Cat is food obsessed and eats like he's starving

[CaptSaltyJack]

Our cat is a 2-year-old male, about 11 lbs. I've successfully transitioned him to a raw diet (Primal Pet Foods brand freeze-dried nuggets, which I rehydrate with water). Their calculator recommends feeding him 2 nuggets per serving, twice a day, which I do. But despite that, he is quite food obsessed, and scarfs down his food like he's starving, and then wants more right afterwards. Sometimes he resorts to chewing on things to get my attention in order to feed him.

I'm at a loss here. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

[lovetimesfour]

2 nuggets a meal? How big are these nuggets? Sounds like he isn't getting enough to eat, or he is bored. Or maybe a little of both?

I recommend feeding more frequent meals. 12 hours is a long time to go without food. Make sure you are feeding enough, and feed three meals a day instead of two.

Be sure you are playing with him enough. A 2 year old cat has a ton of energy still and needs lots of interactive playtime with you every day. Play at the same times each day, including a Game right before a meal.

[CaptSaltyJack]

I can try three times per day.

He's on this formula: Wholesome Raw Frozen Foods for Dogs and Cats

Their calculator has me feeding him 4 nuggets a day. As I understand it, 1 nugget is about 1 oz of food. Maybe I'll try giving him 1.5 nuggets three times per day and see how he takes to that.

[scottd]

He may just need more food. Some cats require more calories than others.

For comparison, my 8 year old 14lb female cat who is rather sedentary gets about 236 calories per day and she has a stable weight. You're feeding him 4 nuggets which comes out to about 209 calories.

[doodlebug]

209 calories per day does sound a bit on the light side for a young male cat of 11 lbs. I use the formula of 20-25 calories per pound of body weight depending on activity level. Putting him on the higher end of the range would mean 250-275 calories per day. Which would mean he's being under fed by about 20%.

[CaptSaltyJack]

According to their feeding calculator, I'm giving him 220 cal per day. Remember, the primal stuff is more nutrient-dense so you cannot go by food weight alone.

Feeding, Transition and Safety for Raw Dog Food Diets

[scottd]

The food you linked to says:

Nutritional Facts:
Calories: 157 per oz.
1 ounce = approx. 3 nuggets

157 / 3 = 52.333...
52.3 * 4 = 209.2

So you're feeding him approximately 209 calories/day.

[Arianwen]

I know I am a bit unusual in the feeding stakes since I feed a bit of everything and work on what is happening with individuals but to me it sounds as if he needs more to work on - even more than extra food. Maybe some real raw or home prepared food?

[jawramik]

My cats, especially my male Cal, are very food-obsessed. I started giving them a small afternoon "lunch," and they seem much happier and no longer start pestering me for food hours before their next scheduled meal.

[gosha]

My cat is obsessed with wet canned food, he can eat the whole can to the point when he throws it all up. I don't know what's in there but he just has to eat it all and he gets hungry fast. I feed him Taste of Wild wet. However when I give him hearts, giblets and liver he doesn't ask for food for long time. So I give wet in the morning for vitamins and such and giblets before bed time so he wouldn't bother me at night. Maybe your cat is not getting enough nutrition, or it just goes fast through his stomach?