How do I know if my kitten is still hungry

Cat Always Hungry and Prevention of Constant Hunger

Cat always hungry and begging for food? Does it seem as if there will never be enough food to fill her up? It is never good to over-feed a cat. But how much is too much? For that matter, how much is too little? Overeating can be a symptom of a larger problem.

Is Kitty losing weight? Gaining weight? Is vomiting involved? What is she leaving in the litter box? Is she being pushy about trying to make you give her food? Is she stealing food? To solve the problem of your cats over eating you must also observe other symptoms.

Yowling for Food at Regularly Scheduled Meal Times

If you feed your cat at the same time every day, your hungry cat will figure out when its time to eat. No, its not that theyve learned to tell time! Unless, of course, you have one of those old fashioned clocks that chime on the hour and using that to tell you when its time to feed the cat.

In this case, the clock may be inducing a Pavlovian response. Most often, its just an empty tummy thats been trained to be ready to get filled at a certain time. Your meowing cat is just making sure you dont forget.

Begging for Treats

Has your cat figured out where you keep the treats? They can figure out through observation where you keep the treats. Shaking the bag before treating Kitty can also induce a Pavlovian response. Cats have excellent hearing.

Their vision is likewise superb. They are also a lot smarter than people give them credit for. What they dont have is an opposable thumb and so they will try to get you to open the jar or bag their treats are in. You have to be the parent and decide if Kitty really needs to have a treat just now and why the increased appetite.

Snatching Food off the Table

Its hard to keep things out of reach of a hungry cat who can jump six times her length. Your cat may not be able to resist the urge to jump on a table or counter to nibble on the turkey or lick at a block of cheese.

Once a cat develops a taste for things not in her usual food bowl, it can be hard to keep her away from them. Make sure food is always covered or at least under observation so Kitty cant get at it.

Eating Too Fast

Meal time should not become a battlefield. If your cat has had to fight for food, he may bolt it down for fear that someone might take it from him. This is common in cats who have had to live on the streets or came from large litters.

Your cat needs a calm meal time that makes him feel safe. If you have multiple cats you may need to feed them separately so that they dont fight. It may take a while for your cat to realize no one is going to take his food.

Eating and Throwing Up

Is the vomiting a hair ball or regurgitation? Hair balls are a normal thing for cats. They groom themselves with their tongue so its expected that a little hair gets swallowed.

Sometimes the hair just doesnt pass through the system and accumulates into a ball that needs to be coughed up. Usually a hair ball can be easily coughed up. If it looks like shes having a lot of trouble bringing up a hair ball you may need assistance from your vet.

If your cat is regurgitating nearly intact food, shes probably eating too fast. If giving her a calm environment isnt doing the trick you can spread the food out or use a bowl with nubs meant to make your cat slow down while eating.

Eating and Putting on Weight

You do not want to fatten up your cat too much. Cats, like people, may just like eating and can eat more that whats really good for them. Being overweight is not healthy for a cat. It can lead to severe health problems.

Is your cat an unspayed female who has had contact with male cats? If she has an increased appetite and cant seem to stop eating and shes packing on the pounds she may be pregnant. She is going to lead lots of nutrients to feed the little kittens growing inside her. You can skip the pickles and ice cream, though.

Eating and Weight Loss

If your cat always seems to be hungry but seems to be losing weight no matter how much she eats, something is terribly wrong. Your cat possibly has a severe health problem and needs to be taken to the vet. Fortunately, many of these potential ailments can be cured or at least managed with medication or changing your cats diet.

Here are some things your vet may screen for:

Intestinal parasites

If your cat has an intestinal worm it could be consuming all the nutrients your cat is supposed to be getting. Ask your vet about deworming and flea treatments.

Hyperthyroidism

Your cat could have an overactive thyroid gland if she always feels hungry. Your vet can detect it with a simple blood test.

Diabetes

If your cats pancreas isnt producing insulin her body isnt processing sugars into energy. This can make her hungry and listless. A vet can prescribe insulin injections.

Cancer

If everything else has been ruled out, cancer may be suspected. This will require further testing.

Bored or lonely

Like people, cats may turn to food if bored, lonely or depressed. If your cat has also been destroying things and acting aggressively she may just be unhappy. A little love and attention may be all she really needs.

Depressed

A depressed cat may be eating just to fill the void. Perhaps she lost something or someone and is just inconsolable for now. Give her a healthy routine and plenty of affection until those blues go away.

Your cats food isnt meeting his nutritional needs

A nutritional deficiency may cause your cat to feel hungry often and an increased appetite. Read the label on the cat food container. Is it missing anything? You may have to switch to a better quality food and give Kitty some vitamin supplements to help her out.

Acromegaly

This endocrine disorder results in excessive growth hormones being produced by the pituitary gland. When too much of this growth hormone is produced, the cat may feel hungry quite frequently.

Exocrine pancreatic insufficiency

Cats can be affected with a condition called exocrine pancreatic insufficiency. This happens when the pancreas is unable to produce the digestive enzymes necessary for the regular nutrition of the cat.

Infections

A cat who is hungry all the time may be suffering from an infection. Some infections might cause nutrient deficiency. They may cause the system to be unable to absorb nutriens.

Medications

Some medications, such as steroids, may stimulate hunger and cause an increased appetite. Talk with your vet about any and all side effects your cats medicine may have.

Conclusion

There is an old medical adage that goes When you hear hoof beats, expect horses, not zebras. Chances are good that your cat doesnt have cancer; shes just stress eating and needs some extra attention.

Still, sometimes it is zebras so it would be a good idea to take Kitty to the vet to make sure everythings OK. Also remember that as pet parent it is your duty to make sure your feline friend is well cared for. Some people overfeed their pets mistaking food for love.

