Harassing for Food

[Morgana’s Human]

Hey everyone! I was hoping to have a bit of advice regarding some behaviour for Morgana please!

Morgana is a 1-year old cat, who currently weighs 3.4kg. The vet thinks she’s perfect in terms of weight, she’s just… lean. Currently, we have a small rotation of cat food. Morgana doesn’t tolerate beef well and I need to have budget friendly options at the moment, but I do my best. Her food rotations are:
MACs - Her most common food. She can rotate through different flavours successfully.
Scrumbles Wet - Chicken in Jelly flavour only.
Blink! Gravy - all packets are fine with her.
Seriously Good Bistro - Fish (Very very rare, she has this once a week at most!)

In terms of daily intake, Morgana receives 3 meals a day (one before I go to work, one when I get home from work and one before I go to bed) of 70g each, so 210g overall daily. She also receives treats in puzzle feeders to keep her mind occupied! Morgana has been vet checked recently and she’s 100% clear in terms of illnesses, except for her FHV which presents in her eyes. Been clear since her last flare up a couple of weeks ago.

Sorry for the ramble! Just wanted to be transparent on how much she’s eating / when, it might better help. It’s mostly an issue regarding her constantly harassing and begging for food! Even if I feed her meal and sit down with mine, it won’t be long before I’m having to keep my bowl away from her and constantly placing her down on the floor. She also takes any opportunity to clean bowls and scavenge. She’s always been this way since kitten, and I’ve resorted to popping her into a carry case while I eat. Originally I’d lock her in my room upstairs but she’d be so desperate to come out she’d rip all the carpets up! Obviously this isn’t ideal and there are probably much better ways at handling this, but I’m unsure where to start. Morgana has never been given any food from my plate and never given any table scraps.

Just wanted some opinions! There’s been situations where she’s gotten her paws on stuff she really shouldn’t have (garlic bread and chocolate chip pancake incident springs to my mind…) where I’ve not been quick enough to stop her swiping and running. I just wanted to know if there’s a better way to train or distract her - or is it a case where I’m not feeding enough? She’s constantly bolting her food, lick mats don’t slow her down all that much either! She’s forever been this way. Any insight would be amazing - I’m very aware it’s not fair that I’m having to pop her in her carry case even for 20 minutes or so, but it’s mostly a her safety thing - especially if I have food that’s a definite no no!

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi!
I would try and see if providing her with a little more calories helps to relax her. She's working way too hard to get more food.

 

[DeesCats]

Have you added up the calories she's eating daily?

 

[arr]

When she has her meals, does she eat as much as she wants until she walks away? That’s what I started doing with my cats, and it cured our food obsessed cat of this habit.

 

[Morgana’s Human]

Ah - that’s probably where I’m going wrong! I didn’t realise it was a calorie thing, I’ve been going based off the guidelines from the can - been feeding her the equivalent of a 4kg “active” cat! The calories aren’t listed on the MAC cans (which is normal for EU foods from the quick digging I’ve been doing!), but I’ve found - calorie count for the Blink Food. Could someone please educate me on how to calculate how many calories Morgana needs or a guideline? The Blink Gravy pouches and Scrumbles cans are 68kcals per 100g supposedly…

 

[DeesCats]

That's a shame that MAC's doesn't list the kcal amount which makes it more difficult to figure out how many calories Morgana is getting daily. Is there a chance you can email the company and ask how many kcal's are in the size and flavor you are feeding her or how many kcal's there are per gram of food as fed?

From my reading on cat and veterinarian contributed websites, the average recommendation is 20kcal per pound of your cat's weight to maintain that weight though the variables are how active the cat is, how old they are and whether they are indoor or outdoor as well as cat body condition charts.

 

[Morgana’s Human]

That's a shame that MAC's doesn't list the kcal amount which makes it more difficult to figure out how many calories Morgana is getting daily. Is there a chance you can email the company and ask how many kcal's are in the size and flavor you are feeding her or how many kcal's there are per gram of food as fed?

From my reading on cat and veterinarian contributed websites, the average recommendation is 20kcal per pound of your cat's weight to maintain that weight though the variables are how active the cat is, how old they are and whether they are indoor or outdoor as well as cat body condition charts.

