Always wanting more wet food?

I feed my girl one 5.5 oz can of wet food a day, however she always has dry food available. I noticed the last week, she has been getting "demanding". She is fed the wet food at 11am everyday, she knows this and will be right at the cupboard meowing for it if i'm late. Well, this last week she has started going to the cupboard all day and meowing, its starting to drive me crazy. 

My question is, she will nibble on the dry food but hardly eats it. Should I take away the free feed option and just give wet? Or should I ignore this behavior until it stops? I'm not sure if it's just her wanting more or if she is hungry and only wanting to eat wet. 

I know cats are not like dogs, so i'm not sure if she is be "demanding" or trying to tell me she is hungry. I'm worried if I give in, she will then just think she can get it whenever she wants and i'll be honest, my pocket book can not just feed her wet food when she demands (nor do I think it is healthy for her to over eat).

Thanks in advance and sorry if this is a dumb question! 

MeowKittyMeow said:

 
I feed my girl one 5.5 oz can of wet food a day, however she always has dry food available. I noticed the last week, she has been getting "demanding". She is fed the wet food at 11am everyday, she knows this and will be right at the cupboard meowing for it if i'm late. Well, this last week she has started going to the cupboard all day and meowing, its starting to drive me crazy. 

My question is, she will nibble on the dry food but hardly eats it. Should I take away the free feed option and just give wet? Or should I ignore this behavior until it stops? I'm not sure if it's just her wanting more or if she is hungry and only wanting to eat wet. 

I know cats are not like dogs, so i'm not sure if she is be "demanding" or trying to tell me she is hungry. I'm worried if I give in, she will then just think she can get it whenever she wants and i'll be honest, my pocket book can not just feed her wet food when she demands (nor do I think it is healthy for her to over eat).

Thanks in advance and sorry if this is a dumb question! 

Click to expand...

Your cat needs two 5 oz cans a day.

MeowKittyMeow said:

 
I feed my girl one 5.5 oz can of wet food a day, however she always has dry food available. I noticed the last week, she has been getting "demanding". She is fed the wet food at 11am everyday, she knows this and will be right at the cupboard meowing for it if i'm late. Well, this last week she has started going to the cupboard all day and meowing, its starting to drive me crazy. 

My question is, she will nibble on the dry food but hardly eats it. Should I take away the free feed option and just give wet? Or should I ignore this behavior until it stops? I'm not sure if it's just her wanting more or if she is hungry and only wanting to eat wet. 

I know cats are not like dogs, so i'm not sure if she is be "demanding" or trying to tell me she is hungry. I'm worried if I give in, she will then just think she can get it whenever she wants and i'll be honest, my pocket book can not just feed her wet food when she demands (nor do I think it is healthy for her to over eat).

Thanks in advance and sorry if this is a dumb question! 

Click to expand...

It's not a dumb question at all. Does she eat just once a day? Do you mix dry food in with the wet? If she eats just once a day, try splitting that once meal into 2. Instead of free feeding the kibble, try mixing it with the wet twice a day to make 2 bigger meals to keep her tummy satisfied. 

What brand of wet food do you give her? There are affordable wet food brands out there that you can give her that aren't as bad as you might think they'd be especially if you stick to the pates. You can also get good deals on wet food by shopping in bulk online at sites like Amazon, Chewy.com, Wag.com and Petfooddirect.com. Petco has a lot of sales that are online only if you're signed up on their email list. Petsmart does this as well. Petsmart has an affordable food line called Grreat Choice. Theses foods are comparable to Friskies and Fancy Feast. My cats like the pates of all 3 of these brands. 

peterbald love said:

 
Your cat needs two 5 oz cans a day.

Click to expand...

11 ounces a day (two 5.5  ounce cans) is a lot of food for a cat. @MeowKittyMeow  how much does your cat weigh? 

To be honest, if it were me I'd just stop free feeding and go onto timed meals. Its better for her anyway, and she's telling you that's what she wants. :nod: You can either move totally onto the wet food, or offer a little dry alongside in a separate bowl if she wants it.

