Why Are My Cats Always Hungry
A recent article in Catster lists five likely reasons your cat begs for food – worms, disease, boredom, depression, and nutritionally deficient food.
A cat with worms eats ravenously since the roundworms suck all the nutrition right out of your pet’s body. These worms are contagious to humans, so you’ll want to get rid of them as soon as possible. Your vet can test a fecal sample from your cat and prescribe an anti-worm treatment.
Diseases such as feline diabetes, hypothyroidism, and kidney disease also cause cats to overeat. If your cat consumes food voraciously but doesn’t gain weight, it may be a sign of a medical problem. If your cat begs for food but won’t eat it once he has it, that behavior could be a sign of food allergies or gum disease. In the first case, the vet can sell you hypoallergenic, prescription food. In the second, your vet may be able to treat gum disease and relieve any pain associated with eating.
Some cats eat out of boredom. Senior cats, in particular, may lose interest in toys, playtime, and bird watching while eating becomes their new favorite hobby. Once you’ve made sure there are no health problems causing your cat to overeat, stick to a sensible, feline- nutritionist-approved feeding plan for these cats. Also make sure they have access to plenty of toys, gadgets, and games. Some cat lovers swear by feeding your cat in a puzzle or a ball. It’s more natural, after all, for cats to work for their food.
Licking Only The Gravy Leaving The Rest
If your cat is only licking the gravy and not chewing on the morsels, it could be related to teeth issues. If you have this suspicion take your cat to a Vet for a checkup to discard this possible health issue.
Another possibility is the type of cat bowl or dish. Sometimes the cat cant eat the morsels or shreds because they slide as the cat is licking the food or when trying to bite the morsels. The solution is getting a bowl that stops the pieces of meat from sliding around or from spilling out the bowl while the cat is eating. I was feeding my cat with the CatGuru bowl that comes with a nice base because she needed a wider bowl for whisker sensitivity. But it seems like she stopped eating the morsels and started licking her food instead. So I had to switch to the Yangbaga elevated cat bowl that I was using for water and it worked much better. Now she eats more morsels.
Is Your Cat Hungry Because She Isnt Getting The Right Nutrition
There are hundreds of different feline foods on the market, and with so much choice it can be a little overwhelming. The nutritional requirements of your furbaby can change at different points during her life for example, pregnant and nursing cats usually need greater amounts of food to sustain them, while kittens need different nutrition to adult cats to help them grow properly.
It is essential to make sure that you are providing the right nutrition and the right amounts of food for your cat based on her individual circumstances. Many specific foods are targeted towards specific demographics such as kittens or geriatric pets. However, if you still arent sure if your beloved animal is getting the nutrition and quantity of food she needs, you should make an appointment with your veterinarian or a pet nutritionist for further advice.
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If Your Cat Seems Hungrier Than Usual Here Are A Few Reasons Why That May Be The Case: From Simple Ones Such As Plain Boredom To More Serious Conditions Needing The Vets Attention
Is your cat acting hungry all the time? We tend to think of cats more as fussy eaters than food obsessed, so when your dear feline doesnt stop asking for food, its natural to wonder whether this is normal or you should head to the vet.
If youre asking yourself why is my cat always hungry, here are a few possible reasons.
They Have A Medical Condition
Some ailments can also cause your cat to eat more than they ordinarily do. Diabetes and hyperthyroidism are two such conditions. If you find yourself wondering why your cat loses weight while overeating, they may have one of these illnesses. Diabetes prevents your cats body from converting sugar to energy efficiently, and hyperthyroidism causes their metabolism to burn too many calories. Your cat may begin overeating to compensate and try to get the nutrients they need.
Bowel problems and parasites can also increase your cats appetite. Diseases like inflammatory disorders or intestinal cancer that impact the small intestine decrease your cats ability to process nutrients. This results in an increased appetite, accompanied by weight loss. With roundworms, your cat may be constantly hungry because the parasite is stealing all of their nutrients before their body can process them.
Pancreatic disease can also cause your cat to be hungry all the time. The pancreas produces enzymes that aid digestion but, with exocrine pancreatic insufficiency , the pancreas is unable to do its job. This may cause your cat to experience an increased appetite, along with vomiting, diarrhea, and weight loss. If you suspect your cat has a medical problem, take them to the vet to get a proper diagnosis and treatment plan.
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Why It’s A Problem If Your Cat Stops Eating
If your cat isn’t feeling well, it may stop eating because there’s something stuck in its stomach or intestines. Or, your cat might not like the food you’re offering. Your cat’s lack of eating can also be a symptom of a disease or problem that’s causing pain or discomfort. Regardless of the reason, it’s a major concern if your cat stops eating.
