Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

The litter tray

Join our community of cat lovers on the Mumsnet Cat forum for kitten advice and help with cat behaviour.

Flip

1 2 3

Original poster

Greedy kitten driving me bonkers.

53 replies

ElspethFlashman · 11/09/2021 11:07

Kitten is 4.5 months old and we feed him at least twice a day.

But omg is constantly and I mean CONSTANTLY looking for food.

So we can't leave any food on counters, but also we can't eat food on the sofa or even eat crisps watching TV! He's literally in your face trying to eat the crisps out of your hand! And will come back numerous times, is not deterred by being swatted away!

Oh and god forbid we go near the utility room where his food is! He yells and yells and yells.

We also now can't open the fridge door without him trying to jump in!

Is this normal? And how do we tackle it?

Just in the last 10 minutes I came into the kitchen to the sight of him up on the hob licking the oil off the frying pan, and then my daughter went to get a slice of ham out of the fridge for herself and he almost went nuts trying to get a) the packet and then b) the slice in her hand.

Would an electronic feeder help? Or do we just have to lock him out of the living room when we have crisps??!

OP posts:

icedcoffees · 11/09/2021 11:39

You're definitely not feeding him enough.

He needs access to food 24/7 - ideally dry as wet food can attract bugs. Cats are grazers and should be able to access food as and when they feel like it.

Mine constantly go and graze on their biscuits throughout the day. If they didn't have access to that food, they'd be screaming at me too

Stickytreacle · 11/09/2021 11:39

Dry food is more calorific because it doesn't have the bulk of added moisture, but cats can be prone to health issues on dry food as they get most of their moisture from food rather than drinking. Wet food is better for them imo, but I feed a combination of wet and dry.

BloodyDetails · 11/09/2021 11:40

Our cat has been on dry food only for his whole life (well, since he came to us) so I don't know what's with the horror at yours only getting one pouch a day if he has dry food as well!

We just fill his bowl every time it's empty and leave him to regulate how much he eats. He supplements with small rodents and the occasional frog

icedcoffees · 11/09/2021 11:42

@BloodyDetails

Our cat has been on dry food only for his whole life (well, since he came to us) so I don't know what's with the horror at yours only getting one pouch a day if he has dry food as well!

We just fill his bowl every time it's empty and leave him to regulate how much he eats. He supplements with small rodents and the occasional frog

But OP isn't doing that - she's removing the dry food after meals and not leaving it down 24/7.

Original poster

ElspethFlashman · 11/09/2021 11:44

I'm really glad I posted now.

We've had so much conflicting information. For example, his old owners said they only fed the cats once a day. However I haven't a clue what that entailed. And then the vet saying dry only.

Basically absolutely nobody has told me to have it out 24/7. No wonder the poor lad was begging.

Really glad I know.

OP posts:

Silverswirl · 11/09/2021 11:44

@ElspethFlashman

OK so I've just put out an absolute mountain of dry food. He's had a few bites but then wandered away. So I don't think he was fainting with hunger but he was definitely peckish.

I'll just make sure he's always got some in his bowl and hopefully that'll sort it.

You need to be feeding wet meaty food at least 3 times a day (but really 4) but only as much as she will eat in a sitting. Kittens need little and often of wet food! Dry biscuits just isn’t the same which is why she’s coming up for your food. Cats eat small pray naturally. Small and frequent meals is what their bodies are designed for esp a kitten!

dementedpixie · 11/09/2021 11:47

@BloodyDetails

Our cat has been on dry food only for his whole life (well, since he came to us) so I don't know what's with the horror at yours only getting one pouch a day if he has dry food as well!

We just fill his bowl every time it's empty and leave him to regulate how much he eats. He supplements with small rodents and the occasional frog

OP wasn't leaving dry out though so your situation is different

icedcoffees · 11/09/2021 11:56

I'm sure he'll be much less hangry now he has constant access to food

They're pretty good at self-regulating. I leave a big bowl of biscuits (we have three cats) out 24/7 and they get fed a pouch of wet each per day, split into two meals. For a kitten I would feed probably two pouches/day split over four meals as they need more calories and more regular meals than adults.

We could feed more wet food but a) it's really expensive if you feed a mostly wet diet and b) what we do seems to work fine so I'm not risking rocking the boat and letting them realise they could get more wet food than they currently get, lol.

Original poster

ElspethFlashman · 11/09/2021 11:58

Hopefully.

Am starting to wonder if I should have some sort of lid on it.

Anyone got one with an automatic lid?

OP posts:

dementedpixie · 11/09/2021 12:00

I dont put hundreds of dry out at a time and top up when it's empty. I dont have a lid

PigletJohn · 11/09/2021 12:07

Leaving out dry food, and water, all the time, will show if he's hungry or greedy. I suspect hungry.

It's helpful if he doesn't much like the dry food and will not gobble it for fun, but it's there for grazing between meals.

HirplesWithHaggis · 11/09/2021 12:08

All the advice about leaving dry food available 24/7 (and don't let the bottom of the bowl appear, that's "empty" in Cat) and supplementing with wet is spot on.

Or you could have another Negan...

(Google Negan cat)

icedcoffees · 11/09/2021 12:12

I've never had a lid on the dry food and it's never attracted bugs - wet food does, however.

