Obsessive eating

seline

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I think my male cat,10 month s old,neutered is obsessed with food!He never stops eating begging searching for food. He eats everything, poops 6-7 times a day until he gets diarrhea.. We feed him as vet said but he cries all the time for food..i believe he is bored or un happy that is the rason why he is like this... What do you think?
 
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seline

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Before diarrhea incidents he was having 200-300 gr wet food and 100 dry,still begging...afterwards we give him 100 gr dry( vet instructions were 50-60). Thank you for replying
 

lietta

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Maybe he is looking for some nutrients he is not able to absorb from the food...this can happen even when a meal is complete and not complementary, He might need an integration which at the moment cannot still be defined. 
 

red top rescue

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But what is IN the wet food and the dry?  What kind are you using? What are the ingredients?  If they are higher in carbohydrates or plant based proteins, cats cannot digest them for energy.  In my experience, the cats who tend to overeat are not getting the best type of food for them.  It is important to read the labels of what you are feeding and if they have a lot of carbohydrates in them, i.e. corn, wheat, potatoes, etc., change to foods that don't have these.  Calorie count is only part of the food, you have to analyze what the calories are, and whether the cat can metabolize them or whether it just poops them out as waste material.

In my experience, the constant eaters are the ones who have been eating "kitty crack" or "kitty junk food" which is the same as if you had a human child living on nothing but cookies and cereal without a lot of protein.  You are in Greece, so I don't have any idea of what pet foods are available there.  I know that in the United States, most of the most popular dry food brands have "ground yellow corn" as their primary ingredient.  That's fine for cows and chickens but certainly not for cats, but those cat foods are well flavored by the manufacturers and cats eat them with enthusiasm.  They will not die on these foods, but they will not really thrive either.  Even the foods that vets often carry do not have the best ingredients.  Can you write down what the ingredients are from the labels?  Then we can better analyze if his constant hunger is related to the food he is eating or if it might be something else instead.
 
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seline

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I didn't compare it with human "junkeating"!! I really don't know what kind of ingredients are best for cats(except protein of course) You are probably very right! Royal caning ( appetite control) has:dehydrated poultry protein,maize,veg.fibres,gluten,wheat,veg.protein isolate,hydrolised animal proteins, animal fats,minerals, beet pulp,soya oil,yeasts,fish oil,psyllium husk,seed,froctoligosacharidrs,vit A 20300IU,vitD 700IU,iron 39mg,iodine3.9, cooper 6mg,manganese 51mg,zinc153mg,selenium 0.07mg, L carnitine 200 mg,preservatives,antioxidants. Protein 34%,fat content 12%, crude ash 7,8%, crude fibres 9,1%.... 206 kcal per 59 grams....Hills digestive care :poultry meat, brewers rice,maize,animal fat,protein 38%,fat content 18,2%,crude fibre 3.0%, omega 3 fatty acids 0.42%,,crude ash 7.1%,calsium 1.12%,posphorus 0.87%,sodium 0.42%,potassium 00.95%,Per kg: vit E 600mg,vit C 100 mg,beta carotene 1,5 mg,vit B181 mg,vit B12 0.12 mg,vit A,D,Iron,iodine,cooper, manganese, zinc,selenium, natural antioxidant
 

lietta

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Hypertiroidism could be another cause for overeating, but the cat should be thin and I suppose that the vet has already controlled if this problem is present. 
 

red top rescue

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Thanks for taking the time to write that all down.  OK, so the problem IS the food!  