If you have an obese cat that’s stopped eating, it can quickly develop hepatic lipidosis by going without food for a few days. This disease is often referred to as fatty liver disease or fatty liver syndrome and it can be fatal if left untreated. This is the main reason why it’s so important to make sure your cat, especially if it’s overweight, keeps eating. With fatty liver disease, the liver is overwhelmed trying to convert fat to energy. The excess fat that’s stored around your cat’s liver exacerbates the situation. The liver is a critical organ and if it’s not working effectively, your cat can suffer without immediate treatment from your veterinarian.
What Causes Unusual Cravings
“I wish I knew the answer to that one,” Plotnick says. Cat pica may be caused by many things, including:
- Dietary deficiencies: Some cats will eat their cat litter if theyre anemic, Plotnick says. “Ive had two cases of cats with anemia, and that was one of the signs.” And although its normal for cats to eat a little grass, eating a lot of plant material may indicate somethings missing from the cats diet.
- Medical problems: Cat pica is also associated with feline leukemia and feline immunodeficiency virus, and it may be triggered by conditions like diabetes or brain tumors.
- Genetic predisposition: For some cats, pica appears to be in their genes. For example, wool sucking, sometimes a precursor to pica, is seen more frequently in Siamese and Birman cats, says Alice Moon-Fanelli, PhD, CAAB, a certified applied animal behaviorist researching wool sucking at Tufts Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine.
- Environmental factors: Is the cat bored or seeking attention? Do they need more mental or physical stimulation? “Some cats require more environmental stimulation than others,” Moon-Fanelli says.
- Compulsive disorder: Once other possibilities are ruled out, Moon-Fanelli says, “we start to investigate whether the behavior may be a compulsive disorder. We think it may have a genetic basis, because we do see it occurring more frequently in certain breeds.”
Though feline pica shows up most frequently in young cats, it can also appear in older cats.
Continued
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Things To Remember About Cats And Food:
- If your cat doesnt eat her meal, try a different kind of food, and then offer affection while she is eating.
- If your cat needs to lose weight, get guidance from your veterinarian. Overweight cats are at increased risk for fatty liver disease drastic calorie restriction is dangerous.
- If you leave your cat in the care of a sitter, have the sitter monitor whether the cat consumes normal meals.
- If your cat is shy or resists handling, try giving affection eating. Go slowly add no more than a minute or two of attention each time.
- Consult a veterinarian if your cat does not eat for more than 24 hours.
Read more on cats and eating on Catster.com:
Reasons Why Your Cat Is Not Eating
Adrienne Kruzer, BS, RVT, LVT, has worked with a variety of animals for over 15 years, including birds of prey, reptiles, and small mammals.
The Spruce / Ana Cadena
It’s common for a cat to suddenly decide it doesn’t want to eat a certain food or treat anymore. But sometimes a cat stops eating for a more serious reason. You should be aware of the potential causes and concerns for a cat’s food aversion. There may be things you can do at home to help your cat regain its appetite, but sometimes veterinary intervention is necessary.
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The Type Of Wet Food I Feed My Cat
I feed my cat Wellness Healthy Indulgence wet food which comes in pouches with several varieties and flavors. In the beginning, I fed her the Morsels Chicken variety, and later I switched to the Gravies Chicken & Turkey variety which I have been feeding her for the last year.
She has always loved her wet food and eaten every single piece of it. But lately, shes been approaching the food, sniffing it, and walking away. This is very strange behavior but not unusual. Actually, I found a thread in the CatSite forum about this problem. I wanted to learn more about why cats do this and why my cat Sophie is doing it. Heres what I discovered:
Too Long Eating The Same Food
Just as humans, cats get bored eating the same food for too long. Cats need some change after a long period of time. Usually, a cat gets bored eating the same food for about a year. So if youve been feeding your cat the same food for over a year and he or she stops eating it, you may want to consider changing the brand or variety.
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Your Kitten May Be Intimidated By Your Dog Or Other Cats
While many kittens are outgoing and resilient, some shy kittens may be intimidated by other furry family members when it comes to mealtime.
Give your kitten a safe place to eat where they wont be chased or bothered by other cats or dogs in the family.
If your kitten wont eat for more than a day or two, call your veterinarian to schedule an exam. The sooner you determine the cause, the sooner your little one will be back to normal.
Why Is My Cat Always Begging For Food Even Though He Gets Fed Regularly
Many cat owners experience their cat always begging for food even though they get fed the right amount throughout the day, and there can be several reasons why they do this. This behavior, or rather condition known as polyphagia can be frustrating for the owner because, to be honest, this is not a natural behavior when you think of cats in the wild, they hunt, eat, clean then sleep and start all over again, they do not constantly hunt for food, so why all the begging? In this article we will look at all the possibilities of why your cat is always begging for food, even though hes finished his meal, or sometimes even when there is still food in his bowl.
