[hrlw817]

Hello all, I recently switched my two adult cats over to wet food from an all dry food diet. They have been eating dry food most of their lives, I have a 8 year old, and a 10 year old. The switch was pretty easy, but now, they seem alot more hungry and once they eat, they both sleep alot more. Just wondering if this is normal from the switch. They will both eat almost 3 5.5 ounce cans a day. For now, they are just eating 9-lives canned food, different kinds. Any help would be great!

 

[minikin44]

Wait, they're eating 3 each or 3 together? How much do they weigh? Have you noticed if they're losing or gaining weight? I could be wrong, but I think I remember reading that canned food has less calories per amount of food, so they eat more (though my memory has not been the best lately!).

 

[kty78]

If the 2 cats are eating 3 cans between them, that's not unheard of with it being a lower quality (sorry) food. Mine were on Friskies when I got them and they would eat more of that than of a higher quality food like Wellness or Evo, which I buy in the 12-13 oz cans fairly reasonably online, with free shipping.

 

[hrlw817]

Wait, they're eating 3 each or 3 together? How much do they weigh? Have you noticed if they're losing or gaining weight? I could be wrong, but I think I remember reading that canned food has less calories per amount of food, so they eat more (though my memory has not been the best lately!).

Thanks for the reply. They each eat 3 cans a day. I just started doing this a week ago, but, as far as I can tell, they are at the same weight. My female, Abby, weighs about 12 pounds, while my male cat, Leo, weighs around 15. He is a bigger cat, he's not fat, just bulky. Abby has put on a few pounds in the last year or so. We moved from a 4 bedroom house into a 2 bedroom apartment last year, and that's when she started to gain a few pounds. I think she gained weight because she has less room to run around.

Leo, about 4 years ago, had crystals in his urine and I had to take him to an emergency vet. I was told to put him on some type of UTI food. Since then, they have both been eating Purina's UTI formula dry food.

 

[minikin44]

Each eating 3 cans seems like a lot but I could be wrong. How old is Abby? If she got older, she also may have put on a few pounds because she isn't as active in general, rather than a space issue, though that could also be it. One of my cats, Tugs, had a urinary blockage and got put on Hill's Prescription Diet c/d dry food (their version of Purina's UTI formula)... I recently asked my vet about taking him off of it and switching to wet, and the vet recommended not to, as Tugs has not had any problems in the past few years, but I think I'm going to switch him anyway, just because I know dry food is so bad for kitties and that prescription food is basically crap. 0_o Got to love it when they sell it as being special and "healthy" when it's really going to make your cat ill...

 

[kty78]

Do you feed them 3 times a day? i would try giving them each half a can at each feeding rather than a full can and see if they still get full on that. Some cats will eat as much as you'll give them, even if they don't need it.

 

[hrlw817]

Each eating 3 cans seems like a lot but I could be wrong. How old is Abby? If she got older, she also may have put on a few pounds because she isn't as active in general, rather than a space issue, though that could also be it. One of my cats, Tugs, had a urinary blockage and got put on Hill's Prescription Diet c/d dry food (their version of Purina's UTI formula)... I recently asked my vet about taking him off of it and switching to wet, and the vet recommended not to, as Tugs has not had any problems in the past few years, but I think I'm going to switch him anyway, just because I know dry food is so bad for kitties and that prescription food is basically crap. 0_o Got to love it when they sell it as being special and "healthy" when it's really going to make your cat ill...

Abby is 8 years old, and she has slowed down in her activity in the last 2 years or so. Leo (that's him in my avatar) was also on that Hills diet. He hated it, he wouldn't eat it. That's why I looked into Purina's version. He didn't mind that, and that's what he's been eating for the past few years.

 

[hrlw817]

Do you feed them 3 times a day? i would try giving them each half a can at each feeding rather than a full can and see if they still get full on that. Some cats will eat as much as you'll give them, even if they don't need it.

Yes, and sometimes 4 cans each a day. They both think they are still hungry after about 5 hours or so. I have tried giving them a can between both of them, and they are both hungry within 3 hours, and bugging my wife or myself to feed them again. I may look into the better can foods, maybe they will not seem so hungry.

