Cat always hungry, not worms..

[Scooby4]

I would suggest going to a "free feeding" routine but NOT the old way. What I mean by "free feeding" is to keep the same amount of food your feeding now, just keep it in the bowl all day. Don't just put food in the bowl and then take it back up just for "feeding time". Cats have their own schedule for eating. They are NOT like dogs where you can feed them at assigned times. Cats need to eat throughout the day on their own time.
Also keep in mind that animals don't wear wrist watches. They don't know what 5 am or 8 am is. They see the light coming up and it's morning to them! They don't observe daylight savings time either. Your ideal feeding times and theirs don't work.
Feeding a cat or dog once day is okay. Dog's after they mature, like to eat once a day. Cats just like to "snack" throughout the day. In your case, I would set the food out before going to bed and let the cat eat whenever it likes. My animals have turned into "nocturnal" eaters. So they like they like eating at night.
My cat is going through a "phase" where she doesn't seem to stop eating as well. The older she gets, her eating habits changed. My cat demands food in the morning as I am getting ready. She eats a few bites and then the dogs finish the rest. Now every time I go into the bathroom she demands food! So she seems to be eat all the time. She's just not eating alot a time. Making me extremely frustrated as well! One cat and I go through more bags of cat food than anyone with 3!!! I leave her food in her dish but the dog's sneak it out so that is why it isn't such a "free feeding" schedule.

[mishi]

Thanks for the advice. My concern is that I'll feed her the daily amount all at once (definitely at bedtime so hopefully she doesn't wake us up) and she'll eat it all at once and make herself sick. Not that she's done it before, but my mom's cats have.

Either way, I will definitely give it a shot. Thanks!

[Jessika]

Maybe feed even smaller meals more frequently throughout the day?

Double-Oh cries for food every time anyone goes into the bathroom (that is where we store his food, litterbox, etc to keep it away from the dogs). He only gets fed once in the morning nad once in the evening, same schedule as the dogs. But he will whine, cry, meow like CRAZY like he is starving and is never fed, though I know that is not the case.

Remember: just because they act hungry does not mean they need the food. Dogs and puppies will act like they are still hungry after finishing a meal and that's when many owners make the mistake that "oh he looks hungry still, I'll give him some more food" and that is how they get overweight.

If your kitty is at a good weight and is MAINTAINING the weight, and is healthy, I think there is no need to feed more. If he acts hungry... then you just have to ignore him. YOU are the boss, not him. He needs to know that he will only be fed at certain times nad at those times only and crying for more will not get him any. Its like the kid at the store begging for icecream eventhough he just ate.

[Catty1]

Try free feeding a weight control food....and see how her weight does.

Too bad hubby is not a cat person - a fursib for Halo might help her! As it did my Oscar.

Good luck!

Catty1

[mishi]

If he acts hungry... then you just have to ignore him. YOU are the boss, not him. He needs to know that he will only be fed at certain times nad at those times only and crying for more will not get him any.

That's the problem. We've been doing that for over a year now and it's just driving my husband insane to the point he's ready to strangle her every morning and evening when she's whining, and he's seriously contemplating giving her away. Over the past week I've been attemping 3 feedings a day instead of 2, but we're just not home during the weekday to feed her any more frequently than that. However, even that doesn't seem to be working.

I'm fine ignoring it, because I'm a cat person and it doesn't bother me.. but I have trouble ignoring my husband and his constant yelling at my kitty, especially when she wakes him up. Thankfully he knows how much I love my cat and is willing to go along with trying new things, so that hopefully this becomes more tolerable.

"Why can't we all just get along?!"

She is on the purina indoor formula, which I believe has some weight control in it for less active kitties.

[Catty1]

If it doesn't say weight control, it isn't.

Purina should have a weight control food - and hopefully you can free feed her and keep everyone happy.

hugs
Catty1

[Abigail]

We have a six-year old, otherwise happy and healthy cat who always complains for food. She is on a very healthy low-cal food that we purchase through her vet. When she was about 3, we did put her on a diet (vet monitored) and she went from 13 lbs to 10.5 lbs. It's understandable that she was hungry during that time, and the reason she got heavy is because we initially fed her too much because she seemed honestly hungry. But for 3 years, we have been diligently feeding her 1/4 cup of food at regular times, 3 times/day. For a while we gave two feedings of dry and one of wet, but it really didn't make much difference at all in her hunger level. She is playful, is indoor/outdoor and seems to think her life is pretty great...except for the empty belly. She does not have worms - we have never seen any signs but even so we give her regular de-worming pills because she hunts. The vet has continuously told me that her incessant meowing is just a habit. I understand behaviour modification, if that's what the vet is getting at, and after 3 years of us being really diligent about only feeding her a specific (and adequate) amount at a specific time (despite her complaining), it seems logical that she might get used to it. As much as we love her, I sympathise - it really is frustrating to have a cat who meows desperately for food. We want HER to be happy, and it's also really trying to have her complaining desperately for hours. She usually starts about 1 hour before her regular feeding times, sometimes up to 2 or 2.5 hours. When we have gone away overnight or something and put a full day's food in her dish, she eats it all right away. When she hunts, she eats ALL of what she catches. She really is nutty about food, and right from when she was a kitten, she did not seem to be able to regulate her own eating through free feeding. After three years of being really diligent with her feedings and not seeing her relax at all, we just tried upping it to 1/4 cup 4 times/day. She was very happy for about 4 days, and now she's used to it and starts complaining for food before this fourth feeding as well. We know that increasing her food intake again is not the answer. She's a well cared for, well loved cat with cat parents who have been firm but kind - we just wish she would not be do desperate for food. I am interested to hear any ideas.

[Medusa]

Don't take offense at this but are you sure it's hunger that's making her cry? She may have something physical going on that you're not aware of unless you've had her checked out by your vet and she checked A-OK. And if she has checked out OK, then perhaps talk w/your vet about her diet and see what s/he says. I know that her behavior indicates that she's hungry but it may be something else entirely. Good luck and please keep us posted. Prayers going up that all will be well w/Halo and things will calm down in your household.