Cat obsessed with food - can anything be done?

[Aria2015]

My cat is 9 years old and he drives me bonkers constantly begging for food. He has access to dry food all day and night but he likes the posh Sheba pouches. We give him a few of these a day but even if we've just given him one, he is begging for more. Constantly around our feet meowing and running into the kitchen any time someone is in there and begging. He also will bite at legs and feet in a bid to get his way - even if he's just been fed. He'll also come into our room at 5am and meow loudly in the hope we'll get up and feed him (we never do!).

He hasn't got worms (we've had him checked) and he's a good weight (definitely not too skinny). It's just like he's obsessed with food. I hate to say it, but it makes it hard to enjoy him because I feel constantly harassed. My husband has even gone out at midnight to get wet food if we realise we've run out because of he's just left with the dry food the harassment goes to a whole new level! We've also experimented with different dry foods in case he didn't like it but it makes no difference.

Anyone had experience of a food obsessed cat and managed to o anything about it? He's been like this ever since we introduced him to wet food about 7 years ago (he was on dry food for the first couples of years).

@PrincessNutNuts he does have access to dry food all the time. His bowl is never empty, it's always topped up or refilled. He was on dry food only for the first two years. I can't remember why exactly but it was recommended to us at the time and then we started to give pouches on top of the dry food as treats and then it escalated from there. It seems he has a limitless appetite for the pouches no matter how many he has and how much dry food he's consumed. I can't believe it's hunger because surely he'd just eat the dry food that's constantly available?

@RandomMess he was literally addicted to dreamies a few years ago! We had to go cold Turkey and not have them as his biting got out of control!

He's just has food addiction issues, you've just answered your question!

It's the same situation just with the pouches instead of Dreamies!

I have one like this! He is so bad that I can't leave anything that is in a packet out. Even if it isn't food, if it's in a packet he thinks it is and will rip it open! Most recently I left a loaf of bread on the side. Came back to it to find the packaging ripped and bite marks in the crust. He is very food obsessed and I've never had a cat like it before.

[quote Aria2015]@PrincessNutNuts he does have access to dry food all the time. His bowl is never empty, it's always topped up or refilled. He was on dry food only for the first two years. I can't remember why exactly but it was recommended to us at the time and then we started to give pouches on top of the dry food as treats and then it escalated from there. It seems he has a limitless appetite for the pouches no matter how many he has and how much dry food he's consumed. I can't believe it's hunger because surely he'd just eat the dry food that's constantly available? [/quote]
If you had dry biscuits sitting out but knew your beloved human could give you a nice moist meal, how starved would you get before you stopped trying to get them to understand what you needed?

What's the worst that could happen if you feed him more wet food more often?

What's the benefit of restricting it?

Our boy cat is the same. He is a big lad though (not fat, just a bigger cat) he has 4 pouches a day - he isn't overweight. But he is constantly on at us for food! He has to be shut downstairs At night - which he hates - but we can't take the early morning wake up calls any more!

Issue is DD loves giving him treats!!! So that doesn't help at all!

Better food that is more filling. We have a food obsessed cat and the pestering was massively cut down by changing to grain-free food - both wet and dry. She is properly full up.

Also make him work for his food - Silky cat likes to inhale her food and then moan that it's gone. Introduction of a slow feeder made a lot of difference. I think she now knows she's eaten something.

Thank you all so much for the replies. I appreciate them. I will be getting him checked at the vets for thyroid and possible other issues. I've definitely come away with some things to try. I think being home with lockdown has amplified the begging - we're usually at work under normal circumstances and so it's less intense!

My 12 year old neutered male cat can be like yours, OP! He always has fresh water and dry food to nibble at throughout the day and we are rigorous with worming/de-fleaing etc (he’s a very keen hunter). His food-mania tends to go in ‘waves’ though: he’ll be absolutely mad-keen on one brand/flavour combination for a week or so, and acts like a total addict about it, constantly yowling for his pouches-of-choice, always on high alert watching to see if we’re going anywhere near his bowls. Plus he is always trying to ‘herd’ us into the kitchen so we can give him yet more! It drives us insane. When he’s in his ‘food mania’ stage, we give him his current food of choice, say twice a day, and at the other times we just put down some other random pouch. That seems to stops him in his tracks and calms it all down. You have to have nerves of steel though to carry it out and not give in to the little dictator! I must say that he is the most food oriented cat I’ve ever known - all of the other cats in my life have been pretty picky/light eaters. Good luck!

@Aria2015 if you have a search there's information online about it. DH did lots of research when we adopted our mog!

@Aria2015 hmm so it's just the pouches he's obsessed with? I'd be tempted to just fully feed him on pouches or completely cutthem out and get him an all inclusive dried food. Mind you, if I knew I could hassle my DH for chocolate all the time and not put on weight I think I would be the same as your cat

[quote Leah2005]@Aria2015 hmm so it's just the pouches he's obsessed with? I'd be tempted to just fully feed him on pouches or completely cutthem out and get him an all inclusive dried food. Mind you, if I knew I could hassle my DH for chocolate all the time and not put on weight I think I would be the same as your cat [/quote]
If your DH banned you from chocolate entirely you'd post on here and Mumsnetters would point out that was clearly abusive behaviour.

We fed our first cat dry food only. I think it contributed to the kidney problems that killed him at 13.

