Why do my kittens keep stealing food?!

[whyaremycatssohungry]

I have a sibling pair of kittens, 5 months old.

They are constantly scrounging for food! They are fed a mix of wet whiskas and dry royal canin as advised by the rehoming centre. They have probably slightly more than is recommended on the packets and still have a small lunch time meal.

As well as scrounging for food they steal whatever they can get their paws on - packets that aren't out away in a cupboard/children's leftovers... and most recently a plastic straw from the washing up which has been chewed apart and quite likely ingested by one of them.

Is this normal behaviour?!

Just to add, Whiskas isn't massively high in meat so might not be keeping them as full as other stuff with a higher meat content. Mine are on Animonda Carny Kitten which comes in big cans from Zooplus, although about to transition them onto food more suitable to their neutered status.. not sure how that's going to go but hoping well?!

Just holding on until they're a teensy bit bigger and can just have regular, decent levels of meat stuff! I've got a big, multipack of Butchers Classic to crack open once the other stuff is done and am hoping they like it enough for it to stay as their main food as it is so reasonably priced and decently high in meat..

I free fed my kitties for the first year as they are growing so fast, multiple pouches per day plus dry biscuits down all the time. They aren't fat

Give them what they want. They need it.

1.5 pouches of a low meat content food is nowhere near enough for growing kittens even with dry food.

I don't feed dry food as its not great for cats urinary tracts (but that's just my opinion others disagree), but I feed a high meat content wet food which is probably the equivalent of 4 pouches ish a day.

Up the wet food to 3 pouches each and see if they are still hungry. Also try leaving dry food down all the time. A lot of cats are good at self regulating with food, so it's worth a go. If after a few days they are still scoffing the lot every time then you could think again.

[quote whyaremycatssohungry]@ChangingStates and are they happy with that? It's all this food stealing that I'm just not used to. I'm worried for what they might eat that could do them serious damage![/quote]
They are on the lookout for food a lot. Our meals don't go out onto the table until we are ready to sit and eat otherwise they jump up and will eat it. If they jump onto the table during meals we put them straight down and we clear away straight after otherwise the will investigate and lick plates! All food in the house is in cupboards or fridge so they have never had the opportunity to m get to it-otherwise I am sure they would! Strangely they have never jumped up onto the kitchen counters so food has always been safe there- well so far anyway!

Thank you everyone for the advice. I'm surprised about the whiskas meat not being very good as the rejoining centre specifically warned me off of whiskas dry for that reason, but actually recommended the wet.

I'll try the leaving biscuits down idea, as I say I did it with my previous cat his whole life. I do think they'll just eat the lot until they're sick though!

As for the amount I've fed I've literally followed the instructions on the packets - I feel like some of you think I'm being cruel. I would hate them to actually be hungry, but I've been doing right by the guidance I had.
I will try giving them more from today and see how we go.

They are hungry because you are being stingy with their food.

You are not feeding them enough and what you are is shite. Get a better quality wet food and give them more of it.

@JustWonderingIfYou

Wow - no need to be so rude.

I have been following the instructions on the backs of the packets of the food that was recommended by the rehoming centre - I couldn't have done more.

Then I came here, to a place to get advice, when it seemed something wasn't right.

I've said I'm going to take that advice.

They definitely need more food. Kittens are super energetic and still growing so if they're asking for more, they need it.

Mine have all been free-fed dry food since kittenhood and we've never had an issue. I never measure it out - just fill the bowl up when it's low which is roughly every 24-36 hours.

A good quality wet and dry food will mean you don't have to feed as much, though, so I would look at switching to a better quality food if they'll eat it - it may seem
pricier at first but they'll need less to feel full, if that makes sense

I would give them a bit of cooked meat/fish every day too if you can. They're growing and higher protein food will fill them up better. Rescues ask you to keep them on the same food for a while so their tummies don't get upset. Whiskas didn't really agree with mine (although they found it quite tasty!) other foods gave less smelly and firmer poos.
They may well still hunt and scrounge for other food though. Just for fun. Mine are weirdly keen on bread and carbs. If I don't hide them away they will chomp wraps/crumpets/pitta bread...