Dont do that! Your cat needs affection, playtime and other things along with nutritious food to be healthy.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much and how often should I feed my cat?

From age six months to maturity, most cats will do well when fed two times a day. Once the cat becomes an adult, at about one year, feeding once or twice a day is appropriate in most cases. Senior cats, age seven and above, should maintain the same feeding regimen.

Why is my cat so food obsessed?

Cats may beg and cry for food because it's one of the few moments you are truly dedicating to them. High levels of stress can cause a cat to go cuckoo for foodin fact, vets have recently diagnosed some cats with psychogenic abnormal feeding behavior, which involves begging and food-related aggression.

How much food should a cat eat a day?

Here's a general guideline that nutrition experts agree on: A healthy, active, 10-lb adult cat requires 270-320 calories per day.

How many cups of dry food should a cat eat per day?

Typically, dry food contains about 300 calories per cup, and canned food contains about 250 calories in each 6 oz can. (or, 125 per 3-ounce can). Using these counts as a guide, an 8-pound cat would need 4/5 of a cup of dry food or just less than a full 6-oz can (or two 3-ounce cans) of wet food per day.

Kitten Always Hungry: What Is Going On With My Pet?

Generally speaking, in order to support their rapid growth, kittens need to take in a lot of nutrients every day. Additionally, energetic kittens often have a tendency to eat more. As a result, it's natural for your fluffy friend to beg for more foods in its bowl around mealtimes. That being said, in the case the pet seems to be hungry all the time, something might have gone wrong. As kittens have a rather fragile constitution, cat parents have to act if they notice odd signs in the felines. Still, very few people know the ideal approach to the issue of kitten always hungry.

Worry that the big appetite of your furball is a sign of underlying health issues? If that is your primary concern at the moment, you come to the right place. Down below, you would find everything you must keep in mind about what makes your kitten always hungry, the necessity of vet checkups and methods to prevent kittens from overeating.

Why The Pet Eats So Much: A List Of Possibilities

Overall, all sorts of things influence the appetite of the cats but if your kitten constantly whines for food, you should consider the following suspects.

Intestinal worms take all of their nutrients from the host. So if such parasites manage to get into the intestine your fluffy friend through foods, fleas and alike, its appetite shall grow substantially without fail. The pet keeps eating but it's unable to satisfy its hunger as the worms get most of the nutrients. In a couple of cases, cat parents may even see signs of worm infestations in the feces of affected felines. Fortunately, you should be able to take care of the worms in your kitten by using cat-specific deworming medications.

As the pancreas of diabetic cats fails to properly produce insulin, the pets simply have no way to utilize the sugar they obtain from foods. As a result, the felines would continue eating to get the energy its body needs. While several people assume that the disease is only a threat to senior cats, it could affect juvenile kittens too. That is why don't ever rule out diabetes if you suddenly realize that your kitten possesses an insatiable hunger. The appetite of your kitten is going to rerun to normal when you manage to bring the disease under control.

The playful nature of kittens makes them susceptible to boredom if they feel being neglected. In downtime, the felines do all sorts of things to entertain themselves but similar to humans, some resort to eating. Bored kittens don't eat to satisfy their hunger, they eat because they see foods. Among the potential culprits that make a kitten always hungry, boredom is considered to be the easiest to solve as people only need to keep the pet engaged in activities. Once your kitten got too absorbed into something, it shall forget about the feeding bowl.

Kittens that live on the street never know when the next meal would come so they eat as much as they could at every opportunity. Therefore, if you recently adopted your kitten, it's highly likely that the pet is behaving based on past experience. As long as your furball notice foods in its feeding bowl, it should keep eating which put the pet at risk of developing digestive upsets. Luckily, your kitten is going to eat just enough if you show the pet that the food supply is stable for most of the time.

Generally speaking, people that eat mostly fast-food tend to get hungry hours after mealtime. Well, the same thing happens to the average kittens: The felines tend to feel hungry if they have to eat low-quality foods every day. As their nutrient need remains unfulfilled, the pets shall eat and eat and eat without a care in the world. On the bright side, if food is what makes your kitten always hungry, all you have to do is to make changes to its diet. Overall, prioritize kitten foods from reputable brands in order to give your cat sufficient nutrients.

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The Ideal Approach: Need Helps? Visit The Local Veterinary Clinic

When it comes to the well being of your fluffy friend, it's impossible for you to be too careful. That is why cat parents should consider bringing their kitten straight to the vets in the case something seems odd. Veterinarians could detect illnesses in cats, devise proper treatments and offer much-needed advice regarding the health of the felines. Hence, it's strongly recommended that you write down the number of the neighborhood vet clinic in case you notice strange behaviors in your pet.

Getting Kittens To Eat Less: Tips And Tricks For Owners

• Consider Adopting Meal Feeding Plan: Free feeding presents an obvious benefit: You don't necessarily have to be around in order to feed your furball. You only need to fill the bowl to the brim for the pet to nibble. Nonetheless, if your kitten is eating more than it actually needs, switch to meal feeding. Though such a feeding plan requires extra times as well as efforts, it minimizes the risk of overeating in cats.

• Invest In Treat-Dispensing Toys: You have no time to play with your fluffy friend? If that is so, visit the pet store to get some interactive treat-dispensing toys. The toys would surely get the attention of your kitten away from its feeding bowl. With the toys, you could have peace of mind while allowing your cat to tire itself out as it pleases. Of course, you have to keep the treats under control.

• Put Together A Well Balanced Diet: As mentioned above, kittens require a lot of nutrients to develop into healthy cats. Because of that, you should be able to ensure that your furball never eats excessively by assembling a sound diet. If you want to play it safe, ask the vets for a couple of recommendations. Actually, veterinarians could even help you arrange an optimized feeding schedule that meets the specific condition of your fluffy friend.

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