My cat is always starving. Help!

[TravellingSpoon]

She is my first cat as an adult so I am a bit inexperienced.

She was a rescue cat and she came to us fussy and quite small. She is around 2 years old and we have had her close to a year. For months she would pick at her food, both wet and dry, nibbling at it or licking off the jelly/gravy. The last 6 weeks or so she is like a starving monster. She wants food all the time, and anything you give her she wolfs down in seconds, before looking for more. I have tried 2 wet meals a day and always having cat biscuits out, and have tried 4 smaller meals of half a pouch. She is putting on weight really badly, although she is not fat, she was definitely underweight before, and she is now spending more time indoors the last few weeks so she is less active.

Is it a winter thing? Or should I be worried. She is eating 2 cat food pouches and a bowl or 2 of biscuits every day, plus water.

Report your post and ask to have this put in "the litter tray" they are experts over there in all things cat

Have you wormed her? Intestinal worms can make them ravenous. They need regular worming tablets. You can by on line or at vets. Especially important if they go outside!

My first thought was tape worm. Our cats when I was young used to get these. It used to make them ravenous!

They are supposed to have 3-4 Felix pouches a day, according to the outside of the box.

My cat would like one as a reward for surviving the cold outdoors every time he comes in. Finding even a 1cm patch of empty food bowl provokes howls of anguish.

Unless she is unwell (has she been wormed?) - unlikely as she is putting on weight - ignore her.

Cats like to take the piss. I have one that is one the verge of starvation 3 times a day. We have to weigh all her food and the other cat is fed in a microchip feeder or fat-bastard would be in there inhaling all her food too.

It probably is a winter thing as she is doing not much all day, plus she is 2 and not haring about like a kitten any more.

Get her checked out by the vet to see nothing is wrong but other than that she needs fixed meals, no biscuits ad lib, and if you put ear plugs in eventually she will get the message that there are meal times.

Our cats have started doing the Starving Marvin act recently too and they're definitely not underfed. Some of them are quite podgy.

They also get two packets a day plus unlimited and probably far too many biscuits (if you weigh out what they should be eating it looks tiny, just like with humans and cereal) so I'm wondering if it's a winter thing in that all the litter critters that they substitute their diet with are hibernating or are dying off so they're missing a mouse a day compared with what they're used to over the summer.

But yes, always worth worming them and possibly talking to your vet about getting their thyroids checked, especially if they're looking skinny despite eating plenty and you're up to date with worming.

Another thing to try is making sure the food is high meat/low grain. Some mass market cat food has cereal in so isn't very filling.

We use all sorts of different food, and unfortunately what I want them to eat and what they actually will eat isn't always the same, but if you're feeding Felix/Whiskas and supermarket biscuits, it might be worth trying Carny/Feringa/Bozita/Smilla wet food, or Harringtons or other higher protein dry food.

Zooplus is good, as you can often buy sample packs and 200 g cans which are good for one cat and enough food for a whole day. While they may look expensive, sometimes it works out cheaper, because they eat less - a 400g can is around a pound, but I find that I can feed six cats with one can, whereas otherwise, they would want a whole pack of Felix each.

Thank you for your suggestions. She has Harringtons dry cat food, the little round biscuits.

She was wormed about a month ago

I free feed dry food (two kinds, they love both!) and they get a can of wet food in the evenings which they barely touch. But you wouldn't believe the amount of begging that goes on!! Obviously don't know if that applies to your cat, and when there's a change in behaviour, always worth investigating. Just to say that acting like they're starving doesn't necessarily mean they're starving.

Our lad is also 2 and would eat twice as much food as we give him! He is worked every 3 months and on high meat content food so I don't know the answer. We are strict as otherwise he would end up very round!!!
Ours was handed to a vets as a stray (allegedly or owners couldn't handle him) so it could be a thing of not knowing where their next meal is coming from.

My boy constantly howls for food. You would think he never got fed!

He has 3-4 pouches a day, and 1-2 bowls of dry.

As soon as anyone walks towards the kitchen or opens the fridge, he is there screaming.

He is just a greedy fat bastard....

Our fake starving cat has Animonda Carny - portions are tiny but she is full afterwards. It is far far cheaper than Whiskas etc as they eat so little.

You can set your watch by when she starts doing her dying swan act every day.

If she's been wormed and you're feeding the right quantities then she's just trying it on.
Food higher in protein makes them feel fuller for longer though. If you can afford it, feed a higher quality food or provide a few snacks/meals with cooked chicken or fish.

I would think it's a winter thing. Mine have started asking for their dinner earlier as the evenings have been getting darker.

As above, you could try a better quality wet food that will be more filling though.

She is definitely neutered, right?

Sometimes they need worming more often. I have one cat that always has worms because she's a prolific hunter.

Once she passed a tapeworm that was as long as she is. I saw what looked like a piece of cooked linguine on the kitchen floor, then noticed that it was moving

Contrary to popular belief, worms do not actually increase appetite. They actually cause nausea which decreases appetite.
Op- a lot of cat owners report that their cats eat a lot more during colder weather. And actually two pouches of cat food and a bowl of biscuits sounds about right anyway. Maybe your cat was just under eating before? Obviously if it gets to the point that it’s overweight then you’ll need to cut down on what you’re giving it.

If she’s underweight feed her more. If it persists see a vet. Some hormonal diseases cause a ravenous appetite and inability to gain weight (or weight loss) eg diabetes, hyperthyroidism

Cats are clever, and they can make themselves out to be absolutely starving. I would honestly get her checked to make sure she doesn't have tapeworm, but other than that, I'm sure she's fine. Just double check you're giving her the right amount of food for her age and size, and get her into a routine of expecting food at the same times of day. You can do small treats during the day but don't overfeed, even if she does look starving.. it's all an act!

2 of my cats get fed 2.5 pouches a day each (spread over 3 meals). My third cat 2 pouches (two meals a day). They have a bowl of cat biscuits out all the time. They all tend to want to eat more in the winter months (they spend a lot of time outside during the day, I guess they're burning energy more/keeping warm).

My cats pretty good at self-regulating what they eat.

It is a Winter thing that cats do, but cats are also prone to thyroid disease, so if she is also restless and losing weight then have her blood tested.

I've got one of these!!
He can't have any dry food so only has the pouches.

We've fallen over him because he refuses to be ignored. He howls and head-buts and will overall ensure life is miserable unless he has been fed.

If he has literally just eaten or has hit his limit we tell him no.
If I'm trying to clean the kitchen which he finds insulting while he's starving to death I just put him outside.

You can get low fat biscuits plus make her work for her food a bit maybe she is bored

Fwiw my cat is constantly mithering for food too at the moment!

Most of my cats have been greedy bastards!! I no longer free feed as they would stuff their faces ALL day and just get fatter and fatter. If cat has been worked and no health problems then just ignore. One thing worth considering is that sometimes kitty may just want a cuddle and not actually be pestering for food.

*wormed