My 2 year old wants to eat almost every 2 hrs

Hi all.. My 2 year old pasha is male neutered and I've had him for 2 months now. He's currently at 8 kg (16 lb) And should go down to 5.5 kg. his vet diet was 60 g daily through the day of dry food however after research I've started him on wet food and he loves it. I'm experimenting with the portions and timing however his current meal plan is as follow: 80 g at 8 am. 80 g at 4 pm and another 80 for dinner around 8 pm.

However he's always hungry and hovers by the kitchen or sits where his food spot is waiting for food. This normally starts 2 hrs after his lunch or dinner. He's an indoor cat with limited activities although I do play with him he tends to lose interest quickly. I do hide his toys and use different ones daily.

Am I not feeding him? Is this normal? He's meowing almost the whole time and it's really loud sometimes coz he's deaf

I do leave him with about 10g of dry food before i go to be as kid night snack and also becoz he wake up much earlier than me and naturally starts to haul outside my bedroom

You are definitely not starving him- if anything, depending on the food you are feeding, you may be giving him too much for him to lose weight, especially with the dry added in, but I guess you'll have to use trial and error to see. Did the vet tell you to feed that much? 240 grams plus dry sounds like a lot.

Is your schedule flexible? Could you, for example, give him 40 g at 8am, 40 g at 12 pm, 40 g at 4 pm, 40 g at 8pm and 40 g right before bed?

If you are stuck with the schedule you've got, you just have to ignore him and eventually he will get the idea that he's not getting any more for now and will stop.  This may take some time, and you have to be absolutely consistent. I definitely WOULD NOT feed him more grams of food than you are now.  My cats weigh 12 pounds and could stand to lose some weight themselves and maintain that on just 170 grams of wet food each a day, with no dry food whatsoever.

Here's a long but great thread about getting cats to lose weight safely:  http://www.thecatsite.com/t/245236/mickey-my-27-lbs-foster-and-his-journey-back-to-a-healthy-weight

@tulosai The wet food portion is not through the vet. I had him on 40, 80, 40 but increased it yesterday as he made it sound like he's starving. I think I will go back to maybe 80 in the morning then 40 for lunch and 20 for dinner and maybe 20 at bed time. I can do 12 PM but not everyday as it means I have to leave work which is something I can't commit to daily so id rather keep him on a routine that I can commit to.

@peaches08 thanks, i heard about this thread and read it last week.

Not all foods are created equal and, depending on the food, maybe you're not feeding enough. I would look at the calories instead of the grams and figure out his portions based on that.

My male cat was a hefty guy at 16-plus pounds and I needed him to lose a pound or two, but at the same time, my female is fine and I don't want her to lose weight. I figured out their calorie needs and portion out cans depending on how many calories are in a can. One brand that I am feeding contains over 200 calories in a 5.5 ounce can, while another brand contains only 145 calories in the same size can. So they get more of the 145-calorie food than the 200-calorie food.

Alternatively, were you free-feeding before? If so, your cat may be very unhappy about the switch from free-feeding to portioned feeding. If this is the case, he will likely adapt. Mine did, but they sure let me know when it's approaching meal time. And the first one to arrive home from work in the evening is expected to feed the cats before doing anything else.

Stay strong! My chubby cat Missy would eat all day long if  I gave her the chance. They'll beg and beg but if you know you're giving them enough calories, let them beg! They just want to wear you down so you'll give in!