Cat always seems hungry, am I doing something wrong?

Hi everyone,

This is my first post here-- I don't know where else to ask. I tried asking this question somewhere else and was called an abuser and told I was starving my boy and that I am an awful owner. That was terrible because anyone who knows me knows that I dedicate my life to my animals and I am trying so hard to do everything right...but this is my first cat since moving away from home, and all my childhood cats were/are free-fed and obese; I don't want that for my Frankie.

So here's the story. I adopted my beautiful boy from a shelter in the midwest. He's a great cat and I love him to death! (When he's not being a stinker... but I guess that comes with the territory hehe) He's about a year old, black with the most beautiful yellow/orange eyes I've ever seen. He's slim but not skinny and very playful. Here's a couple pictures:



Anyway on to the meat of the thing... I had been researching and researching before I brought him home trying to decide what to feed him. I decided fairly quickly against free-feeding because I don't want him to be obese and I've heard its not good for them at all. I ended up choosing Solid Gold kibble and wet food. The wet food is really nice-- basically just meat and water, and Solid Gold is a high quality kibble, I'm not by any means feeding him low quality junk, or trying to save money. 

I talked to my vet during his wellness check the day after I brought him home, and after he outlined his recommendations to me, I made Frankie a plan of 1/2 small can wet food in the morning, and 1/4 cup kibble in the evening. I considered splitting the 1/4 cup into two very small meals, but multiple people told me two meals would be fine and it is hard to commit to being home from school at the same time every day mid day. 

So we've been doing this for a while now, and Frankie is just obsessed with human food. He begs all the time when I am eating and this morning, if you'll believe it, he stole and ate a bag of bagels off my kitchen counter. (Almost empty, he actually ATE maybe half a bagel total....but I was shocked) That's obviously not good for him! He always makes a big fuss about meals and always starts 'reminding' me about 30 minutes before it's time to eat. Am I starving him?? 

I certainly don't want to not feed him enough! I'd feel terrible...the thing is, he hasn't lost any weight. If anything, he's filled out a little bit since I brought him home. His ribs aren't visible through his fur but if you press lightly with your fingertips they're palpable, same with his hip bones. His fur is thick and shiny, and he barely sheds (a BIG change from the cats I grew up with) at all. He's always chasing me and wanting to play, jumping on my feet and chasing his toys when I play with him. (He's not big on playing by himself) 

Can someone tell me if I'm doing something wrong? I'm so scared that he's suffering or something and I feel awful...I really love this cat so much. I've only had him for a little more than a month and we are best buds. All I want is for him to be healthy, not starving, and not fat. He goes to the vet whenever he needs it and I just don't want to be doing wrong by him. 

Thanks so much for reading, those of you who made it this far.

Welcome! Trust me you won't get told that here so you came to the right place!

He's a growing kitty at a year old. I have found that male cats require a bit more food than females as they are bigger and require more food but all cats are individuals. My cat, Miagi who I adopted when he was around 9 months and he is around 12 now is like this. Most cats are beggars, I would stay away from giving him too many scraps because sometimes cats get picky and hold out for scraps only. But scraps occasionally are perfectly fine. My cat Miagi adores cheetos lol.  He is a beautiful cat!

Solid good is a good food for dry, maybe feed him more wet food if he's hungry. He just may need more calories. Has he been de-wormed?

Thanks so much for the reply <3 

He's been dewormed and vaccinated. I do give in and give him scraps sometimes, but only tiny pieces and usually only plain meat to avoid too much spices or starch. (He loves french fries though....sigh) But it's hardly a significant source of calories. I was just shocked that he ate so much BAGEL this morning. That is definitely not for kitties! 

I just don't want to go to feeding him too much. It's so difficult figuring out a balance. Like I said, he's not skinny and hasn't lost any weight, but he does LOVE meal times. And I don't want him stealing food from the kitchen while I'm sleeping... especially not if it's from hunger

First off, Frankie's a beautiful cat, good for you for adopting him!

I'm not good with numbers and calories, particularly when it comes to dry food; we'd also need to know his weight to calculate anything specific, @LTS3 is good with calorie figures... But it does sound like perhaps Frankie's not getting enough to eat. Cats at his age--you said he's around a year old--tend to eat a whole lot, something we were reminded of when we adopted two ten-month-old kittens. Even after they'd gotten to the weight they were supposed to be (they came to us horribly underfed), they were so active for the next year or so that they were burning absolutely ridiculous quantities of calories. If Frankie's active, which it sounds like he is, he might need a pretty high-calorie diet. I might start by feeding him an entire can of food a day plus the dry food, to see what happens, and perhaps increase the wet food more if Solid Gold is low-calorie. You're far less likely to overfeed and contribute to obesity with low-carb, grain-free wet foods. (I learned this lesson from free-feeding a previous cat, too.)

For reference, our smallish cats--they're around eight pounds each and the vet is happy with their weights--eat the equivalent of about at least two large cans of calorie-dense food a day, around 200 calories each, give or take, depending on the day's menu. (It's hard to calculate because they eat a combination of canned and raw foods.) They're now about two years and eight months old. And still very active, though they ate lots more when they were younger. We feed them in lots of small meals, partly because of one cat's sensitive stomach, partly because it keeps the cats happy.

Which brings me to: rescue cats can be very food-obsessed, particularly if they were underfed in their previous situations. One of our cats used to get into the trash, dig stuff out of the sink disposal, and gnaw on bread through bags. Despite constant feedings and plenty of food. Keeping the disposal clear and the bread locked in a cabinet has helped.

What, BTW, does your vet think about Frankie's weight?