You could have a chip-operated feeder if you really wanted, though.

ANameChangeAgain · 11/09/2021 12:17

Nothing to add but a request for a photo please!
He sounds like my teenage boy, really active, growth spurt, constantly eating!!

ToughLoveLDN · 11/09/2021 12:19

You can get dry food feeders that look like a big water bottle with a bowl and every time they eat some a bit more comes out. That way you’re not having to constantly refill and cos it’s not just sitting out keeps it fresher

YetAnotherSpartacus · 11/09/2021 12:22

I'm a bit in love with Negan and his cat dad.

Girliefriendlikespuppies · 11/09/2021 12:23

I've always left dry food out all the time for my cat, she seems to regulate herself pretty well. But the best quality dry food you can afford, one with a high meat content.

It's never attracted any bugs in my home.

Fluffycloudland77 · 11/09/2021 12:30

Ours was on 4/5 pouches a day at that age, they grow so fast I just fed him whenever he wanted.

He had a bowl empty miaow that could wake them dead which wore off when he became an adult.

Simonjt · 11/09/2021 12:34

Kittens are like babies, they need to be fed on demand and left to eat as much as they like. Kittens will eat you out of house and home, when mine was a kitten she was getting through around 500g of goog quality wet each day. As an adult she eats around 300g a day.

Cats have a very poor thirst drive, your average adult cat would need to drink around 350-400ml per day to take in enough fluid on a dry diet. Most dry is also poor quality nutritionally.

SoloISland · 11/09/2021 12:36

@Stickytreacle

Wet food is far far better. I never give dry to a kitten or male neuters as they often will not drink enough,

All mine get a raw chicken joint each day, bone and all. Raw bones are fine and totally safe and natural of course,

NB Two mentioned worming; it needs doing anyways and could be a contributory factor,

NB feeding is a very individual thing; all roads lead to Rome... lol ise

BengalBallerina · 11/09/2021 12:38

Do you know what breed he is? I have a Bengal and she is very very shouty and when she was a kitten she was an absolute nightmare around human food (especially crisps). The good news is she grew out of it eventually (about 18 months) and now can be in the room when we eat. But as a littl'un she was totally banished during meal times and wasn't allowed in the kitchen at all.

And we were feeding her plenty. Vet said she was perfect weight and just really naughty. IMO a pouch in the morning and plenty of dry food is loads. Lovely vet also said that most people over feed their cats and being overweight can cause significant health issues.

Our trick was just shutting her away for meals that were laid out and self serve, but gradually letting her in for self-contained meals that were easily defendable. Also an hour of play before our supper time (to remove boredom), feeding her at the same time as us. And getting some of those toys where they have to dip their paw in to get the food to keep them stimulated and make dry food more of a challenge.

She can still hear a tin of tuna being opened from the opposite side of the house and goes mental (even when it's tuna for humans), and she still comes sprinting when she hears a crisp packet rustling, but you can now eat them in relative safety. (Sometimes I will break a teeny corner off for her which she loves, but I am a soft touch).

If your worried you aren't feeding him enough weigh him and check the back of the dry food (it will tell you how much he should have in grams, so weigh the dish out on the kitchen scales and stick to those guidelines).

Lots of people saying let them self-regulate, but some cats (my girl included) massively overeat that way, so the one time we tried that the vet said she needed to go on a diet. And it didn't stop her being a nightmare about human food either.

LyndaMcLynda · 11/09/2021 12:42

@BengalBallerina mine can hear a crisp packet opening from the other end of the house...

Clovie · 11/09/2021 12:44

My older cat (3 yo) was never fussed about food, even as a kitten. She’s a delicate princess and will graze throughout the day. Never known her to eat a whole pouch in one go, but will eat two over the course of the day, plus dry. I thought all cats were like this….until I got two boy kittens! They are fucking savages. They eat constantly and at 8 mths are already a lot bigger than their big sister. They get 2-3 pouches a day each, plus a constant supply of dry, plus snacks of chicken, fruit (yes, they are odd), lick-e-lix and other treats. If the opportunity arises they will steal food. They are greedy, but they are also growing lads and need a lot of food!

Original poster

ElspethFlashman · 11/09/2021 12:44

He seems to be OK about drinking bowl water, have caught him drinking on occasion.

He is currently watching the kids eat their lunch from his beanbag. He did go for their food but I rattled his bowl to remind him he had food and he came out, listened, then turned on his heel and went back and settled back in his beanbag again. So it seems to be working?

OP posts:

Elieza · 11/09/2021 12:47

Cats are prone to kidney disease. One reason could be be as they are notorious for not drinking enough water. They should have fresh water put down every day in a clean bowl to try and encourage them to drink whenever they want.

I gave mine breakfast lunch dinner and supper of pouches. Because they contain added water and it was one way of getting water into them.

I also left a bowl of biscuits out all the time. Those werent as exciting apparently but they did graze on them.

They’d appear when a can of tuna was lifted from the cupboard. Wasnt even open yet but they must have smelled it from inside the tin. What a sense of smell!

PS - OP, where are the obligatory kitten photos?

Flip

1 2 3

Swipe left for the next trending thread