I’ve gone ahead and emailed MACS to ask about the calories! Morgana seems to be in ideal body range, but since she’s acting hungry right now, I’m going to go ahead and increase her food intake by 1/4 more just to see how she reacts and if it helps with the hunger. If she does gain weight / holds steady then I know we’re moving in the right direction until I can properly work out her calorie count. Thank you for the insight! I had no idea she was meant to be getting more! She’s a small kitty but she’s very active for an indoor cat with huge amounts of energy, so it makes sense she’ll need more.

 

[DeesCats]

Morgana’s Human , can you add that other 1/4 more meal between the time you get home and before bed?

 

[vansX2]

I’ve gone ahead and emailed MACS to ask about the calories! Morgana seems to be in ideal body range, but since she’s acting hungry right now, I’m going to go ahead and increase her food intake by 1/4 more just to see how she reacts and if it helps with the hunger. If she does gain weight / holds steady then I know we’re moving in the right direction until I can properly work out her calorie count. Thank you for the insight! I had no idea she was meant to be getting more! She’s a small kitty but she’s very active for an indoor cat with huge amounts of energy, so it makes sense she’ll need more.

Is it possible for "Morgana" to have a indoor playmate ? As the playmate could help reduce her huge amounts of energy.

 

[Morgana’s Human]

Morgana’s Human , can you add that other 1/4 more meal between the time you get home and before bed?

I can definitely arrange that! It may help her feel less hungry if I can increase the meal count.

 

[Morgana’s Human]

Is it possible for "Morgana" to have a indoor playmate ? As the playmate could help reduce her huge amounts of energy.

At the moment; this isn’t something I’m able to do. I’d love a second, but realistically I’m only able to comfortably afford one on my current wage. I’m job hunting, but until then I just don’t think I can afford to support two. It’s definitely something I want to do though once I land a better job

 

[Sarah M]

One thing I had done to reduce the food obsession for one of my cats was to give her a whole can of food, and see how much she is eating. Cats do generally eat based on their hunger. So you can do some trial and error for your cat and see how much she is eating in one go, without being in discomfort later or vomiting up. And you can then provide that much food to her.

Most of these guidelines are just that, guidelines. And every cat's caloric requirement will differ. As long as they are getting a good amount of playtime everyday, their health will not be affected. In fact, eating well and playing well will improve her overall health and wellbeing.

You have to watch for weight changes to make sure you are not overfeeding her, though.

Another thing that had worked with me was leaving out some (some) kibble out for her to have as a snack whenever she felt peckish. That worked wonders. I do have my cats on meal time now, and I had done this when she was a kitten. Then I had slowly begun adjusting her food quantity (to her required level) and eventually removed her kibble.

When she does beg me for food, I do give her some treats and such. Even we humans don't adhere to strict meal times and eat snacks in between (at least I do). So it's safe to assume that cats can also benefit from snacking. It will at least reduce their food obsession. Hope this helps.

 

[price053]

Hey everyone! I was hoping to have a bit of advice regarding some behaviour for Morgana please!

Morgana is a 1-year old cat, who currently weighs 3.4kg. The vet thinks she’s perfect in terms of weight, she’s just… lean. Currently, we have a small rotation of cat food. Morgana doesn’t tolerate beef well and I need to have budget friendly options at the moment, but I do my best. Her food rotations are:
MACs - Her most common food. She can rotate through different flavours successfully.
Scrumbles Wet - Chicken in Jelly flavour only.
Blink! Gravy - all packets are fine with her.
Seriously Good Bistro - Fish (Very very rare, she has this once a week at most!)

In terms of daily intake, Morgana receives 3 meals a day (one before I go to work, one when I get home from work and one before I go to bed) of 70g each, so 210g overall daily. She also receives treats in puzzle feeders to keep her mind occupied! Morgana has been vet checked recently and she’s 100% clear in terms of illnesses, except for her FHV which presents in her eyes. Been clear since her last flare up a couple of weeks ago.

