new cat always hungry

[CanadianJohn]

We have had our new cat for a week. We got her from the local humane society; she is described as 'small', and weighed 3.39 kg, or 7.5 lbs. The humane society estimated her age as 6 - 7 years.

The ugliest cat I have ever seen, complete with what the vet called a "deformed" left ear. She also has significant hair loss. My wife fell in love with her on first sight.

It seems to me that the cat is younger, maybe 2 or 3. Very active, explores everywhere. Loves bird-watching.

The problem is, she is always hungry. There is dry food down all the time, and she has a can of wet food every day. Every time someone goes into the kitchen, the cat is twining and whining piteously. When her saucer is picked up, she desperately licks the floor, hoping for a missed crumb. When food is put down, she gulps frantically, and "eats like a labrador". Then begs for more.

I don't know whether eating has become a substitute for human contact, or she was abandoned for so long that she can't seem to catch up. I don't think she has worms.

If after a week of generous meals she doesn't gain weight and slow down on the eating, we'll take her to the vet.

Any thoughts?

Some cats just want to eat. We had one like that.

He'd try to get food out of everyone and often had multiple breakfasts.

Nothing wrong with him just greedy.

When cats have been abandoned and had to fend for themselves they very often become obsessed with food. It’s understandable really as they’ve not known when or even if they will get food again and can’t seem to think differently when they’ve found a caring home. You’re wise to take her to the vet if nothing changes but I think there’s a good chance it’s a behavioural issue and not a physical one.

Are you only feeding once per day? My (now old but been with us since quite young) boy likes to be fed wet food 3 times per day - breakfast, lunch and dinner plus he has a small bowl of dried food available at all times.

I agree with @AppleDumplingWithCustard. One of our cats was like this.

When you say 1 tin of cat food a day do you mean the small tins? Mine eat 3 of those a day... 4 if I'd let them 😂

Could be she just loves her food if she has not been wormed recently could be something to explore even though you say you don't think it's worms.

And I don't think she's ugly at all op bless her it could be also she is just comfortable she's got a warm home and access to plenty of food .

She's beautiful 😻

She’s a bit slender, those hind legs haven’t got much meat on them.

By can do you mean a little 85g one, a normal 185g or bigger? If 85g then that is nowhere near enough food for a 7.5lb cat. I would offer about twice that amount, especially if you think she is only 2-3 and still growing.

She's a cat OP they're always hungry! My girl gets fed 3 packs of wet food a day and is always trying to steal my food.
If you're feeding her the recommended amount for her weight I wouldn't worry too much.

p.s. Have you had her scanned for a chip?

We were told that ours was 3... only to be told on her first vet visit that she was actually 7! The shelter hadn't scanned her yet she'd only arrived that day but she walked all over us (literally) and we were sold.

As far as cat issues go this isn't bad. Have had cats weeing everywhere, damaging furniture, clawing etc.

Our rescue moggy is always hungry. She’s 13 & diabetic been here 10 months. She is relentless in pestering for food, we have to be very firm and she will scavenge. Presumably as she’s had to fend for herself, she is better than she was. She’s a gorgeous cat, reminds me of one of ours from years ago, tortie. Try a higher protein food?

Assuming that she's been wormed by the vet, I'd assume that she's either actually hungry or 'emotionally hungry'. She needs to know that you've settled her/adopted her, and that there will be a ready source of food for her.

Keep feeding her, and add treats to her food, so she's getting the calories that she needs.

Have they checked her thyroid and her blood glucose? We had a rescue cat that the rescue assured us was fit and healthy. After realising once we got him home that he never stopped eating, a quick trip to the vets (who thought he might have kidney failure) ended in a diagnosis of diabetes (after I joked i was relieved it was his kidneys, not diabetes, and the vet decided to do a quick glucose check🙄🙄). Also, the rescue told us he was about 5, our vet said he was at least 12 from the state of his teeth (that cost us a fortune to have removed a couple of months after he came home with us🤨). That rescue really saw us coming, we had gone there to adopt a kitten!