Let's look at the Royal Canin "appetite control" food first.  For one thing, it's a dry food, maybe 8-10% moisture at best.  Cats do not drink enough water to make up for the lack of liquid in dry food.  The first ingredient is not even meat.  It is dehydrated poultry protein.  The second ingredient is corn.  Yes, "maize" is CORN, don't be fooled.  This is followed by vegetable fibres, gluten, wheat, and vegetable protein isolate. In these times of everyone wanting "grain free" diets, it's the manufacturer's way of disguising the obvious grain, which is CORN. Some manufacturers may substitute potatoes and peas and garbanzo beans, but again, these are fillers and add carbohydrates.  The point of "no grain" was to have more meat and less fillers, but vegetables are less expensive than meat, so the manufacturers gave us less grain but no more meat.  After that comes hydrolised animal protein (protein brkoen down into its individual amino acids) and animal fat. The protein count may be higher, but vegetable protein, such as that from peas and soy, is not the same as meat protein to a cat.  Unlike dogs and people, cats do not have the enzymes to digest and use carbohydrates and turn them into useful energy. Dogs and people can live on a vegetarian diet, but cats cannot.  They will die. This Royal Canin "Appetite Control" food is mostly fillers, so it is designed to fill up his stomach, but it isn't filling his body's needs as a strict carnivore.  If he were eating what he was designed to eat (small animals and birds, plus a few insects) his diet would be mostly muscle meat, organ meat and fat, and it would be 78% moisture and only 1-2% carbohydrates. He would gobble up that prey and be full and satisfied.  This food leaves his stomach full but his body dehydrated and lacking enough protein for his needs, and instinctively he knows he is starving and is looking for more.  So he keeps eating but not being satisfied, and all that fiber which is not part of his natural diet will indeed give him diarrhea.  My advice:  Give this food to someone with an overweight dog.  Do not give it to your cat anymore.

Now let's check out the wet food.  The Hills Digestive Care is not water depleted, and the first ingredient is indeed MEAT, "poultry meat,"  which  is definitely an improvement over the above.  That is not necessarily muscle meat and can include organ meat, but at least it's a beginning.  However, that's as far as it goes.  The second ingredient (which should be fat) is actually RICE, a starchy grain, followed by our friend "maize" (CORN) and then finally some animal fat (although we don't know what kind of animal it's from.)  There are fewer ingredients in this food, and therefore it is much easier for him to digest.  It has 1/3 of the fiber of the other diet.  I would advise finding a better food for him, but you can certainly feed him only this while you are looking for another food.

I don't know what's available to you in Greece, but the ingredients of the canned food I use (Abound Grain-free Turkey & Giblets) read like this: (sorry about the caps lock but I am copying this from another document) - this costs 79 cents for a 5.5 oz can

TURKEY BROTH, TURKEY, CHICKEN, POULTRY GIBLETS, DRIED EGG PRODUCT, GUAR GUM, POTASSIUM CHLORIDE, SALT, CARRAGEENAN, MINERALS (ZINC AMINO ACID CHELATE, IRON AMINO ACID CHELATE, COPPER AMINO ACID CHELATE, MANGANESE AMINO ACID CHELATE, SODIUM SELENITE, COBALT AMINO ACID CHELATE, POTASSIUM IODIDE), VITAMINS (DL-ALPHA TOCOPHERYL ACETATE, THIAMINE MONONITRATE, NIACIN SUPPLEMENT, d-CALCIUM PANTOTHENATE, PYRIDOXINE HYDROCHLORIDE, RIBOFLAVIN SUPPLEMENT, VITAMIN A SUPPLEMENT, BIOTIN, VITAMIN D3 SUPPLEMENT, VITAMIN B12 SUPPLEMENT, FOLIC ACID), CHOLINE CHLORIDE, TAURINE. CALORIE CONTENT (ME CALCULATED): 1240 KCAL/KG 193 KCAL/CAN 

Recommended feeding:  1 can daily for 6-8 lb. adult cat; kittens can have twice as much

There is another one I used before this, ordered online from Chewy.com, (this cost roughly $1.50 per 5.5 ounce can)

EVO 95% Chicken & Turkey Canned Cat Food

Chicken, Chicken Broth, Turkey, Natural Flavors, Carrageenan, Minerals, Guar Gum, Vitamins, Choline Chloride, Herring Oil, Salt, Potassium Chloride, Sodium, Ascorbate, Taurine, Sunflower Oil, Sodium Phosphate, Beta Carotene

Analysis:

Crude Protein (min)9.00%
Crude Fat (min)10.00%
Crude Fiber (max)1.00%
Moisture (max)78.00%
Ash (max)1.91%
Carbohydrates NFE (max)0.46%
 

red top rescue

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That's basically what I thought.  There is nothing much digestible in the RC food, and the Hills has meat but also a lot of rice and corn, and both of them have high fiber.  My bet is that if he gets some carnivore appropriate food without carbs and without added fiber, he will be a happy camper in no time.  I could be wrong, but that's my gut feeling.
 