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Yowling For Food At Regularly Scheduled Meal Times
If you feed your cat at the same time every day, your hungry cat will figure out when its time to eat. No, its not that theyve learned to tell time! Unless, of course, you have one of those old fashioned clocks that chime on the hour and using that to tell you when its time to feed the cat.
In this case, the clock may be inducing a Pavlovian response. Most often, its just an empty tummy thats been trained to be ready to get filled at a certain time. Your meowing cat is just making sure you dont forget.
Strange Things Cats Eat
The urge to eat nonfood items — called pica — can be pretty common in cats.
Many cats will nurse on wool, says Arnold Plotnick, DVM, a veterinary internist and feline specialist in New York. Oriental cats “are predisposed to that,” he says.
That habit also may appear in cats that were weaned too early. The younger a cat is weaned, the stronger its drive to nurse and the more likely the cat is to suck on wool — or its owners arms, earlobes, or hair. Although some cats may only suck on such fuzzy items as wool, fleece, and stuffed animals, others progress to eating these fabrics.
And some cats move on to eating stranger items such as shoelaces, paper, plastic goods like grocery bags and shower curtains, and even electrical cords, says Nicholas H. Dodman, section head and program director of Animal Behavior at Tufts Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine.
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Eating And Weight Loss
If your cat always seems to be hungry but seems to be losing weight no matter how much she eats, something is terribly wrong. Your cat possibly has a severe health problem and needs to be taken to the vet. Fortunately, many of these potential ailments can be cured or at least managed with medication or changing your cats diet.
Here are some things your vet may screen for:
My Cat Drinks A Lot Of Water And Is Vomiting
As we have already said, often the symptoms of cats are not perceived by owners in time, which complicates the clinical picture and contributes to the imbalance of the body as a whole, leading the animal to worsen the initial signs and present other related signs, such as vomiting, apathy, loss of appetite, etc…. Therefore, if your cat drinks too much water and doesn’t eat, or eats too little, it may be because the underlying cause is advanced.
For all the above reasons, when the first symptom in your cat is detected, be it an increase in water consumption, an increase in urine, vomiting, lack of appetite, weight loss…, go to the veterinarian immediately, since the pathologies mentioned in previous sections must be treated as soon as possible. In the meantime, we recommend that you refer to the following article to find out “What to do if your cat vomits” and apply first aid.
This article is purely informative. AnimalWised does not have the authority to prescribe any veterinary treatment or create a diagnosis. We invite you to take your pet to the veterinarian if they are suffering from any condition or pain.
If you want to read similar articles to My Cat Is Drinking a lot of Water, we recommend you visit our Other health problems category.
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Poor Quality Or Not Enough Food
Finally, the cats food itselfor the lack of itcould be why your cat is always hungry. If the food is of poor quality or they arent eating enough of it, that could make them incessantly beg for food, Dr. Mazepa says.
Dr. Murphy agrees. There are certainly times where owners think theyre feeding the appropriate amount of food and it simply is not enough for the cats to maintain their weight, she says. So, they do seem hungry.
Other signs of malnutrition include weight loss or a poor haircoat, Dr. Mazepa says.
This problem would be diagnosed by ruling out other causes of increased hunger , as well as questioning the owner very specifically about their cats diet and volume of food fed each day, she says. This problem is one that is easily addressed with client education.
If your cat appears to be hungry all the time, despite feeding them the right amount of a good quality diet, check in with your veterinarian. A simple test can point to a solutionand ensure your feline friend is getting the nutrients they need to thrive.
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What Do You Do When Your Cat Wont Eat
If your kitty at any age stops eating, do you need to take them to the vet right away? Or, is it okay to wait until morning or even to monitor for a few days if your kitty is acting normal otherwise?
With cats, dont wait to see if appetite will improve. Cats who dont eat for more than a day or two are at risk for a condition called fatty liver, which can cause liver failure. Fatty liver, or hepatic lipidosis, happens when the body moves stored fat to use for energy during anorexia. The process overwhelms the liver, which is involved in processing the stored fat. Obese or overweight kitties are at the highest risk, but fatty liver can happen to any cat.
Other potential complications of not eating include dehydration, electrolyte imbalances, nutrient deficiencies, weight loss, and delayed healing and recoveries.
If your vet has ruled out a medical condition and has determined your kittys loss of appetite is due to picky eating habits, they can discuss techniques to establish a healthy eating schedule. Your vet may also recommend trying a new food or try switching from dry food to canned food. Some cat owners have also had success with mixing in fish oil or a small amount of canned tuna into their cat’s meal. Just remember, you don’t want to rely on feeding you cat human foods as your pet won’t get all of the nutrients they need .
Prompt care will also help your kitty feel like their normal self again as soon as possible.
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