Why is my cat constantly miaowing for food?

[2025willbemytime]

This is new, but been going on for a few weeks now. Weight wise and health all fine.

He is 12-13.

An hour after breakfast some days he's shouting for more food. He's trying to tell me now it is teatime. It's not until 4.30 but he's been asking for over an hour. I've been trying ti get him to go to five o'clock but no chance.

This is how it goes.

Breakfast.
Then next time I'm in the kitchen, feeding the dog, around an hour later he says I've not fed him.
Late morning and or mid afternoon he'll start chancing his paw.
2.30 onwards once I am back from dog walking or appear in the kitchen he'll say it's tea time.
Teatime is 4.30-5, but nearer half four he is fed.
Quiet until bedtime biscuits round 9.45-10pm.

I feel like there's a clue there and I'm missing it. I don't feed him between meals with sachets but he might get some dreamies or a treat stick. Second breakfast - not every day - would be a sachet.

Can you split his meals more? So late morning/early afternoon he gets something

I can do anything as I'm mostly home but I know what I do one day he'll expect forever. Plus it's still the weight gain worry. The routine is what he's had his whole time I've had him, do they change their needs? I've only had a girl cat before and she wasn't like this. By the time she was in her last few months she started saying teatime was 2.15 but she didn't cry. She lived until almost 19.

What does he eat? Maybe a higher protein content food would leave him more satisfied.

Is he definitely after food and not just attention?

He only will eat Felix, Tiger, Morrisons, occasionally Whiskers and now and again I buy the individual tins or trays. He gets all the attention he wants but tomorrow I'll offer strokes and a cuddle first. The speed of him though wheh he sees he's getting more food makes me think he wants it.

Our boy (who is your boy’s twin!) can be like this. Today he was campaigning for lunch from about 9.30 - I was working from home but DP gave him breakfast about 7.30 before he left for work. We do four small meals (he gets half a pouch at each one plus biscuits) unless we’re both in work all day in whhch case he gets the whole breakfast/lunch first thing.

I honestly think it’s habit rather than hunger in our case - sometimes I give him a few more biscuits in a puzzle feeder mid-morning. After lunch he goes off to snooze in his bed, and often won’t eat the whole thing, but go back about 4 to finish it.

Here he is having his post-lunch nap today!

It's obviously because you haven't fed him! You are losing your mind and he's just giving you a gentle reminder to fill his bowl! He's lovely 🙂

Is it possible to put the biscuits higher up, out of reach of the dog? (I appreciate this isn't always practical with elderly cats, or dogs which WILL help themselves to anything on the worktop, table, out of the bin, etc.).

However, do get his thyroid checked, or for a bit of an MOT with the vet. It's hard work to look that good at all times!

My two are 13 and this has definitely become more of a problem as they have gotten older. They don’t go out as much now and are slowing down a bit so don’t get as much fun out of toys as they used to. I think for us it’s a mixture of habit and boredom, and just trying their chances when we are around. I will sometimes give a few small treats if they are asking constantly - I’m aware I’m reinforcing the cycle, but I can’t bear their pathetic faces 😂

If their weight had changed at all then I would be more concerned but they have both been to the vet recently and their weight is steady. I would definitely ask for a check up if this is new though, for us it’s been a gradual thing, but if it’s sudden it’s definitely worth a check over.

I asked at the vet, last week when I took my dog to be weighed. They weren't worried as his weight has been up and down but within 20g. I could put biscuits on the counter and see. If his sister eats them though it might not help. He has been playing with a toy today which was nice.

Actually his non bio sister sister is the opposite. She refuses most food unless I put soup or licki licks on it or a fancy pants one. The vet said she was a princess. She was so embarrassed she ate properly for months and is now sulking again.

He's lovely @Judystilldreamsofhorses .

He’s chaos in an orange jacket, but also a delight. He just turned two and was an ex stray kitten when we adopted him last year, which I think is why he’s such a pest around food!

Mine is also a rescue and his bio sister ate a piece of broccoli once as she must have not known yet she would never go hungry again. She was gorgeous and we were all heartbroken when we lost her out of the blue last year.

You seem preoccupied with him getting fat, but the poor thing is telling you he’s hungry! My old boy used to have 4 sachets a day and a constant supply of dry. Not at all overweight as he burnt it off. Imagine being starving and not being allowed food for hours 😿

Come off it. That's really unfair. He's having the same amount of food as he's always had and I have been told not to let him put any more weight on when he hit his top weight. He wouldn't shut up if starving when I don't feed him at every miaow. There's nothing wrong with not wanting him to get overweight as that's not good health wise either.

Apart from the food has his behaviour changed? My cat started running around and having weird skittish episodes and it turned out to be her thyroid.

@Elisabeth3468
I came on to say exactly the same thing. My cat is lovely but very greedy.

One of mine literally gorges on so many biscuits and then throws them back up. Delightful. Mine are Siamese and generally a pain though in every way! 🤣

Mines a Ragdoll

At that age it's definitely overactive thyroid, particularly if they are very vocal too. Get the vet to do some tests. We had this and the vet said the cat's metabolism is running so high they could eat all day and not put on weight. They need to be on meds. Or they can do Radioactive iodine treatment which fixes it permanently but is ££££!

I thiught the same! Mine too. My friends are the same. Their all healthy weights, just greedy 😅

I think the reduction in pouch weight could have quite a bit to do with it. Our boy has a mixture of Harringtons, Felix & Gourmet Perle as he gets bored, and all of them are now 85g instead of 100g... He has a bit more than a pouch for breakfast and dinner now. (Along with access to dry at all times)
Is he an indoor or outdoor boy? Ours is an outdoor boy, so he seems to burn it off. He's over 6kg but not fat... the vet is quite happy with him at that weight... says he's built like a tank but not overweight!

Mine has gradually become more vocal and needy he constantly begs for food but wanders off when I leave him to eat he just seems to think I walk in the kitchen means he should be fed

He hasn't really changed his behaviour except for the last few months he sits with me more in the afternoon and evening but he's currently sat in the dog's bed.

He has a cat flap so comes and goes when and wherever he wants to go. He has a huge garden and likes to check it all out.

They weren't worried at the vet but he's not due his check up for a couple of months so I'll see how he goes for the next few days and also look for different pouches. Sometimes he gets one of the larger ones and a smaller Felix.

He's just told me it's bed time biscuits time so best go..

Try him on cat milk. I think sometimes they shout for grub when actually they are thirsty instead.

As your cat is older now, have you got him on senior food? I would do that. I’d also feed him more. If weight is a worry, could he have half a pouch morning and night and then a bowl of good quality dry biscuits down all the time. Cats rarely overeat on dry food, and tend to like grazing. Royal canon, or hills or something like that, is a bit more expensive, but it’s better quality and will probably fill him up more. Two pouches of food is not a lot at all. Felix etc, wet food, is actually a bit like junk food. You enjoy it, but feel hungry 5 minutes later.