They act like I STARVE them!

Nya and Buddy both act like they never ever get food. It's starting to wear on me. Buddy is worse, but Nya is a queen beggar!

They're both raw fed a pre-made formula with 85% meat organ bone and 15% veggies. They are both fed more than the reccomended for their weights. Buddy gets enough for a 12lb cat (he's 8.5) and Nya gets enough for a 9lb cat (she's 7). I just don't know what to do! I often wonder if they're missing out on the "full" feeling they'd get from carbs, but when I added a bit of rice for a few days, nothing changed

Ideas?

I think I'd speak to some nutrition vets. If you are feeding more than they need, I'd say they aren't getting enough of *something* in their diet. Perhaps their metabolism is so high they ARE starving in a sense.

I know my two outside cats act like they are starving ALL the time! It's totally ridiculous and i know what you mean by saying it's wearing on you. You open the back door and they are there meowing like they are dying. Neither are in anyway starving and we live on 9 acres... they get more than what they need kibble and then they go catchign mice and eat them!!! Then come to the back door *meow we are dying here*. lol

I think it's just a kitty thing.
Tomas would tell you I starve him even while he'd chowing down on his supper.

Can you rearrange mealtimes a bit or divide the portions up and offer more meals?

Are they maintaining their weights? How old are they (if they are over 7 or so, they should be checked for hyperthyroidism, especially if they aren't gaining or maintaining their weights). What is their history? I've found that cats who were strays tend to be more likely to overeat or never feel full--it goes back to the days when they had to beg or scavenge for food. Odo would be fed every two hours if he had his way with snacks in between. Instead, he's stuck with every 10-12 hours with occasionally a snack.

Also, are you following a recipe or using some sort of supplement? If it's just organs, meat, bones and veggies, it is possible that there is a nutrient imbalance of some sort.

Nya is 12 ish and Buddy is just over 2. They're both maintaining their weight just fine, not gaining, not losing. They used to get their food all at once, once a day, but I've since switched it to two meals a day to try and cut down on this behaviour (and to help maintain steady levels in Nya's system to prevent UT issues). This doesn't seem to be helping through the day, but at least they aren't screaming at me by dinnertime

The food I'm using is pre-made and is "Nutritionally complete" but they may be missing *something*... I may have to investigate this.

I'm also going to talk to the vet, perhaps their metabolism is really high and they should be getting even MORE food. *sigh* lol

Thanks

Try oatmeal and adding some more organ meats ... some "complete " raws have lots fo muscle and bone but lack in the organs ... The oatmeal can be raw or cooked... My vet highly recommends sweet potatos( hope the dog will eat it but the cat???)

Also, if Nya hasn't had bloodwork recently, you may want to consider a senior panel for her. Frequent hunger can be a sign of hyperthyroidism (which my Spot had), though in Odo's case, I think it's just dementia. He forgets he ate 5 minutes after walking away from the food bowl.

I adeed cooked oatmeal to Damita's premade NVP raw when she was "starving". Within days she was back to normal. I also feed her 4-6 meals a day. Damita should get 3 medallions a day, but eats 5 is is finally gaining weight!

Hmmm... oatmeal you say! I'll have to try that, hopefully they'll EAT it! I like the idea of oatmeal better than rice...

Thanks cloud_shade, she had a full round of bloodwork done at her last "yearly" exam. I'll be sure to get another done when she goes in again (it shouldn't be too long now).