Hungry and Whiney?

My cat Buddy has been very hungry for the last four days or so. He always has a full bowl of kibble and we give him one can on soft food daily (he is very skinny naturally, so we make sure he always has plenty of food. We've had him checked by the vet multiple times, nothing to be worried about.) He usually doesn't finish his last batch of soft food (we give him half a can in the morning and evening,) but he has these last few days. He almost never finishes his kibble in a day, but lately he's been close to finishing that up every day, too.

He is a notorious "complainer." He meows a lot. We've noticed that he's started meowing at us more today. Perhaps he is begging for more food, but we've also wondered if he is uncomfortable.

We haven't changed the brand of his kibble, treats, or wet food.

We're wondering if perhaps it is instinct for him, because winter is coming on. But if it is something we should be worried about, I'll be more than ready to take him to the vet.

He is thirteen years old. He has always been a healthy cat; he has never had any health concerns. He was malnourished as a kitten, which stunted his growth I believe, so he is naturally very skinny, but we take him to the vet every year for a full exam and he has never had any problems. His last vet appointment was about two months ago, and he passed with flying colors.

Thank you in advance for the help!

Have you recently had bloodwork done on Buddy, including checking his Thyroid (T4) levels?

Whisperer said:

My cat Buddy has been very hungry for the last four days or so. He always has a full bowl of kibble and we give him one can on soft food daily (he is very skinny naturally, so we make sure he always has plenty of food. We've had him checked by the vet multiple times, nothing to be worried about.) He usually doesn't finish his last batch of soft food (we give him half a can in the morning and evening,) but he has these last few days. He almost never finishes his kibble in a day, but lately he's been close to finishing that up every day, too.

He is a notorious "complainer." He meows a lot. We've noticed that he's started meowing at us more today. Perhaps he is begging for more food, but we've also wondered if he is uncomfortable.

We haven't changed the brand of his kibble, treats, or wet food.

We're wondering if perhaps it is instinct for him, because winter is coming on. But if it is something we should be worried about, I'll be more than ready to take him to the vet.

He is thirteen years old. He has always been a healthy cat; he has never had any health concerns. He was malnourished as a kitten, which stunted his growth I believe, so he is naturally very skinny, but we take him to the vet every year for a full exam and he has never had any problems. His last vet appointment was about two months ago, and he passed with flying colors.

Thank you in advance for the help!

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is the canned food a 5.5oz or 3oz can?

One way to test why he's complaining is to offer more wet food and see if he stops....

CatPack said:

Have you recently had bloodwork done on Buddy, including checking his Thyroid (T4) levels?

Click to expand...

He had bloodwork done at his last vet appointment; everything was reported normal.

His canned food is 5.5 ounces. It's kind of hard to tell if he is complaining about food because he never really stops meowing before or after, haha. But lately it has iust been more frequent both before and after being fed.

It's possible that Buddy has IBD. My boy cat has IBD. He frequently whines and meows until he gets fed again. He likes to eat frequently. I give him half a Pepcid tablet twice a day. I think the tablets are 10 mg. I buy the generic at Costco. I don't know if Buddy has IBD or if he has something else going on.

Check out this thread:

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/254139/three-senior-cats-with-ibd

Also, this has some helpful info on IBD:

http://www.ibdkitties.net/IBDguidelines.html

I hope you figure out what's going on with Buddy. Poor. Little guy! I'm sorry he's having problems.

----

My girl also has IBD, but she's not whiney about it. She's not a complainer like her "brother." :lol3:

Thank you for the reply. We will be taking him to the vet Friday (sooner if he gets worse!)

Sorry, Thursday, not Friday!

Good luck at the vet. 

Does Buddy go outside or has he had fleas?  Another slight possibility is intestinal parasites, such as tapeworms (among other parasites).  Cats can pick up tapeworms by ingesting flea larvae.  I'm not saying that Buddy has this.  My cats are on Revolution, which is supposed to treat some parasites, but not all.  If Buddy goes outside, this is more of an issue.  

Here's some info:  

http://www.allfelinehospital.com/gastrointestinal.pml

http://www.vcahospitals.com/main/pe.../animal-health/tapeworm-infection-in-cats/349

Most commonly, owners recognize that the cat has tapeworms and bring this to the attention of the veterinarian. When terminal segments of the tapeworm break off and pass into the cat's stool, they can be seen crawling on the surface of the feces. These proglottid segments look like grains of cooked white rice or cucumber seeds. Less commonly, segments are seen moving around the cat's anus. Each of these proglottid capsules contains up to twenty tapeworm eggs.

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Also, per @CatPack's recommendation above, check to see if your blood work included a thyroid test.  My boy just had blood work done last month.  I think some of the packages included Thyroid, but I'm not sure if they all did.   

I hope you figure out what's wrong with Buddy!  He's very pretty. 

Cats who are always hungry and are thin despite eating well may indeed have a thyroid issue. Medication or a new special diet can control it. If he isn't I'll see if he wants play or cozy time after eating, one of my cats gets very social after eating

The poster above mentioned Pepcid. Before starting any treatment please consult a vet. And the standard dosage for Pepcid in cats is 1/4 of a 10mg pill buy please do not self medicate without a vets direction.

And please keep us updated

Thank you for the replies I haven't had time to arch him today, but as soon as I get home I will have a hawk's eye on him haha.

Parasites could be a possibility. He rarely goes outside, but every once in awhile he does and he just went out about two weeks ago and was out all evening.

I'll have to check to see if thyroid was checked on the blood panal!

Watch* panel* sorry, going mobile haha

How's Buddy doing? [emoji]128522[/emoji]

Sorry I haven't posted in awhile! He is doing great; everything checked out fine. He is now eatimg normally, too. I'm not sure why he randomly got hungry, but at least he is back to normal now!

That's fantastic news!!! 

Keep us posted if Buddy has any further issues.  I would keep any eye on him for a while.