Kitty never satisfied with meals

As many of you know I am Whitney's mom. She is 1.5 years old spayed rescue-house cat that I take on walks. I have had her since he was 10 weeks old and she is a great kitty behavioral wise and health wise. Anyhoo, the past 3 months Whitney cries for food constantly. This is a new behavior. I try and shoot for 200 calories a day for her 10 lb frame-she is long. She eats canned Chicken Weruva-no grain, low carb, and raw Primal turkey. 

I  think she is  good size and has a defined waist. She is fed twice a day for the most part. When I put the food down it is gobbled imediatly
and then she cries for more. Every time we open the cabinet or fridge she follows us expecting more.  We often trip on her heading to the kitchen as she jumps up hoping to con some food out of us. She gets no grain treats too at 10-16 calories extra  day

The only thing I can think of is worms or some complex metabolic thang which I doubt they will treat cats for.

The behavior is quite unsettling as she behaves as if she has not eaten in days with desperate meowing. In addition, she has started jumping on the kitchen table and eating people food-again a new behavior.

Thoughts?

PS-part of me suspects it is something in the treats that makes her want more.

I can't say what's causing the behaviour changes. What I do know is that a lot of metabolic disorders are relatively straightforward to treat - even if it does mean meds for life. If you think worms could be an issue then it can't hurt to worm her (especially as it's possible she's picked something up on her walks).


It might help her to have smaller, more frequent meals, but I don't know if that's viable for you.

If you think it's the treats that are causing the problem then stop feeding them. If you want to give her treats then there are plenty of simple ones out there (like plain freeze dried chicken or duck). Another option is to have plainly cooked (baked,poached or even grilled with no seasoning) meat in the fridge for her. I've yet to meet a cat who thinks poached chicken or turkey is a bad idea

Hope you find some answers soon.

Hm. I am by no means an expert, but maybe some of my experience could be something for you to consider:

My new shelter cat just finished a 14 day course of Panacur because my vet found out that he had not be dewormed for lungworms in the shelter. My cat's history is that he was born outside and brought to a shelter as a newborn. The vet wanted to treat him because he had been outside at some point, but as I understand it, some parasites can also pass through mother's milk. I'm not sure of any of this relates to your cat other than being outside.

Up until the last two days of the Panacur, my cat was beyond RAVENOUS. I was feeding him five large meals a day which he'd eat in a frenzy and in between, he'd poke around in the empty food bowl, try to trip us looking for more, try to steal our food or attempt to break into the cabinet where we keep his food. We were going through food like crazy and were concerned. He's still growing apparently but this seemed really exaggerated even so. We weren't able to give him too much food. At one point, my bf fed him and I unknowingly, put food down again around an hour later. Both large meals, both wolfed down like he hadn't eaten in days.

Two days before the Panacur course ended, he began eating differently. Eating some, going back, eating some more throughout the day, etc. The vet feels that he had some other parasite (other than lungworm) that was eradicated by the dewormer. 

I should add that I adopted my cat a little over a month ago and he just turned a year old this month

@Slykat12 -- both replies you've had make good points, and possibilities to look into.

my thought would be something to consider if all medical reasons have been looked into and dismissed by your vet. this is not altogether a common thing, but it can happen with some cats -- that there's simply something missing in their diet. like something their body has not been getting what it needs of, and over time a distinct deficiency in their body has developed. this leaves the cat's body always 'hungry', for that one thing it's needing, that it has a deficiency of.

you're feeding great quality foods (the weruva and the raw primal turkey), but maybe it has something to do with serving only poultry...? plus, something else to consider is that serving only one type of protein (i'm considering chicken and turkey as one type of protein, 'poultry') is something that some/many believe could leave your girl open to developing an allergy to it over time -- at least there is a possibility of developing an allergy.

I wonder if 200 calories per day just isn't enough for your cat. Although it's generally recommended to feed about 20 to 25 calories per pound of idea body weight per day, some cats may need more or less. Try feeding closer to 250 calories per day for a couple of weeks to see if that satisfies your cat's hunger pangs. Also try spreading meals out. Twice a a day feeding isn't enough for many cats. My Aby is fed 4 times a day and my DMHis fed 3 times a day. Since raw food can't be left out all day, I suggest feeding that for breakfast and dinner and feed the Weruva or other canned food the other times using a timed feeder or other method (you can ask for more feeding tips on the Nutrition forum).

I accidentally under-fed my Aby for a few months when I switched to a different raw food (Well Mom fed the cats as I was on crutches at the time) and he had the same behaviors as your cat - constantly screaming for food, jumping on the counters, etc. I realized he was getting too skinny and bony, looked more closely at what I was feeding, and increased the amount of food. That solved the problem.

Excellent sound advice that I will indulge. TY all.