Its probably worth getting your own vet to give her the once over, as I have zero faith in a rescue giving anyone all the info after our experience (he lived a long and happy life once we had his teeth sorted and his diabetes under control, though he never stopped being a greedy so and so).

Was going to post the same thing.

She's beautiful and definitely not ugly . She just needs to fill out a bit.

Is everything coming out the other end ok? I assume she has a litter tray so you can check?

She is a beautiful cat

get her bloods checked for thyroid or other issues she looks to be on the thin side and more so if she is spayed as she assume as a rescue cat she is.

She needs more wet food - two of my cats only ate wet food the other two only dry. One small can of wet food is insufficient and also is it complete or a supplemental wet food as this is quite important too.

does she have well formed poo or is it soft/ runny?
are her worming treatment up to date and do you use quality worming and flea products?

I can see why your wife loves her she is a really lovely cat

My rescue cat was a nightmare for food when we got him, he would eat as much as you could give him, and would try and steal food from everywhere. He got much better as he became more secure and settled (doesn't sit at the table watching us like a hawk at mealtimes any more) but still tries it on. I feed him weighed out portions of dry food 3 times a day and set it on timed feeders when I'm going to be out so it's regular and that seems to gave helped with the hassling and anxiety. He's a good hunter and usually eats all the mice he catches too.

Our cat was like that at first always yowling to be fed. We make sure that there is always (dry) food in her bowl and she settled down eventually, she isn't greedy/hungry at all now 12 months on.

We have a greedy cat - she’s never been a stray, she just loves food! During the lockdown era she was invited to “cat weight watchers” after her jabs because she had been getting a lot more snacks with us being at home all the time. For absolute shame. I constantly say to her that the RSPCA are on their way because she is so starved when she’s campaigning for dinner like she’s never ever been fed before in her whole entire life. We use a puzzle feeder for her dry food to stop her wolfing it - eating like a Labrador is an excellent description.

Your cat is lovely OP.

I'd worm her to be sure it's not worms. Then a cat should be eating a large tin of cat food every day. Half early in the morning and half late in the evening. I'd leave kibble down for lunch too. You can see she looks very slender. She might have been starving before you got her and is trying to gain a bit of weight. I'd say feed her more if she wants more. She's not fat. It's only a problem if she's overweight.

Royal Canin do some cat biscuits called 'appetite control' and they have worked wonders for our fosters. We acquired four all at once, and they were absolutely food obsessed for quite some time. We eventually happened on these while looking for something to stop one in particular (the fatty) from gobbling everything in sight. These biscuits did the trick, and they are no longer on the prowl looking for grub all the time. We no longer get harangued every time we go near the kitchen!

She's gorgeous.

I would split her wet food over several meals so she's not going hours without it. Mine all have dry down 24/7 but still go mad for their wet food everyday. I'd feel cruel only giving them some once a day!

I got a cat like this. She was a rescue cat had been abandoned before we took her in. The vet said it's common because she didn't know when her next meal would come so she would constantly eat if it was available.
Anyway we ended up with a fat cat who also refused to go out (I think linked to being abandoned). She was a lovely cat and despite having her for 13 years she never grew out of the habit.

Our 3.2 kilo cat, a skinny rescue who came from a house with too many cats and had to fight for food, started out like that so we fed her little and often.

She soon settled into a routine of 2 × 85g wet pouches or small tins, 2 x felix soups and a small bowl of dry food - a large handful - per day. This is spread out between 7am and 10pm. She sometimes gets a little bit of chicken if I'm cooking it and the occasional few dreamies or a lickelix.

Is she drinking enough? Ours prefers to drink from the kitchen tap OR the dirtiest puddle she can find.

My rescue cat was like this for about his first year with us, he got really stressed if he didn't have food available all the time. A puzzle feeder worked wonders for us too, it meant he could always get dry food but because he had to "work" for it he would only eat a few pieces rather than wolf down a whole bowl full. This is the one we had https://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/cats/cat_toys/miscellaneous/treat_toys/132801