Cat begging for food constantly.

[ZealAndArdour]

Hello,

Just looking for some advice.

I’ve got a little rescue cat who I’ve had for about 8-9 weeks now. He was initially very very nervous and spent the first 4-5 weeks avoiding us at all costs and sticking to one room in the house. He’s come on leaps and bounds in the last few weeks and is now very bold and friendly, is incredibly attached to me and follows me from room to room chatting to me. He pees and poops regularly and drinks plenty of water. He plays with his toys, scratches things and approaches us for lots of affection and he’s very vocal. They estimate his age to be between 3 and 5 based on his teeth and health. He’s been neutered, de-flead and de-wormed. He’s seemed much younger and more youthful since he’s come out of his shell.

Little is known about his previous life, he may have always been a street cat, until he was picked up by the rescue. He’s a house cat now, the rescue stipulated that (and it’s what we were looking for as live on a busy road) because he’d never shown an interest in the outdoors while in foster care.

He has a pouch of Sheba wet food a day (split into two meals) with a little sprinkle of dry food on top too. We give him treats here and there; dreamies or a little bit of salmon loin or some cat soup or the webbox cat yoghurt.

The past two weeks since he’s really come out of his shell he is just begging for food constantly, every time one of us goes in the kitchen he wants to be fed something, now I understand this bit is probably normal cat behaviour. But every time we eat human food now, he is interested and very bold in getting his face right up to our plates or climbing on us. He will make his way downstairs when he smells us cooking and is a little pest when we sit down to eat. I’m certain he would tuck in to our meals if he wasn’t shooed away every time. This part seems more like having a little dog than a cat, but perhaps I’m wrong?!

Is this normal? Should I be concerned? Could it just be a hangover for his past life of food scarcity on the streets and he’s not yet realised that food is abundant here and he doesn’t need to take everything he sees?

Is there anything more to check or do to help improve this or is it just a case of imposing strict boundaries and saying no?

Thank you in advance!

You aren't feeding him anywhere near enough! Try 2 or 3 full pouches of food, and leave dry food available at all times in a separate bowl as well as fresh water. Make sure that at least one of the foods - either wet or dry - is of a good quality. My cat has SCRUMBLES from Amazon, and Felix or Purina pouches. He also has tinned tuna (in spring water or oil, never brine) and I sometimes give him cooked chicken (never bones)

My cat eats a lot more than that and is also a pest. If he is hungry he usually licks his lips to let me know

Your cat might be thirsty. Don't leave the water next to the food

Okay, so we’ll definitely increase the number of pouches. I feel awful that he should have been having so much more.

We just went on the advice of the rescue which was splitting the pouch and providing biscuits.

He’s not skinny or losing weight, and last time at the vets he weighed 4.74kg so just over 10lbs.

He drinks plenty of water, I regularly go back to find his bowl half empty and refill it for him. He had a cat fountain set up for a while too but he was never really interested.

If you are giving him the same food as 9 weeks ago that's the problem he is just hungry and not getting enough one pouch and a little biscuits it's just to little food poor thing .

Okay, I didn’t really twig on that the suggestion from the rescue was just some kind of smaller settling in diet, and not just the amount he usually wanted or whatever.

We can definitely increase the quantities.

Leave out a bowl of dry food constantly topped up. If he's asking because he's hungry he'll eat it. If he's just a keeper on -er just wanting a certain type of food- like the wet stuff he'll keep coming and asking and you can tell him no. I have a greedy cat who wants all the nice stuff but he only eats the dry food if he really needs it . There's also the whole cat thing that they want you to fill their bowl despite it having stuff in it. They are demanding little shits

ONE pounch a day?! Not enough!! Your cwt is hungry!

Read the back of the cat food box and work out the correct amount for his size. At age 5 I think mine had 3 pouches a day, (now he’s old he hass 5-6 but that’s cos of thyroid problems).

Basically if your cat is not fat and is asking for food, give him food.

Other thing to be careful with is to make sure he doesn’t have worms… Those increase appetite too (google it). But here I am certain the problem is you’re feeding him much too little.