Kat0121 said:

 
11 ounces a day (two 5.5  ounce cans) is a lot of food for a cat. @MeowKittyMeow  how much does your cat weigh? 

Click to expand...

I agree, two large cans does seems like a lot of food, though the caloric content can vary a lot, from low-end calorie Weruva to, say, a high-calorie calorie Wellness pate. Also, foods with high protein levels might be more satiating than foods with more carby fillers.

The cat's weight, age, and activity level are important factors in figuring out how much to feed.

Once we got our cats off dry food and on wet and raw food they became pretty much self-regulating. Meaning I can generally believe them if they say they want/need to be fed. They do have a fairly set meal schedule, with some meals timed, others not. I've never had to count their calories, though I do occasionally cut back on one cat's food because she's a bit of a piglet. I find it easier to just watch the cats and their shapes than to try to do all the math!  I know I'm lucky to have that work, particularly since the vet was happy with their weigh-in last week.

FWIW, in answer to your questions, @MeowKittyMeow, I'd probably ditch the dry food and feed all wet food, in several small meals a day. I would guess your cat probably does need a little more food but I'd only make a small increase, at least initially. That also reminds me: if your cat is a rescue, she might be anxious about getting enough food. (We went through that with our cats... they were very underfed when we adopted them.)

Good luck!

peterbald love said:

Your cat needs two 5 oz cans a day.

Click to expand...

That is too much for most cats, Two 3 oz cans should be fine, along with snacks

@Kat0121  she is small... she weighs about 6lbs (maybe a little more). The vet told me 5.5 is plenty and that she is a good size. She eats one can of friskys in the morning and free feds the rest of the day. I do not put any of the dry food in with the wet, I keep another bowl full of dry out all day. 

Thanks for all the advice everyone. After reading everyones replies I think I may try dividing the one can between a morning and night feeding. I'm not sure if I'm going to take away the dry food yet... If I do, should I increase how much she gets?

MeowKittyMeow said:

 
@Kat0121  she is small... she weighs about 6lbs (maybe a little more). The vet told me 5.5 is plenty and that she is a good size. She eats one can of friskys in the morning and free feds the rest of the day. I do not put any of the dry food in with the wet, I keep another bowl full of dry out all day. 

Thanks for all the advice everyone. After reading everyones replies I think I may try dividing the one can between a morning and night feeding. I'm not sure if I'm going to take away the dry food yet... If I do, should I increase how much she gets?

Click to expand...

Yes, she is a small cat! I bet splitting her Friskies into two feedings will help. Since your cat's about the right size getting one can of Friskies and a little dry food each day, if you take away the dry food and only feed the Friskies in multiple meals, she may be okay with just one can a day, particularly if you're feeding her the pates, which are the most caloric. Even so, I'd be prepared to add a little something more, at least occasionally, especially if she's young and active. (And it doesn't look like she's gaining weight she doesn't need!)

Good luck!

MeowKittyMeow said:

 
@Kat0121  she is small... she weighs about 6lbs (maybe a little more). The vet told me 5.5 is plenty and that she is a good size. She eats one can of friskys in the morning and free feds the rest of the day. I do not put any of the dry food in with the wet, I keep another bowl full of dry out all day. 

Thanks for all the advice everyone. After reading everyones replies I think I may try dividing the one can between a morning and night feeding. I'm not sure if I'm going to take away the dry food yet... If I do, should I increase how much she gets?

Click to expand...

She's about the same size as my Sophie then. Sophie eats two 3 oz cans a day ( 1 at breakfast and 1 at dinner) plus supplements. She doesn't eat any dry except as a treat in pace of Temptations, etc.  Splitting a 5.5 ounce can of food into 2 meals would be two 2.75 ounce meals so that do her just fine. 

I have started splitting the can to morning and night and it has stopped the constant meowing Thanks for the advice everyone!

Glad we were able to help you

I'm so glad that helped!