My cat is constantly starving

Question

I have a black domestic (medium/long) shorthair that although is a butt, is loved very dearly by me and my girlfriend. He is of healthy weight at 10 lbs, and we feed him 3 cans of wet (Hills Science Diet, Healthy Cuisine, 3oz) food a day. After going to a vet, dry food affects his gums adversely and he cannot eat it, or risk kitty dentures down the line.

His feeding schedule is 1 can in the morning, and 2 at night. Despite this schedule which is recommended not only by my vet but by the food maker as well, he is constantly hungry and loves to complain about it. He has lost weight since we were at the vet last, and goes so far as to jump on counters and other locations for food when we're not looking, even though he knows he's not supposed to.

Why is my cat so hungry constantly, and would feeding him more be a detriment?

Edit: It has been about 6 months since his last vet visit, and his weight drop was from 12 lbs to his current 10.

Answer 1

I think you may be underfeeding your cat a little, which is why he is hungry. Just as a rough idea for a 10 lb cat I would guess three of those little 2.8 oz cans are probably not enough. Without knowing the exact product (flavour) it is impossible to say but usually I would think about 4 cans per day of this diet is more appropriate for a 10 lb cat.

This dramatic weight loss is not normal (unless you were aiming for a bit of weight loss), and warrants veterinary examination and testing to be sure there is not a medical reason for the weight loss. On the other hand it may just be that your cat just needs more calories than he is getting.

Answer 2

Cats fare well on frequent small feeds, so increasing the number of feeds would be good for the cat. The same amount of feed could be fed 4 times a day, or be increased a little to include an extra feed.

The issue is increasing the overall quantity and the desired weight for your cat. Your cat may be at his optimal weight or may be able to gain a pound or two depending on his size.

The broad healthy range is anything from 7 -19 pounds (3 - 9 kg), depending upon sex and breed. However, for the average male domestic short hair 10 -12 pounds would be optimal, so your cat may be fine putting on weight.

The best test is to look at and examine your cat, using the guidelines shown in the chart below to determine whether he is in a healthy weight range. Then you can experiment with the amount of food you give him, increasing it, and, hopefully, finding a happy medium, where he is not so hungry. That's where the dry food is good, as an adlib supply can be put down for many cats to snack on with no harm, but your boy can't have this.

image courtesy of Cat Weight – Is My Cat Underweight or Overweight, Cat World

Without seeing a picture of your cat, I tend to agree with Harry, that the 3 small cans are not quite enough.