Most important: you shouldn't feel like a bad cat caterer. I can feel how hard you're trying to do the right thing for Frankie, and It's very hard to figure out how to feed a cat properly, particularly so everything can be properly balanced, in a way that's healthiest for the cat and handiest for the people.

Good luck!

How much does Frankie weigh? How many Kcals are in a cup of the dry food? How many in the can of wet food?

What did the vet say about Frankie's size when you first got him? Did he give you an ideal weight for him?

In the pictures you provided, he doesn't appear overweight. Can you post a picture taken from above him (like looking down over his back with him in an upright position)?

I think it is great that you want to do right by him nutritionally. And, I think a combination of wet/dry is perfectly fine. 2 meals daily is also ok; but, some cats do do better with 3 meals daily. But, it really depends on the cat.
As a side note, meals don't have to be exactly at the same time each day. Some people feed morning, midday and night, while others feed before work, after and at bedtime. So, meals don't have to be evenly spaced out, but typically 3-4 hrs in between is good.

BTW, Frankie is absolutely precious! I have a soft spot for black kitties (I have 3!)

Thank you so much, I really do love this kitty.

@LisaHE  I'm sure he will love that suggestion I'll try increasing the amount of wet food and check his weight for changes. The wet food is pretty low calorie now that I look at it... I'm usually home around the same time mid day so I'll try to work in a mid day meal maybe. It would help up his water too, the wet food is basically just meat and water (he's such a good drinker too!)

I don't really have ANY info about where he came from, but he was apparently pretty depressed and anorexic at the shelter. He looked absolutely miserable there. What a change! He does try to dig things out of the trash if the lid doesn't close though, and chew food through bags. 

My vet liked his weight when she saw him! I believe he's close to 8 pounds, a little under. 

@CatPack  He's a little under 8 lbs last time he was weighed. I don't have a GOOD scale, but according to mine he's somewhere between 7.5 and 8 lbs. His wet food is 66cal/can (786cal/kg) and his dry kibble is 375cal/cup seeing it written out like that it would be around 126.75 calories per day right now. (1/2 can in the morning, 1/4 cup kibble at night)

So maybe it would be a good idea to feed the other half can during the day as well and try that? Again, I'm also trying to get water right so more wet food would help. (I also add some water to his kibble and he has two bowls of water around)

Here's two pictures of him from above. He does look a little skinny maybe? :/ I don't know how to tell really. He is lanky though, you can't feel/see any bones without probing with your fingertips.


And thank you! I think he's a charming boy. I love black cats as well. 

Good, I'm glad that was helpful and glad you're going to try feeding him a full can a day. His current 130 a day seems low for a young, active cat. He does look at little thin to me in the from-above photos, I'm glad @CatPack asked you for those! Our Ireland was a little underweight, a lot like Frankie, but now looks just right to me, nicely filled out rather than fat, after gaining a bit. She was also the one who liked digging in the trash...

There are lots of charts online that show ideal cat shapes. There's one here (link!).

He looks long and lean to me, my Tiger boy was long and lean too. But it wouldn't hurt for him to gain more weight.

Based on the information you provided, and the photos, he's probably not getting enough calories. I think 8lbs is little small for very young male cat that's a year old. I'd start giving him more food to increase in calorie count. Besides, young cats need more calories than adult cats anyway.

Originally Posted by FrankieSinatra  

I ended up choosing Solid Gold kibble and wet food. The wet food is really nice-- basically just meat and water, and Solid Gold is a high quality kibble, I'm not by any means feeding him low quality junk, or trying to save money. 

I talked to my vet during his wellness check the day after I brought him home, and after he outlined his recommendations to me, I made Frankie a plan of 1/2 small can wet food in the morning, and 1/4 cup kibble in the evening. I considered splitting the 1/4 cup into two very small meals, but multiple people told me two meals would be fine and it is hard to commit to being home from school at the same time every day mid day. 

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Is the canned food also Solid Gold? Of the 6 varieties, only one is non-seafood. You don't want to feed seafood too often because it may cause urinary issues in some cats and other cats get addicted to eating it and may refuse to eat anything else. There are many good other brand sto feed in rotation with Solid Gold: Weruva, Tiki Cat (mostly seafood but here's a chicken or two), Nature's Variety Instinct, Blue Buffalo, etc.

The general rule is to feed 20 to 25 calories per pound of ideal body weight.  126 calories a day isn't enough to maintain a 8 pound cat. You should be feeding closer to 200 calories.

Most cats prefer small frequent meals. A programmable timed feeder makes it easy to give multiple meals daily at the same time. You just fill the compartments, set the meal times, and let it run. I like the Petsafe 5 compartment feeder. Catmater is another good brand. You can leave canned food in a feeder all day. It might get a little dry but it won't spoil. You can freee canned food into serving sized pieces and pop the frozen pieces into the feeder to slowly defrost to keep it fresher longer. Since it takes a bit of time for the frozen piece to deforst, the first meal in the feeder should be straight from the can.

8 pound is on the low side but may be normal for your cat. He does look on the skinny side, more so than my Aby  and Abys are naturally thin. Definitley try feeding more canned and less dry and upping the total daily calories.

Oh, don't add water to dry food. Dry food is not meant to be soaked in water at all. If your cat eats all the dry food up right away, it's fine but never let saoked dry food sit in the bowl for hours. Harmful bacteria will grow in the food and maycause an upset tummy.

Once your cat's tummy is happy and calorie needs are met, you'll see the food stealing and hunger behavior go away.

@LTS3   With the water+wet food thing, I did see that somewhere but he eats it within 5-10 minutes. It's not left out for ANY period of time  

I didn't know that about sea food! I will try to look for other good brands with different meats. I'd never heard that before.