Kitty on a diet - hunger causing behavioral probs

Hi all!

When I got my cat, Gracie, she was 6 years old and overweight...about 16-17 lbs. I've had her for almost 5 years now, and she's been on diet food the whole time. Just recently she was at the vet and he wanted to put her on a higher strength diet food: Hill's Prescription Diet r/d.

She's been on it for a few months now, and since she started it, she ALWAYS seems hungry. She goes nuts right before mealtimes (she's always done this, but it's more intense now)...meowing and getting visibly agitated/excited. She starts bugging me and my husband at 4 or 5am to get up and feed her. And for the first time ever, she is jumping up on kitchen counters and looking for food. She was successful once, and now she gets up there all the time to check it out. This morning she found 2 pieces of bacon wrapped in a paper towel and managed to eat them both before we caught her. And whenever my husband or I walk through the kitchen (which is where her food is and where she eats), she follows close underfoot, meowing and begging for us to feed her.

I think the food is effective - it really looks like she has lost some weight. But I don't know how much more of this I can handle! Has anyone else experienced this? Any ideas on what to do?

Thank you so much! And happy new year!

Oh and here's the link to the food she's on: http://www.hillspet.com/hillspet/pro...45524441760608

Have you discussed this with her vet??

WHat other "diet " food s has she been on??

Have you looked into NO grain foods ?? Wet food??? these are items to research and discuss with her vet...

Has she lost wt since you have had her?

Has thyroid bloodwork been done??

Hi
What you are feeding may appear to be affective but this is horrible horrible food. Have you read the label?
Chicken By-Product Meal, Brewers Rice, Corn Gluten Meal,
It may be a low calorie food but the problem is, your cat may not be getting what is needed for optimum health. This stuff is diet potato chips. 35% of calories are coming from carbohydrates. This is not a species appropiate diet. You have heard of the Atkins diet. Well we are omnivores and cats are carnivores/ie meat eaters. There is a difference between animal based protein versus versus grain vegetable

. Like sharky said, no grain wet food is the way to go. Wellness Merrick are just a few of the brands out there

I experienced the same exact thing with Hills r/d only with my dogs. They were always hungry and they got no other food during that time.

I learned that many 'diet' foods have a lot of fillers so they feel full but it is a brief feeling of satisfaction. Most comes out in the stools. So they are starving again.

I hated going through this and realized this was all my vet knew to do. I learned as much as I could to give them a better option.

With the vet monitoring the weight I found a much healthier food and they were finally satisfied.

I do believe there are much better options. I hope you find something that works for Gracie.

My cats act like this all the time. I think some cats are just food obsessed. My previous cat would rather play than eat.

These two cats get good food---Brandon Farms, wet, 95% meat. They did this with their other food which had a lot of grain. That's why I switched. The only difference is the poop doesn't smell as bad. Neither one is thin, both probably a half pound overweight if anything.

I would like to know what happens if you try something else.

Originally Posted by nil4664

...I think some cats are just food obsessed. My previous cat would rather play than eat...

Click to expand...

...or, maybe just differing metabolic rates/speeds.

My Andy, 3-4 years, a small-boned DLH Tabby who has no problem maintaining a very trim figure, is an absolute garburator!

Thank you all so much for your input. I guess I figured that the food couldn't be bad for her since the vet recommended it, but if she's not getting what she needs from it, then I think I'll try something else. I'll look into some of the ones you all have recommended. Thank you!