My new kitty just can't seem to get enough food. She is about 1 1/2 years old, weighs & should weigh 7 lbs. Feeding her about 6 oz of Instinct with a lot of water added per day. If I give her more she gains weight. She is driving me crazy for food & eats it so fast. There was an article in Catster that suggested adding broccoli & other low cal vegetables to her wet food to add more bulk. I thought the idea was to really limit carbs not add them to food. Any one tried this or know something about it?
-
Too many ads? Join our community of cat lovers now to reduce ads by 90%! Click here to join for free!
Question about vegetables
- Thread starter riley1
- Start Date
Those types of veggies don't have a lot of carbs, actually. . .just a lot of fiber. Fiber does help you to feel more full, but cats don't usually deal with fiber very well (obligate carnivores aren't made to process fiber). You could try giving her a small amount, but it may cause gas or other digestive upset.
Personally, I would try feeding her more often (same amount, just split into more meals) if possible. How many meals a day is she getting now? You could also try giving her a few treats whenever she gets hungry---just a couple kibbles or small pieces of freeze-dried meat or whatever she likes best. That might take the edge off her hunger.
Personally, I would try feeding her more often (same amount, just split into more meals) if possible. How many meals a day is she getting now? You could also try giving her a few treats whenever she gets hungry---just a couple kibbles or small pieces of freeze-dried meat or whatever she likes best. That might take the edge off her hunger.
You can get special food bowls designed to slow down their eating time. It's possible something like that could help, as if she takes longer to eat her food then there's a greater chance that she'll register that she's had a good meal.
W Willowy 's suggestion of smaller, more frequent meals is a great idea, if it's feasible for you to do so.
You could also try having a little plain skinless chicken or turkey breast as treats/snacks - its natural, relatively low energy, and the fact its pure meat should really satisfy the carnivore in her
Whilst it's true that veggies provide bulk, a cat just doesn't have the digestive enzymes necessary to process them. IMO that makes them relatively unlikely to affect her hunger a great deal - a case in point are the so called 'diet' cat foods that cats are prone to overeating precisely because of the high proportion of, to them, indigestible matter.
I could be wrong, but I'm under the impression that cats aren't fully mature until the age of 2 - essentially, you have a teenager on your hands. Whilst she's achieved her adult height by now, she's still not quite done growing. It's possible she actually needs a little more food than you currently give her.
W Willowy 's suggestion of smaller, more frequent meals is a great idea, if it's feasible for you to do so.
You could also try having a little plain skinless chicken or turkey breast as treats/snacks - its natural, relatively low energy, and the fact its pure meat should really satisfy the carnivore in her
Whilst it's true that veggies provide bulk, a cat just doesn't have the digestive enzymes necessary to process them. IMO that makes them relatively unlikely to affect her hunger a great deal - a case in point are the so called 'diet' cat foods that cats are prone to overeating precisely because of the high proportion of, to them, indigestible matter.
I could be wrong, but I'm under the impression that cats aren't fully mature until the age of 2 - essentially, you have a teenager on your hands. Whilst she's achieved her adult height by now, she's still not quite done growing. It's possible she actually needs a little more food than you currently give her.
We have a pudgy cat who doesn't get to eat very much at all before he starts to gain weight. Our Vet suggested we add a little canned pumpkin to his wet food to try to satiate him. I would take that over broccoli any day for a cat, although broccoli is supposedly okay, as long as it's cooked.
Did your Vet SAY your little one should only weigh 7 lbs? That's kind of small, but maybe she's a smallish cal? It just sounds as if she really IS hungry
Did your Vet SAY your little one should only weigh 7 lbs? That's kind of small, but maybe she's a smallish cal? It just sounds as if she really IS hungry
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #5
Thank you all for your suggestions! She gets a 5.5 can of instinct divided into 3 meals & then another oz of canned at about 10:00 pm. She is a petite little girl so I believe 7 lbs is enough & the vet said no more than 7.4 lbs. She looks really good; not skinny at all. I was taking a little bit of Fromm dry & putting it in her puzzle feeder and sometimes a little more when I was having a snack. (she follows me like a shark when I eat). If I add this little bit of dry food she starts to gain immediately. If I sit down she tries to get right into my plate. I have to put her in another room. I like the idea of pumpkin but her behavior is making me think there is something wrong with her. The special bowl might help as well. The chicken might make her feel more full as it is all protein where instinct has a lot of fat. I will try all of these but does any one know if female cats have hormone problems unrelated to actually diseases? She really seems hungry; not just a chow hound which is what the vet said.
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #6
I just re-read the last line of your post. Maybe she is still growing. I am going to let her go to the full 7.4 lbs and see what happens from there. I guess if you only weigh 7 lbs, 4 oz may be more inportant.You can get special food bowls designed to slow down their eating time. It's possible something like that could help, as if she takes longer to eat her food then there's a greater chance that she'll register that she's had a good meal.
@Willowy 's suggestion of smaller, more frequent meals is a great idea, if it's feasible for you to do so.
You could also try having a little plain skinless chicken or turkey breast as treats/snacks - its natural, relatively low energy, and the fact its pure meat should really satisfy the carnivore in her
Whilst it's true that veggies provide bulk, a cat just doesn't have the digestive enzymes necessary to process them. IMO that makes them relatively unlikely to affect her hunger a great deal - a case in point are the so called 'diet' cat foods that cats are prone to overeating precisely because of the high proportion of, to them, indigestible matter.
I could be wrong, but I'm under the impression that cats aren't fully mature until the age of 2 - essentially, you have a teenager on your hands. Whilst she's achieved her adult height by now, she's still not quite done growing. It's possible she actually needs a little more food than you currently give her.
She might feel more satisfied if you gave her a lower fat, higher protein food. That way she could eat a larger volume of food to get the same amount of calories; plus, she would be getting more protein in total. She is young and still developing which requires a lot of protein, and the Instinct may not be meeting her needs right now.
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #8
Really good idea! Just weighted her & she is up to eight pounds!! Just noticed her tummy. I wonder how much instinct she needs to get her supplements. Anyone know? I know we are not supposed to talk about raw on this thread. I was planning on feeding her raw soon. Maybe soon is now!
I was thinking the very same thing. Plus something with lower carbs too. That way she should feel more full. Higher protein, a little lower fat, lower carbs. Just make sure you check calories, because they can vary vastly!
If you're thinking about going to raw, just start up new thread over in the raw forum. That way you can definitely control each factor.
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #10
thank you!!