Well he’s going to be absolutely thrilled to bits about all these extra pouches of food. I will go and put him some out now.

Mine have dry food left out and ½ pouch each 2 or 3 times a day. They are fussy about their wet food but reliably eat the dry stuff which is high meat with no grains

My car has one pouch a day plus dry food. She’s still a bit overweight!
My guess is your cat is bored as well as hungry. I don’t think cats should be kept inside in general. He’s not getting enough exercise or
Stimulation and food is all he has to be interested in.
Our cat doesn’t go out as much in winter, instead she becomes obsessed with food
Because she’s bored.

One of my indoor cats weights the same as yours, the other is about 6kg. They get 1.5 pouches a day or equivalent between them but have dry available all the time, regularly topped up as necessary and I reckon they get through at least 2-3 handfuls a day of that. Both are lean and svelte, despite the assorted treats they get.

Remember that the majority of cats are self regulating when it comes to food, and also that many (like mine) are grazers i.e. they believe in little & often & tend to snack. For example, mine have half a pouch shared in the morning, which though clearly waited for is often not finished until evening if at all. Same with their supper pouch, often some left in the morning. I reckon they go to their dry at least 6-8 times a day, but just a little each time.

Yes, pp have it. You weren't feeding him enough.

I'd up the dry food if it was me rather than the wet food. It's better for their teeth.

Also - get some toys that you put treats into. The cat has to figure out how to get the treat out. It's fun and mentally stimulating for them.

Blimey also in agreement - not enough food! 3.2kg girl cat aged 2 usually manages 3/4 - 1 sachet of Kat Kin (good quality meat no fillers) and kitty bikkies on offer 24 hours as wet food tends to dry out. More food AND better quality? Distraction techniques for when you are eating Cat Alone on ipad or Cat TV?

So this morning when we got up I’ve put out a whole pouch of his Sheba wet food, and a separate bowl of his biscuits with fresh water. Surprisingly he prioritised the biscuits and didn’t touch his wet food, and left a lot of the biscuits but he must have had his fill.

Thank you for all your advice, I genuinely didn’t realise we were underfeeding him, and I’m glad to be corrected. I love him so much and we’re so happy to have him.

Thought I’d show you a picture too.

I'd still put out ½ a pouch at a time and a separate bowl of dry food. We get wet food wastage if we put out too much at a time

Ah lovely cat and glad you got the advice you needed

Thanks for the photo. He's gorgeous!

I agree that it wasn't enough food. Lots of meals of half pouches are better, if you can manage it, than fewer meals of full pouches, as cats don't like to eat food after it's been down for a while.

And I would leave a bowl of dry food constantly available, unless he shows signs of becoming overweight in which case you will have to restrict it.

Also what dry food are you feeding? The cheap dry foods (Go Cat, Whiskas et al) aren't great and can even be dangerous for male cats.

And as you appear to be new to cat ownership (is that right?) are you aware that you must never have lilies in the house or garden?

Oh poor cat, he's hungry!
The cat food box normally gives an guide. of how many pouches per day.
My cat was a street boy, and when he first arrived would regularly eat 5-6 pouches plus biscuits which are down all the time.
He is a big cat so needs a lot more than you are feeding him.Maybe that's why he is so interested in your food too.Poor boy

Mine has a pouch for breakfast, pouch for tea & dry biscuit bowl is always full (separate bow). He is still a prolific beggar and will sprint to follow you anytime you head to the kitchen.

Oh, handsome fella! He must be thrilled about the new feeding regime.

For comparison, our 10yo rescue weighs about the same.
She has 1.5 pouches per day plus 20g biscuits.

He's gorgeous!

I would stick with dry food available at all times and half pouches at mealtimes. There's no point in wasting food. If he is eating all the pouches, you can increase the amount but it sounds like he is't that fussed.

Aw what a lovely face! Good you've upped the food but do stick within the guidelines for his weight.
I also agree with the smaller amounts more frequently. Our cat is a greedy boy and we found by giving him the same amount of food but over more meals helped stave off the pitiful demands for food.