Tummy issues, wet food, and constant hunger

My short hair Mickey (female) had reached a point where she was throwing up her kibble constantly (she's around 10). I got her totally checked out at the vet, ultrasound and everything, and it was determined that nothing was wrong but I should put her on canned food (Hills Digestive Care i/d) and give her a tiny bit of Pepcid AC with meals. Well, this is working great, she doesn't throw up anymore at all, except for a hairball every now and then. BUT she is just constantly hungry it seems, and starts pestering me for food at around 5 am in the morning and then at 3 pm in the afternoon. Also she and our other cat (who will eat anything and has no issues, but is eating wet food too now, 'cause Mick is) seem to be fighting a lot more than they used to. Not violently... but they seem to always be wrestling and ambushing each other, with hisses and everything, when it's getting vaguely near mealtime. Certainly no one's getting hurt, and no claws are involved...it's just more than they usually do. And I really think Mickey is the instigator, so it's like she's picking fights from hunger/restlessness, and just generally being a jerk. Has this happened to anyone else, and also, the Hills is SO EXPENSIVE and we go through so much of it...4 little cans a day...it rules my life...I was wondering if anyone knew of cheaper digestive care canned food that they like? Thank you!

Try some high protein, limited ingredient food; as in Natures Variety...

The high protein along with the limited ingredients, meaning not the junk in other food, would probably keep her fuller, for a much longer time period.

However, it is not cheap..but a better quality than what you are currently using.

Artiemom said:

 
Try some high protein, limited ingredient food; as in Natures Variety...

The high protein along with the limited ingredients, meaning not the junk in other food, would probably keep her fuller, for a much longer time period.

However, it is not cheap..but a better quality than what you are currently using.

Click to expand...

  I think you're very safe listening to Artiemom, as she has a cat with a VERY sensitive tummy and has been through a lot getting Artie to be healthy. 

And I think you are absolutely right about Mickey picking fights with her sibling because she is hungry.  My Darko is on a constant diet because he's prone to being pudgy, and some days he picks fights with his brother...probably those days when he's had a lower calorie meal for lunch

Hills never left my cats full, they were always hungry. It was like them eating cookies and chips, junk food and never being filled. Can you find another brand of food? Possibly wet food?

I couldn't agree more withe @Artiemom and @mrsgreenjeens and @nansiludie about trying some other foods with high protein!

If you're feeding chicken i/d and that's agreeing with her stomach, then you'd likely be safe feeding Tiki Cat's chicken foods like puka puka or koolina (on this page). Tiki's Gourmet Carnivore line (link here) is also very good food but some have beef, lamb, or liver so you might need to be more careful with the ingredients if one of those ingredients happens to be what was bothering your cat. (Do you happen to know what ingredient was bothering your cat?) Tiki's expensive, too, but it's very good food with good calorie counts so it really fills our cats up. One of our cats also has a particularly sensitive stomach but she does great on Tiki, which doesn't have carrageenan or any gums. For some reason, a lot of people think Tiki's foods are all low-calorie, but they're not: Here's nutrition Tiki's chart.

The Nature's Variety foods that Artiemom mentioned are good (personally, I think they ought to do away with the peas but lots of cats with problem stomachs do very, very well on them... it's a moot point here since our cats just don't like them very much!). Merrick's limited ingredient foods are also pretty decent. Merrick's foods have lower calories than, say, Tiki, but they also seem to keep our cats happy for a long time. They love both the duck and the turkey. Hound and Gatos is another good brand, though a lot of cats don't like it.

For what it's worth, for our cats' sensitive stomachs (they're Siamese mixes; they're prone to stomach issues) I avoid a bunch of ingredients: carrageenan, potato (which makes one cat vomit), peas, and all grains, including rice. I'm also trying to cut back on the gums in their foods. A lot of our cats' diet is raw food; I'd guess it's around 60%.

In another "for what it's worth": it also helps, in terms of hunger, to feed our two about five meals (of varying size) a day. That's easy because I work at home but even adding one more might help. Instituting snacks before bedtime was a great way to keep them from morning wake-up calls!

Good luck!

And for sure she isn't hyperthyroid or have diabetes?