New cat owner with rescue cat - advice needed!

[Babbit]

We adopted a year old (approx) rescue cat just over a week ago.We are getting to know each other and she is settling in well. One thing - she seems very hungry; she has a pouch / tub of Sheba in the morning and at the end of the day and I leave biscuit out all day but she is clearly still hungry. She is getting us up earlier and earlier for breakfast - she got my daughter up at 4.41am (DD said that is when she gave in!). We were advised 2 wet meals day and biscuit by the rescue centre. THe easy thing to do would be to feed her more but I don;t want to over feed her and also I am aware that she is not going out yet and is probably not as active as she will be when she's allowed out. All advice gratefully received!

She’s probably not hungry, she’s probably just training you.

What’s her background? Was she in a position where she wasn’t sure where her next meal was coming from? Is she eating all her biscuits?

Thanks, Milk. We don't know anything about the first 9 months of her life. It is certainly likely in those circumstances she didn't know when and where her meals were coming. I expect she is training us - but to do what? Happy to be trained! (Inexperienced with cats).

No, she doesn't eat all the biscuits.

Training you to drop everything at anytime to cater for her every whim

It might be that you’re misunderstanding what she’s asking for? It might be that wants attention, a cuddle, play time - do you try other options before giving her more food? Or is she just sitting pathetically by her food bowl with a look of utter desperation on her poor starving face?

Ah-ha - if she’s not eating all the biscuits she’s not hungry, she’s playing you!

Your only option is to ignore the 4am wailings.

I was being woken regularly between 5 and 6am. It went on for weeks and weeks - she was never fed before 7!
Out of desperation for a full night's sleep we bought a Catmate battery operated, timed feeder. We set it for 6am and voila! Happy cat and fully rested staff'

Thanks, chaps. She's playing us! Ok will stick to 7am breakfast and evening meal and try to ignore the loud meowing at 4am! (If she gets your attention from bed she tries to lead you to her food bowl )

Our rescue kittens are 6 months. They seemed ravenous for the first 2-3 weeks and have then settled down. I suspect they didn't trust the continuity of food before that point.

Will look into timed feeders I think for days we may be out late etc.

Hopefully she'll settle down once she's allowed out to play.

None of my cats would be full on 2 of those pouches and a bowl of dried food. Mine eat 1/2 large tin plus a small handful of dried food morning and evening and still occassionly want another tin between them before bed. None are particularly overweight although I did have one cat who although we were measuring out the diet food he was going into the nearby pub and garden and eating chips and cheese
Apparently he was partial to a bit of Branston Pickle. He weighed 28lbs. His friend who we fed exactly the same food weighed 9lbs

Mine has 5 a day.

2 breakfast
1 noonish
1 5pm
1 9pm.

He's an active cat & not overweight.

5 of what Fluffy? A tin or a pouch thing?

85g pouch of gourmet.

2 pouches isn't enough for an adult cat unless she's eating quite a lot of biscuits. It usually recommends 4-5 pouches per day on the packet.

Mine won't eat biscuits unless they are absolutely starving, are you sure she likes them?

I would increase the wet food and reduce the dry food, especially as she's not really eating it anyway. That should help.

Some cats become active at night/early morning. So I think your cat wants to play. I am presuming you have cat toys and scratching posts in the living areas of your home, these should stimulate her through the night. If you can close the bedroom doors so she cant get in during the night, sounds harsh but she needs to know boundaries. Ignore her if she cries during the night and dont give her fuss if you get up during the night. But definitely give her fuss during the day, by playing with her or combing her (if its a long haired cat or even short hair)
Like people have mentioned she playing you, if she does something to get something, like food, she will do it more. Each cat eats different amounts, depending on age and how active they are. Check the back of cat food packets for recommended food amounts and maybe talk to vet. Has she been wormed? Most shelters worm the cats/dogs before rehoming but check and if not look into getting her wormed.

On the Sheba box it gives a number depending on the weight of your cat. Ever tried to weigh a cat?? Anyhow, ours is on the small side and so 1 1/2 to 2 punches is recommended per day. I will up this to 3 though and see if it helps.

Awful autocorrect

weigh yourself, on bathroom scales, then weigh again holding cat. if your bathroom scales are in lbs, this would give you a rough weight.

When my two rescue cats first came home with us, they were desperate for food all the time. The rescue said it was normal as they slightly underfeed them, because they're stuck in their little pens with no opportunity to exercise. Also because of their background (owner became too unwell to look after them) they were needing reassurance that they'd be fed regularly. It took a couple of months to settle down, but I was very strict with their routine! 6am pouch each, 4.30pm one pouch each, 10pm a few biscuits. Also I am afraid I am a bad cat slave and won't have them in the bedrooms overnight, they have the run of the lounge and kitchen with litter tray, water, a choice of sofas and armchairs!
They soon got the hang of it and now often leave food and come back later. Stick to your guns OP, they'll get the message!