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seline

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Than you!Thank you! Thank you!I will check back info tomorrow is 4:29 in the morning, but i was anxious for your reply
 
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seline

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Ok! I took notes of ingredients and i will go to the biggest petshop and check labels.I know that the variety is limited in Greek market(5-6 worldwide brands) but i hope that i will find something suitable. Than you again your precious help.
 
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seline

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Is any of this brands suggested? Orijen, Happy cat,Maxima,Acana,Fish4cats..all grain free
 

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Did they test his poop at the vet? One of mine had a bacterial infection in his gut. He is now on the Hills Digestive Care as was suggested above me. Your cat may need meds.
 
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seline

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No not yet since he is still in Hills id( digestive care).. I am planning to feed him more and different type of food( grain free).Vet gave only 50-60gr of dry food since he is sterilized. The cat needs and asks food.So i will give more and better. He is also dewarmed.If things won't go right, i will ask examination.. Thamk you for the idea Shannoncat!
 

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Acana and Orijen are very high in proteic percentage, if the cat is not old, active and free from renal problems they are very good grain-free brands. Moreover, they are guaranteed  as 'cruelty-free' (not tested on animals). Other very good grain-free products  are  Farmina and Granatapet .  
 
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seline

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Much much better!!!Origen(6 fish) and Naturea( cats-kittens) pleased him a lot.You can't call him a beggar anymore. Everybody happy! You were so right.Thank you again
 

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Do be a little careful about changing food TOO FAST as it could upset his digestion and give him loose stools and/or gas because it is much richer food than he is used to.  You said you were using the Naturea Cat & Kitten dry food.  If I were you, I would just mix some of the new dry foods in with his current wet food to make the transition more gradual.  Usually it is safe to change 25% of the food at a time, their bodies adapt pretty quickly.  The Naturea Cat & Kitten is still a little high in carbohydrates at 23.5% which must be from the sweet potato (ideal is 10% or less) and the current wet food is high in carbohydrates also, since rice and corn are its second two ingredients.  This is especially important for male cats, because diets high in carbohydrates tend to make the urine less acidic and even may become alkaline 6 hours after a large meal.  Struvite crystals dissolve in a slightly acidic solution but naturally form in an alkaline one, and those crystals can cause urinary problems if the urine is concentrated, as it is in cats who eat only dry food, whereas they just get washed away in cats eating canned food.  Here is a link that shows the ingredients of Lands Cat & Kitten by Naturea (made in Portugal) -- What a great difference from his previous dry food.  Naturea also offers four flavors of CANNED food.  The Orijen 6Fish is also a dry food and they do not make any canned food.

http://natureapetfoods.com/grain-free/grain-free-lands-cat-kitten/

Composition


31% Fresh Deboned Salmon, 16% Chicken Meal, 16% Sweet Potato, 12% Rabbit Meal, Chicken Fat, 6% Herring Meal, Tapioca, Linseed, Chicken Gravy, Salmon Oil, Tomato, Lucerne, Minerals, Vitamins, Taurine, Seaweed, Cranberry, Mannanoligosaccharides, Fructooligosaccharides.

Typical analysis


Crude Protein: 38%

Crude Fat: 20%

Crude Fibre: 3%

Moisture: 7%

Carbohydrates: 23.5%

Crude Ash: 8.5%

Metabolisable Energy: 385 kCal/100g

Calcium: 0.98%

Phosphorus: 0.87%

 
Available in: 350 g, 2 kg and 7 kg.
For more information, please consult the technical file.
 
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seline

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He doesn't like his meal of canned food mixed wirh dry...so i mixed old dry with new
 
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