Thank you.

It's a little worrying that the actual packs of food recommend too little food.

@Beamur I read up on it after mine stole a bagel - apparently the yeast really attracts them!

Thank you @fairylightsandwaxmelts
I don't know how it's going to go but I'm going to try and put some dry down today...

@whyaremycatssohungry can you let me know how leaving dried food freely available goes. My worry with mine is that he would eat the lot. My last two cats seemed to know when to stop, one better than the other, but this little one doesn't so would be interesting to know.

So far they have just had a far bigger breakfast than usual as they ate all the dry food too!

I will let you know how I get on!

Kittens that age should be able to eat as much as they want. They're growing rapidly and constantly burning calories.

I've never paid attention to what the boxes say and I've never had an overweight cat.

You may find they binge at first @whyaremycatssohungry but they should settle down as they get used to the idea of always having food available

Agree with most pp's. Definitely not feeding enough. Chewing on packets and other items will also be teething, so that's fine too.

Arthur always had a huge appetite, huge cat, not fat, just big. He has in the past as an outside cat eaten 6 packets of wet a day and a full bowl of dry. Dry food is down all day, he snacks as he feels.

If he feels he has been underfed, he catches mice, and munches them on the patio, bleuch.

They're probably hungry. It's rare that cats over-eat to the extent that they become overweight, it's most common in neutered males and ex ferals or any who've been starved, but still not a worry for cats in general.

But what you currently have are feline teenagers and you know what MNs general consensus is on their appetites.

You could try some higher quality wet food and upping the quantity of dry food so they just eat it as and when and it should settle down when they've stopped growing.

We have 4 cats of our own and foster for a rescue charity, and use Smilla, Carny and Bozita wet food as well as dry food from Zooplus.

I'd suggest getting a selection in case they don't eat it, but if you find something they like, if you buy larger packs and spend £40 to get free delivery, it works out about the same per 100g as Whiskas etc but is much better for them, and they might even eat less.

I think they aren't getting enough op. But dont worry you were following the guidelines on the packets. I would continue with the increase in wet food that you've done today and leave dry food out all day. Most cats won't gorge on dry food if they've had enough wet food.

Also have a look at the actual meat content in the wet and dry food. Some brands have a shocking amount of cereal and fillers in them instead of meat which is no good.

Chiming in agreement about leaving dry food down all the time. I've 6 cats, and their bowls are constantly topped up with dry food (Arden Grange). That's their main food, but I divvy out a few pouches of wet food between them a day to as a treat. And little Goody bag treats . I've never weighed anything out, and none of them have weight issues.

Thank you everyone. Honestly I really appreciate all the advice.

I have been religiously sticking to the recommended amounts as know a few overweight cats and I really don't want them to go that way. Am annoyed that the packets have mis-advice on them, but hopefully things will improve now 🤞🏻

Just to clarify they are not underweight and have been growing beautifully.

I will give it a few days and report back for anyone who might stumble across this thread in the future.

@cushioncovers I think our dry is good. When we got them, the rescue told us not to use whiskas kitten dry for this reason and recommended the Royal Canin... but I will double check!

I find that until they're about a year old their hunger comes in bouts so some days they'll eat anything but it'll level off. Also worth keeping on kitten food as if I recall it's higher calorie for growth.

At 5 months they may also be teething hence the chewing, it's worth trying to find toys they can munch on.

You could free feed their dry in puzzle feeders to keep them busy and stop them wolfing it down.

My two boys are exactly the same! I thought it was just them being greedy; pretty much any time someone goes in the kitchen they come running, crying for food. I feed them Wild Freedom kitten wet (from Zooplus) topped up with Wainwrights kitten dried food whenever they ask. Sometimes they have the fattest little bellies having just finished a meal and are still looking for more!