Insatiable appetite

[ajd76]

Our cat, a tabby who will be 10 (human) years old in a couple months has developed a strange symptom.  She was getting a little overweight so we put her on a diet.  She eats the Purina Cat Chow Indoor formula food.  We cut her down from two scoops of food twice a day to one scoop.  We expected that it would take some time for her to adjust to the smaller meals and expected her to pester us for more food a bit, but now she seems to want fed ALL THE TIME!!!  Anytime anyone goes into the kitchen where her food bowl and food are kept, she pesters and walks in front of us and in between our legs and then sits down in front of her food bowl and looks at you, then when you try to leave the kitchen without feeding her, she does the same pestering routine.  This has gone on for MONTHS now.  She has even resorted in the last month to jumping up on the kitchen counter and chewing on our bread.  She will literally chew through the plastic and chew on the bread or any other bread product like bagels.  We have had to start putting our bread in a cabinet or on top of the fridge so she can't get it.  If we leave a bag out, it's guaranteed that it will be destroyed.  She has never done this before in the almost 10 years we've had her and she has been on "diets" before because she isn't a very playful cat and very sedentary and gains weight easily and she has never before displayed this behavior.  Is this something to do with aging?  How can we get her to stop the pestering and chewing up bread products without going back to her former feeding amount which was causing her to be overweight?  Why is she hungry all the time?  The vet says the amount we're feeding her is sufficient and we're not underfeeding her.  

[PrettyKitty1]

I know. When they get used to eating dry foods it become hard to switch them to better nutrition. But it can be done. My kitty sometimes craves the kibbles; I just give him water lol.

She has been on the same food for years now, and recently she started gaining all this weight. Hmm…it reminds me of those people who eat junk food all their lives. When they get to be 30 years they notice they’ve become less energetic and suffer from heart problems or diabetes, still crave the same foods because it’s what they’ve been giving their bodies. It’s what they’re used to.

Cats are creatures of habit. Change…………..they don’t take well. They like to be boring and predictable. It’s a way of feeling security, safety, comfort.

Oh, but she’ll get it. I’m confident that she will. :)

[ajd76]

I'll try a change in food.  It just seems strange though because she's been on this food for years and never had the appetite she has just recently acquired, even when we've reduced her intake before.  

We've tried giving her different kinds and brands of canned foods before but they don't seem to agree with her.  She either vomits or just refuses to eat it.  The only thing she will actually eat out of a can is regular tuna.  She actually seems to prefer the "dry" stuff.  

[PrettyKitty1]

Are you feeding her dry foods only? Your cat wants to eat more because she isn’t getting all the nutrients her system needs. She may be overweight; but that doesn’t mean she is getting all she needs. It’s kind of like when we make a habit of eating at Mc Donald’s every day, we tend to gain weight but still are not healthy and our bodies still lack certain nutrients.  What I am talking about is the meat in Purina products, which isn’t even animal protein but plant based protein. Since cats do not take any benefit from plants, they will keep eating until their needs are met.  Since the carbohydrate content is ridiculously high in commercial (or majority of) foods, it causes our pets to gain weight at a fast rate.

What you could so is switch her to canned foods. Trust me, by doing this you’ll be avoiding  UTI, among other health conditions.  Moreover, you could try switching her to better nutrition. I have had good experience with Natural Balance. The moisture levels are excellent, and the formulas are beyond great. The only thing you’d have to be careful with is ash.  Get small cans and feed her twice a day.  Natural Balance is more expensive than Purina; but your cat will appreciate this.

Our community leaders can advise you on human based cat foods, which will make your cat’s life better and easier for her to digest. It will also help her at least stay at that weight limit without having the constant need to feed.  I honestly can’t give testimony on those because not one improved my cat’s health condition. But my cat had Inflammatory Bowel Disease, so commercial foods, no matter how good they are, are never good for my cat. But my cat was very sick. Yours isn’t, and I do think she can take great benefit from human grade cat foods.

I can tell you. I have a 1 and a half year old and a kitten.  My older gained weight, a lot of weight on commercial foods. His weight got up to 13 lbs in a short period of time. Not good.  When I switched him to better nutrition (meaning, no Purina or Science Diet, or Iams in any form) my cat stopped gaining weight so fast. He doesn’t eat all the time. In fact, I have never seen a cat eating twice daily so happy and accepting. I use the BARF diet, but you can try commercial foods with good meat quality. You will see a change in her.

So, in your case, your problem can get easily resolved with a simple diet change.

Good Luck