My current older rescue cats all have gravy pouches for the liquid. As many as they want. No weight problems. No health problems at all. And they rarely ask for food. They certainly never get desperate and agitated about it.

All wet food and all dry food is not equal.

Do your research on foods.

Cats like several sources of water to drink from and for it not to be near their food.

Mine are the same OP and have a special ‘I’m so hungry’ yowl which is impossible to block out mine were ok all the time I was at work and knew they got fed wet food morning and evening but now I’m wfh it’s a nightmare! They are pigs and could eat all day if I let them. They have biscuits down all the time and water but like me enjoy snacking 🤷‍♀️

@RandomMess we've tried loads of different foods over the years. We've got him really high end wet pouches that he's turned his nose up to, he really only seems to enjoy the Sheba in gravy. Dry food, we've tried super expensive stuff from the vets and he would not eat it! The only dry food he'll consistently eat is the Purina One chicken flavour. We don't give him scraps of our food very often as 9/10 he's sick afterwards, not sure why but we avoid it now. The only other thing he begs for is if he sees us eating cereal - he wants the milk!

Bear in mind cats are exceptionally patient and persistent animals.
I have 3 cats, 2 of which are extremely good at self regulation and one quite greedy girl...
A good quality dry food does help mine with satiety. My keen hunter has dropped down to eating an occasional mouse instead of a daily one. They also get wet food on demand and most days I also offer some decent protein - cooked fish/chicken.
There are pro's and con's to wet and dry food. Dry is good for teeth, but not always great long term for kidneys. Wet food is often less filling but adds moisture to the diet.

Mine is a piglet but because he's slim, he's free fed. So he has access to dry food but he doesn't eat it (it's for not my cat, don't ask)
He can eat anything up to 250g raw or 4/5 high meat content pouches a day

Cats are bastards, sort out the food issue and he'll be a pain in the arse bastard about something else anyway!!!

@QueenPaw

Mine is a piglet but because he's slim, he's free fed. So he has access to dry food but he doesn't eat it (it's for not my cat, don't ask) He can eat anything up to 250g raw or 4/5 high meat content pouches a day

That's about what mine have.

One of mine was supposedly a cat who slept most of the time but also had noisy behavioural issues that had led to failed adoptions.

He isn't at all like that when you feed him enough though. He's an active, healthy happy boy.

We've had him 7 years. The only noises he really makes are that "whassup" chirp to say hi and dribble purring.

It fucking breaks my heart that cats are begging for food and people say "restrict their food further!"

[quote Aria2015]@RandomMess we've tried loads of different foods over the years. We've got him really high end wet pouches that he's turned his nose up to, he really only seems to enjoy the Sheba in gravy. Dry food, we've tried super expensive stuff from the vets and he would not eat it! The only dry food he'll consistently eat is the Purina One chicken flavour. We don't give him scraps of our food very often as 9/10 he's sick afterwards, not sure why but we avoid it now. The only other thing he begs for is if he sees us eating cereal - he wants the milk! [/quote]
He's thirsty isn't he?

More gravy? Cat soup? Cat milk? And definite cat fountain of he doesn't have one.

Get some fluids into the poor love before you knacker his kidneys for him.

One of ours would only drinking from the running kitchen tap 🙄 he had us soon trained...

The meowing went on and on until one of the slaves appeared and turned the tap on for him.

@PrincessNutNuts to be fair mine still never shuts up.. he doesn't have an unvoiced thought in his head whether he's chirping "ma ma" at me or screeching that another cat looked at him funny

@PrincessNutNuts if he's thirsty though, wouldn't he just drink his water? He does have a water bowl that's always filled with clean water. He is a well cared for cat with food and water available 24 hours - even if that food isn't always his first choice (the pouches). Also I've tried him on different brands of gravy cat food and he never eats it. It has to be Sheba and even then, certain flavours (he will not eat the turkey pouches!). Also, he was like this with dreamies (but much worse) and they're dry. Could it not just be that he REALLY like the Sheba pouches and can't get enough of them?

Both mine are the same. One had an overactive thyroid but we had that fixed and he’s still the same (except he doesn’t ever want the food we give him ). The other eats too quickly and if often sick. It seems to be worse in winter - I think they are just bored.

[quote Aria2015]@PrincessNutNuts if he's thirsty though, wouldn't he just drink his water? He does have a water bowl that's always filled with clean water. He is a well cared for cat with food and water available 24 hours - even if that food isn't always his first choice (the pouches). Also I've tried him on different brands of gravy cat food and he never eats it. It has to be Sheba and even then, certain flavours (he will not eat the turkey pouches!). Also, he was like this with dreamies (but much worse) and they're dry. Could it not just be that he REALLY like the Sheba pouches and can't get enough of them? [/quote]
Or that he's getting something he needs from the Sheba pouches and he really needs it?

I don't like Turkey either. Cats have preferences just like us.

And one of the things they often prefer is moving water rather than a bowl.

If he's a much loved well cared for cat then his happiness and welfare is important to you, so maybe look at it from the point of view of trying to help him, what does he need? (Rather than he's being annoying.)

If he was your baby crying for food would you think he was just being annoying? Would you withhold food from him? Would you try to give him food he likes? Would you try giving him drinks in a way he might prefer?

He's trying to tell you what he needs. Why not try listening to him?