I got 2 rescue cats last Saturday. One was sick when I got her & the vet recommended a chicken & rice only diet so at the moment I am feeding her Applaws chicken. I leave dry food out all day & night (James Wellbeloved) and feed wet food (haven't settled on a brand but trying all the zooplus food) as required.

The thing is they are eating so much. They're constantly nagging me for food & when I give them a bowl they scoff it and beg for more. I am giving them about 3-4 pouches or 2-3 tins a day plus 1-2 bowls of dry & they'd eat more if I let them. They're both tiny & were a little underweight when I got them so I don't know where they're fitting all this food!

I like the idea of giving them a wet only diet but I can't really afford to spend £10 a day feeding them!! Is this normal?

A couple of things

With a recommendation of Chicken & Rice, you are meant to poach some chicken breast in plain water, and serve that with some of the water it was poached in, along with some boiled rice. It is normally recommended as it is very bland, and gives a cats digestive system a chance to settle down.

Applaws wet food is only complementary not complete - that is it doesn't contain all the vitamins & minerals that a cat requires, and so shouldn't make up more than 20% of your cats diet.

Lastly, good quality wet food doesn't need to be expensive - especially if you buy it online at somewhere like zooplus: Pet Supplies, Pet Food, Dog Food, Cat Food and Pet Accessories at Zooplus

You will find that some of the most popular foods on this forum, (Animonda Carney, Smilla, Bozita, and Grau) are available there at reasonable prices - I feed Bozita (I can't get the other brands here in Norway), and I pay about £3 per day to feed my 2 boys - and that's with the Bozita being about 30% more expensive here than from zooplus.

Take a look at the Cat Health and Nutrition - Pet Forums Community, in particular this thread: Feeding cats for beginners (and more seasoned cat owners alike) for more information & advice

__________________
notsure

Thanks for the reply. I tried giving the cat boiled chicken & rice but she wouldn't touch it even after a whole day with no other food. The ingredients on the Applaws tin is 99% chicken 1% rice so i figured I might as well give her that as she eats it rather than wasting time & money cooking up chicken & rice which she turns her nose up at! You'd never know that only a few weeks ago she was a stray!!

I order food from Zooplus but it still works out pretty expensive with the amount of food they're eating. A bag of dried food is £11 and lasts about a month. £11 of wet food lasts about 3 days and thats with giving them a mix of wet & dry.

Good advice there from notsure regarding food.

Personally, you only have had them for a short time and they might still be getting used to having (good and tasty) food at their beck and call. Do you know anything about their history?

Considering that they were underweight, they might not have had access to the food they need and they are now making up for it. So, you might and probably will find that once they have started putting in a little weight and realise that food will be available, their ravenous appetite will just peter out.

It might still be good to have some set feeding times so that they get used to a routine.

How old are they?



PS: Yes, dry food is cheaper than wet food but that is because it tends to be full of carbs and imo is quite an unnatural way of feeding cats (with reasons against a dry-only diet plastered all over this forum). Although more expensive in comparison, wet food approximates their natural diet more (by virtue of its moisture content).

Could not agree more with this. It can become more habit than hunger whatever old wives tales there are that cats won't over eat. If that were true there wouldn't be any overweight cats and we know that isn't true.

Thanks hobbs, I don't know anything about their history other than that they're mum & son & around 8 and 18 months.

Hopefully their appetite will get less over time because they're constantly nagging & steling food... they even stole a loaf of bread while I was out & ate that (I'm sure that can't be good for them!).

How often should I be feeding them and what sort of times? I work from home so I'm lucky that I can feed them when they need. At the moment I give them about 5 feeds- 7am, 11am, 2pm, 6pm & 10pm ish

i know not strays but mine where from a house with their 5 litter mates, mum, dad, 2 aunties, nan and 2 older siblings, and once they were weened the woman who owned them used to just put 4 bowls out for the lot, so the little ones barely got a look in

when i got them, they seemed always hungry, and would eat their food that fast that they were almost bringing it back up, but once they realised, they was always gonna get food and didnt have to kinda fight for it, they settled down a lot, they dont wolf their food down anymore and beg a lot less. So it may be the case with your two that they just dont know when their next meal will be, as they were strays. I reckon they will settle down once they get used to a routine and make up for lost time like my little ones did, mine where quite underweight when i got them but they fattened up in no time for now just feed them what they want they will soon adjust

__________________



Banner by pheebus

Love all my babies
Shadow - Black moggy boy born 26/08/2011
Lightning - black and white moggy boy born 26/08/2011

Domino - black and white moggy boy born 14/03/2012
Oscar - black and white moggy boy born 14/03/2012

Nutmeg - Torti moggy girl born 29/03/2012
Fifi - black fluffy moggy girl 29/03/2012

RIP Fluffy girl always missed x

Absolutely! Some cats have eyes that are bigger than their stomachs. Let's hope that this is just a case of making up for lack of previous food, and isn't not a habit and doesn't develop into one.

I think those feeding times of yours sound just fine. What foods are you currently feeding them? Are they pooping ok (sorry but simply gotta ask!)? I presume they were wormed, vet-checked etc?

Well food wise i will leav you with Hobbs and notsure trust me they have quie a knowledge base for that stuff. THe eating and them being rescue cats is not uncommon, they often come to me underweight, and with the runs.

Willow and Izzy who were my fosters till i adopted them have had major food issues, they were found in a field starving in Wales and it has taken Izzy a month or so just to realise that food will still be there later they seem to have issues thinking that if they dont eat right there and then they will go without it again. What you will have to develop first is the thick skin they are gonna try it on every turn and you have to ignore them most of the time and offer treats in between meals instead.

HOWEVER until they are back to their normal weight i would suggest doing what your doing and get them weighed.

How many tiems a day do you feed with some cats they are better spread out 3/4 times a day in smaller amounts

__________________


http://nickoftime.proboards.com/index.cgi?

lol so true my cat Dex wont over eat at all he will eat twice a day 12 hours apart (his rules) but my schumy, willow and keiko would keep eating till they exploded if you let them it all depends on the cat some are greedy and some have sense lol

__________________


http://nickoftime.proboards.com/index.cgi?