 

[marie73]

That's a LOT of food! They're acting hungry within 3 hours, just like little kids do because they want snacks! My girls act the same way. They eat about 4 oz. each a day. Of course they're small, 7.25 lbs. (twins) and about 8.5 lbs. (Cleo). I don't know how much larger cats need to eat, but wow, 12 oz. a DAY sometimes? :shock:

 

[hrlw817]

That's a LOT of food! They're acting hungry within 3 hours, just like little kids do because they want snacks! My girls act the same way. They eat about 4 oz. each a day. Of course they're small, 7.25 lbs. (twins) and about 8.5 lbs. (Cleo). I don't know how much larger cats need to eat, but wow, 12 oz. a DAY sometimes? :shock:

Abby will do this thing where she will paw at things on the counter, then knock them off. She will do this until she gets feed. Or she'll sit in the kitchen and meow. I know it's a game and it's not the best thing for us to give in, but, she usually wins. She has done that in the middle of the night, knocking stuff off of the headboard onto my head, usually change. Leo will just follow us into the kitchen and meow and meow and headbutt my leg until he eats.

I think that's a lot of food too. I could understand if they were very active and outside a lot. They are indoor cats. They will chase each other around the apartment for about 10 minutes, then they sleep for a few hours.

 

[marie73]

If I leave right after I feed the girls and come back home an hour later, they think it's time for food again. They'd eat as much as I'd feed them, too, the little oinkers. I know it's hard not to give in, but you really have to try. And their little antics may not stop completely, but they won't be as bad once they learn it's not working any more. I keep stuff off the headboard so that trick doesn't work any more. Nothing breakable is on my counter, so if they knock something off, it'll still be on the floor when I get up in the morning. I can feed them dinner, then start eating mine, and as soon as they're done with theirs, depending on what I'm eating, you'd think I hadn't fed them in days the way they give me those big "feed me" eyes.

Resist. You must resist. :grin:

 

[spirite]

Abby will do this thing where she will paw at things on the counter, then knock them off. She will do this until she gets feed. Or she'll sit in the kitchen and meow. I know it's a game and it's not the best thing for us to give in, but, she usually wins. She has done that in the middle of the night, knocking stuff off of the headboard onto my head, usually change. Leo will just follow us into the kitchen and meow and meow and headbutt my leg until he eats.

I know how hard it is not to give in. Stupid as it sounds, part of the reason I prefer to work in my office on weekends is to make sure I don't cave to Margaux's incessant hounding me for food. Every time I go into the kitchen, she crawls out of wherever she was sleeping and swishes around my legs making these sad noises as if I were starving her. It gets seriously irritating. But as long as you do give in, they'll just keep pestering you.

Maybe you could put everything that Abby might potentially knock over somewhere she can't reach. For Leo, have you tried feeding him part of his food right before you go to bed? I feed my girls 3x/day and they don't bother me until I get up.

If you can get yourself to resist, after a while they'll give up. It took me a long time, but I'm finally able to ignore Margaux. She'll still try, but she gives up way sooner now.

 

[Penguin_Dreams]

If they're eating that much and are still hungry, they may be looking for more protein and instead are just finding a bunch of carbohydrates in the way. So they keep acting hungry. They should also have more energy from a healthy diet, rather than less.

Canned food should definitely help with urinary issues, and look into getting something that has more muscle and organ meat and less filler. Feeding them bits of raw meat won't hurt either.

 

[hrlw817]

Thank you everyone for your input. I think my wife and I are going to try, and I mean really try not to give in on feeding them every time they "think" they need fed. My wife usually gives in before me. It's funny, as I am typing this, Abby is under my legs and looking at me, and giving me a sign for "feed me" even though I fed her two hours ago!

 

[kty78]

Maybe try something like Evo canned food, my cats would eat a lot more Friskies than they do with the higher quality canned stuff. I buy Evo online, Doggiefood.com or waggintails.com, and get the 13 oz cans. A case of 12 of the 13 oz cans is about $21 - $24 and I bet your cats would stay fuller longer, it would probably cost about the same to feed them. Maybe your cats are bugging you for food in hopes you'll give them some dry food, aka kitty crack. LOL. Don't do it... but that might be what they're begging for. Sometimes I just give mine a treat when they want something, then I walk away and ignore them until it's time to eat again. They are both at good weights and usually eat most of their food when I first put it down, then come back and eat the little bit that's left within a few minutes.