shut them up!) they would still be crying. They are fed on James Wellbeloved twice a day and gobble the whole lot down on each sitting. Any tips? Should I just let them get fat???

I leave biscuits out all the time and they have a pouch each morning and about 5pm. Youngest (1) is a tubby little bugger but happy, healthy and content. Older (7) is more lean bur more active. Unless they're absolutely obese, let them eat what they want!!

A pouch each twice a day I will add!! 1 between is just mean!!!

One of my cats was HUGE! A spayed female, she weighed over two stones - she was a big cat but massively obese, too. We put her on a diet and she stole food (came back quite literally with a salmon in her gob one day) and cried day and night. We gave up and like allypally left biscuits down constantly and gave meat morning and evening.

She lived until she was 18. The only health problem she ever had was that she developed overactive thyroid when she was16 (like idiots, we were initially thrilled when she lost weight . . .). This was controlled with (cheap) tablets for 6 months until she was healthy enough for surgery, and then she had her thyroid op and was fine after that.

Let them eat - they are hungry.

Have you had them long? I have a couple of rescues (not sisters though) and one got pretty tubby after we first adopted them when they were both 6 months old. I think it was that she just had access to food and we didn't limit it initially. She came from a rescue where she lived in a foster home with loads of other cats so I guess there was lots of competition for food to being with us and her skinny picky co-adoptee. In other words her greed calmed down and her weight has plateau-ed out to just mildly chubby. Alternatively you can get a sort of toy for cats that makes them have to search out food/treats (sort of like a Kong for cats rather than dogs!).

Try them on butchers choice wet...mine love it and a tin between them a day is enough to keep them at a good weight with dry knibbles for grazing on ( but they don't eat much of it) . I'm around so I divide tin into three smaller meals and add some water every time and they lick that all up too..( one has a tendency to get overweight because she's sedentary due to heart condition and the other has kidney issues)

Is it James Wellbeloved biscuits or pouches? How much food do they actually get?

Is it JW wet or dry? Harry has always had JW dry food but when he broke his jaw we switched him to wet and it didn't seem to fill him up and he'd be worrying for food half an hour later. He's now on JW for breakfast, lunch and supper and a Natures Menu pouch for dinner and he seems to be fine on that.

A few brands do dry food particularly for cats that are "good do-ers", indoors, or generally quite sedentary e.g. Royal Canin do light weight care for weight loss, indoors as indoor cats tend to exercise, less and an appetite control one.

I would get rid of the dry completely. Feed them wet food with no grains. Cheap option is the Butcher's classic, better quality but more expensive from Zooplus or the Happy Kitty Company.

It's the difference between feeling full after good quality healthy food and not snacking and eating diet foods all of the time and feeling hungry.

Completely agree with BluishSky

Thanks so much for all the replies everyone it's been really useful. Will try some of the suggestions and hopefully they will stop whinging so much!

If they like the fish version of butchers choice I have loads of it that I got on offer so now they have decided they only like the meat version! ( I should have known better)