Sorry for the ramble! Just wanted to be transparent on how much she’s eating / when, it might better help. It’s mostly an issue regarding her constantly harassing and begging for food! Even if I feed her meal and sit down with mine, it won’t be long before I’m having to keep my bowl away from her and constantly placing her down on the floor. She also takes any opportunity to clean bowls and scavenge. She’s always been this way since kitten, and I’ve resorted to popping her into a carry case while I eat. Originally I’d lock her in my room upstairs but she’d be so desperate to come out she’d rip all the carpets up! Obviously this isn’t ideal and there are probably much better ways at handling this, but I’m unsure where to start. Morgana has never been given any food from my plate and never given any table scraps.

Just wanted some opinions! There’s been situations where she’s gotten her paws on stuff she really shouldn’t have (garlic bread and chocolate chip pancake incident springs to my mind…) where I’ve not been quick enough to stop her swiping and running. I just wanted to know if there’s a better way to train or distract her - or is it a case where I’m not feeding enough? She’s constantly bolting her food, lick mats don’t slow her down all that much either! She’s forever been this way. Any insight would be amazing - I’m very aware it’s not fair that I’m having to pop her in her carry case even for 20 minutes or so, but it’s mostly a her safety thing - especially if I have food that’s a definite no no!

Feeding her a bit more is not going to harm her. May be she is trying to say she is still hungry and needs more to eat.

 

[Morgana’s Human]

We are trialing adding an extra 25% to her daily food intake, spilt into her meals! Hopefully this helps. I’ll make sure to keep monitoring her weight with the body condition score and adjust more if needed. I don’t think it will hurt any based on how hungry she’s acting! (And I feel a bit guilty, I was under the impression she’s just food obsessed…)

 

[maggie101]

We are trialing adding an extra 25% to her daily food intake, spilt into her meals! Hopefully this helps. I’ll make sure to keep monitoring her weight with the body condition score and adjust more if needed. I don’t think it will hurt any based on how hungry she’s acting! (And I feel a bit guilty, I was under the impression she’s just food obsessed…)

Is she on any medication? My cat takes prednisolone which makes her hungry. If I feed fish she constantly cries for food so no more tuna for her! Do you have a box she can hide in and chew toys to play with? Better yet,punch small holes in

 

[maggie101]

Another reason for being hungry(how could I forget) is if she has loose stools which can cause dehydration. My 3 cats eat less than the suggested weight. because their food is high protein

 

[Sarah M]

We are trialing adding an extra 25% to her daily food intake, spilt into her meals! Hopefully this helps. I’ll make sure to keep monitoring her weight with the body condition score and adjust more if needed. I don’t think it will hurt any based on how hungry she’s acting! (And I feel a bit guilty, I was under the impression she’s just food obsessed…)

Don't feel guilty (I know easier said than done). But consider this, we are always learning new information about our babies. And you noticed her behaviour, and are trying to address it. I hope the increase in food helps.

Also, I don't know if anyone has mentioned it or not, but you can also consider using one of those maze food bowls. This can also help satisfy her hunger for longer.

 

[Morgana’s Human]

Is she on any medication? My cat takes prednisolone which makes her hungry. If I feed fish she constantly cries for food so no more tuna for her! Do you have a box she can hide in and chew toys to play with? Better yet,punch small holes in

No meds at the moment, but she’s got lots of boxes and hiding places I’ve made a cave of a huge box and a blanket so she has a small entry / exit points with another soft blanket inside!

 

[Morgana’s Human]

Another reason for being hungry(how could I forget) is if she has loose stools which can cause dehydration. My 3 cats eat less than the suggested weight. because their food is high protein

Morgana has always had a bit of a wonky stomach - sometimes she’s more loose (not in several months..) but more often than not it’s closer to constipation. I’m doing my best to manage with probiotics / psyllium husk and adding lots of extra moisture to her meals. She had a huge constipation which had to be removed when I got her, so the vet warned she’s more prone to it now it’s happened once.

 

[Alldara]

Looking forward to hearing how it goes!

One final note is that Calcifer for example sits a slight bit high for body condition and that stops him bugging, but still has a waist etc. I don't worry too much about the level 5 or whatnot that he's at. He's more active and happy at a slightly higher body condition and it's just the top end of ideal.