bad eating habits/very big eater

[badcatowner 67]

Please help if you can....
My cat wants to be fed at 12 midnight/3am/ 6am plus another 3to4 time's a day. ?.
So firstly how can I stop the night feeds
Secondly why does it need so much food. ?.No worms

[Kay]

how old is your cat? there are medical conditions which cause this constant craving for food, which tend to affect older cats

[lilynmitz]

Can you free-feed him, ie leave some food down at all times? I've always done this and never ended up with an overweight cat. If he has weight issues, discuss portion sizes or special diets with the vet, as some foods are more likely to result in weight gain than others.

[Mollysmummy]

Our rescue cat of 3 weeks Molly is the same; she's 1, and in my opinion rather skinny. She came from an abusive owner and was then in a shelter run with 2 bigger cats so I don't think she's ever had lots of food.

She's not fussed on biscuits and will only eat them if every scrap of wet good is gone and we're in bed asleep and not responding to her cries. But otherwise she will happily munch through 3 even 4 pouches of food a day. She eats a bit then goes away and comes back so I don't think she's eating for the sake of it, and she acts like she's starving if there hasn't been any wet food down for a couple of hours.

I think we're partly to blame for pandering to her but if she's genuinely hungry how can we deny her food? The rescue centre de wormed her but it's due again this month so if nothing changes then then it's definitely not worms; I've looked at her poo and can't see any evidence of them so I'm doubtful she has them.

[Themogfather]

You could try a automatic feeder. There are various kinds and you might find a suitable one.
Is it your only cat?
I would take it to the vets just to be certain its not medical but it sounds like a history thing. One of my rescues would wolf everything down including his sisters if he could get away with it. He was eating over 4 pouches a day but once he got to know it was coming every day he slowed down.
Has long as your cat is active and not over weight and if practical ie no other cats /cost i would put two large bowls down just before bed . This should keep him going to breakfast as cats dont gorge like dogs and once full will stop.

[bobbys girl]

Cats might not 'gorge' but one of mine 'hoovers'. Gracie will work her way around the bowls finishing off what the others have left. She is always around when skinny Purdy is being fed. They are known as 'Picky Purdy' and the 'Fatty Cat'. We try to balance things out, but it doesn't always work!

[Mollysmummy]

Yes she's our only cat, I have looked at automatic feeders online, might have to discuss it with my husband.

She's not overweight, if anything I would say she is skinny. She's not gorging or hoovering as she hardly touches her biscuits. I guess we've only had her for 3 weeks so she may calm down with the food in time.

[Themogfather]

I know what you mean about hovering. my two adult cats one is a hover and the other is a browser.
What i mean about gorging is a dog will keep eating till its sick then proberly eat the sick while a cat will eat only till its full which will be different for each cat. Surprisingly the size of the cat is no indication of how much a cat eats. beauty is my grazer and is large while Lilly is my hover and is quite skiny. I now have 2 kittens as well so its mayhem at feeding trying to round the kittens up spo they dont get in to trouble eating the other cats food.

[Mollysmummy]

We've discovered after having Molly a month that she's really a red meat kinda girl. Give her cat food with fish or chicken and she will eat it if she has no biscuits left and we're out, but otherwise she will leave it; give her beef/lamb/duck cat food and she wolfs it down!

[Beanie]

Kay's question is extremely important in trying to assess the situation.

[Mollysmummy]

Molly is 1, so possibly still growing? She's been de-wormed at the vets and I've not noticed much difference.