Hungry Hungry Hippo

rileygidgetrose

TCS Member
Thread starter
Kitten
Joined
Dec 17, 2013
Messages
1
Purraise
1
My cat seems to be always hungry and begging for food. She is 10 years old, house cat. Eats about a can of Science Diet tender chicken dinner per day. Half can in morning, half in evening.

Gidget has always had a bigger appetite than our other two cats. She has been on the above diet for about a year. As it is, she eats the other cats' food too if we don't separate her. She has gotten into bread products during the day and has nibbled on slices of bread that she dragged from the counter. We add water to our cats' food to increase their water intake. She begs like a dog - she reminds us of Garfield, and looks like him too. :-)

Any advice? She's definitely not starving, and has a healthy weight. Thanks!
 

andrya

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Jul 6, 2012
Messages
2,561
Purraise
147
Hi and welcome to the forum 


When you say she's been eating the Hill's canned food for about a year, do you mean ONLY that type, or in a rotation with other foods?

After looking up this food, l noticed that it contains a huge percentage of carbs, which are not good for the kitty. Cats do better (and feel fuller, more satisfied) on meat proteins, rather than grain/veg.

The adult tender chicken dinner does list chicken as first ingredient, which is good, and liver as second, which is also good. But then there is an awfully long list of species-inappropriate ingredients which are not doing anything to fulfill the cat's nutritional needs. lt would be okay to serve her this as part of a rotation, whereby the shortfalls of this one may be offset by others. And the strengths of this one will offset any weakness in others. This is a good way to ensure there are no nutritional or vitamin deficiencies, which can result in "cravings" or hoggy behaviour 


Here's a very interesting thread on calories per cat weight - and the source of those calories vs. fullness (LDG's post)

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/248873/caloric-needs-calculator-for-cats
 

cprcheetah

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Nov 23, 2013
Messages
1,887
Purraise
149
Location
Bountiful, UTah
I would try to find a lower carb food, carbohydrates do not keep a cat full.  Which is probably why your kitty is constantly looking for food.  My boy Munchie is the same way, I have to separate all my cats at feeding time otherwise he gulps his down and then heads to the other dishes to finish them off.
 

betsygee

Just what part of meow don't you understand.
Staff Member
Moderator
Joined
Mar 17, 2013
Messages
28,337
Purraise
17,477
Location
Central Coast CA, USA
Has she been a vet to rule out hyperthyroidism or anything like that?
 

peaches08

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Jan 11, 2013
Messages
4,884
Purraise
290
Location
GA
Some cats are just food obsessed. 2 of my 3 are. But reducing carbs is always a good idea.
 
Top