# My BSH cat is constantly hungary!!



## tim1987 (Oct 3, 2009)

How do I solve the above problem with my 1 year old cat?!! I do know that British Shorthairs are prone to obesity and like to eat a lot! We are keeping him to his recommended daily allowance for his weight from the food packet. 

But this doesn't seem to fill him and he's just hungry all the time pretty much. He's meowing by the food cupboard every few hours!! Do we just ignore him? I don't want to be cruel, but I don't want him to get fat with us over feeding him. He's on a special vet Royal Canin Sensitivity Control diet which is the only food that his tummy can take.

Many Thanks


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## The Twins (Oct 11, 2009)

tim1987 said:


> How do I solve the above problem with my 1 year old cat?!! I do know that British Shorthairs are prone to obesity and like to eat a lot! We are keeping him to his recommended daily allowance for his weight from the food packet.
> 
> But this doesn't seem to fill him and he's just hungry all the time pretty much. He's meowing by the food cupboard every few hours!! Do we just ignore him? I don't want to be cruel, but I don't want him to get fat with us over feeding him. He's on a special vet Royal Canin Sensitivity Control diet which is the only food that his tummy can take.
> 
> Many Thanks


Ok - a couple of questions (i have BSH crosses btw):

Is his wormer up to date?
Do you feed him dry or wet food? 
Do you weigh his food - if you feed dry. 
Do you free feed?
Is he a house cat or outdoor?
Is he neutered?

Once i know the answers, i can recommend a few things...


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## tim1987 (Oct 3, 2009)

He was wormed a few months ago, but he's an indoor only cat. His stools are fine. We just feed him dry food, and it's weighed to the precise gram. He's on 3 meals but want to get down to 2, but don't see how that will be possible.

He was neutered last December.


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## owieprone (Nov 6, 2008)

bsh are more prone to being fat generally because theyr'e the cats old ladies generally have and they over feed them with non-cat food and keep them inside with little exercise.

we have an ex-old lady cat, and he's not a gorger or food stealer, he's fat because he didn't get much exercise and she fed him human food. Now he's a massive control freak yet he won't push the girls (both of whom run away from him) away frm their food to steal it. in fact unlike the girls he RARELY asks for food and is happy enough to wait for us to feed him, he weights 6.9kg. 
he's an outdoor cat now so is losing fat but not weight.
as long as your mog gets exercise in some form, play, running up and down the stairs after you like a puppy etc... he shouldn't get fat.

Why do you want to feed him twice day? if you feed him more smaller meals he may feel less likely to pork out at each meal (and be more likely to put fat on and get hungry later). we feed ours before we go to work, when we get home just before bed and have biccies around for midnight snacks.

Our bubs (tabby-siamese) constantly worries when the food bowls are empty or you can 'see' the bottom of the bowl and asks for food, then leaves it there untouched. she just wants to know there's food to go back to when she's hungry.
we for instance feed our cats 3 meat satchets a day and put biccies out at night, otherwise we get the night terrors.. also known as bubs and neeps making a racket at 3am cos they're hungry.
if you put food out does he eat it all instantly? or eat some and leave the rest. he may not be a gorger but simply like bub's a worrier of impending famine.

have you had him weighed and are feeding him on what the bag recommends for his weight? as it gives a range of feed weight, are you feeding him the top end or the bottom of that range? if at the lower end or middle, increase it slightly.

you can also try changing the food he's on, as it may not be high enough in something he needs. for example if he's on RC's indoor, try him on a weight management (which maintains his current weight but makes him feel fuller) or on the 'extra feed' give him a 'light' food when he asks for more, which should expand in his belly and make him feel full.

you could also try feeding him wet food once a day and see if this makes a difference. 

you can always ask your vet for advice on what is best to feed him for his level of activity and hunger levels.

That is, of course, all going from my experience of our cats, so i hope that helps.


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## Guest (Jul 9, 2010)

Is it actual hunger or just chancing his luck, one of mine gets over excited whenever I go to the kitchen in the hope he may get fed but he's not hungry he's just a chancer that would eat 24/7 given the opportunity.

Have you considered a treat ball where he has to work for his food so he gets a little exercise and brain stimulation at the same time.


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## gskinner123 (Mar 10, 2010)

Eh? "fat because they're generally the cats old ladies have and they overfeed them" ?? lol ! They have a genetic tendency to become overweight, plus they're big, heavy boned cats and pretty lazy, quite often, as slightly older neutered cats.

To the OP, I really think you'll struggle, trying to give a BSH male of that age a precisely weighed out ration of dried food. I know that, in actuality, that would be the correct thing to do but BSH's, males particularly, are growing/filling out rapidly at that age and, as you've noticed, they have voracious appetites  It may well be the correct number of calories for him to prevent him becoming overweight but he's going to drive you insane for food in the process.

I try to feed my BSH's very little biscuit; partly I don't rate it as a food for any cat and, in any event, the ration recommended they just wouldn't be happy with. I appreciate you may well not want to change his diet but I honestly find that a raw meat and small amount of good quality, commercial wet food suits mine so much better.


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## tim1987 (Oct 3, 2009)

We have given him a worming tablet because he is due for one, and he's on the food which the vet has recommended for him. We have gone through a lot of different brands, yet this is the best one for him so we are not changing as he has a very delicate tummy. His recommended food amount is around 55g a day according to the Royal Canin chart as he is 3.5 kg and we weighed him this week.

Many Thanks for your replies, he's an absolute cracker of a cat!! I just sometimes think he gets a bit greedy ,but maybe we'll go over his quota when he asks, but not by much as he will definitely get fat!


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## The Twins (Oct 11, 2009)

Right, personally i dont rate dry food, especially for overweight or cats prone to weight gain. Dry is full of carbs and fillers. If u want him to be fuller for longer and not gain weight, high content wet food is better. The best option would be raw.


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## dharma66 (Oct 25, 2009)

The Twins is (are?) right, but here's a little more info.

Raw is best, and the raw feeders on here will tell you it's no hassle. That's really great for em, but many other people find it too much work. I'm in neither camp, just summarising what people have said.

Transitioning to a high protein wet food is the next best thing. Bozita pate is one of the best. Apparently Grau is good, and Smila. You can get these from zooplus or seapets. The act of transitioning is important. Offer a little wet food in exchange for a little dry. Keep an eye on the litter tray (if you have one - otherwise, if you want too, you can crawl through the bushes). Any signs of looseness, revert to dry for a day or two.

Gradually increase the amount of wet feed, and decrease the amount of dry. The whole process can be spread over as long a period as you like, but should probably take at very least a couple of weeks.

Make sure you follow the directions for amounts for the new food. You will probably find you need to feed less Orijen than your current dry food, for example.

If the cat is constantly asking for food, then try feeding tiny meals many times during the day (as much as your own schedule allows). In the wild, cats will generally eat 20-30 field mouse sized meals in a day, so the two or three largish meals a day they generally get given by humans is not ideal. Maybe he's just feeling that instinct a little.

Finally, make sure he is not fed any scraps! And keep treats to a minimum, they tend to be very high energy.
As a first step you could switch to a high protein dry, if you are not using one already (what food ade you feeding now)? Orijen is a good dry food (as far as dry can be good). You can probably make the transition to Orijen in just a few days, and then at least it's good dry food he is getting during the transition to wet.


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## Guest (Jul 10, 2010)

I think the OP said the cat was on a specific diet dry diet due to a sensitive tum, so don't think he wants to change the diet just the behaviour.


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## The Twins (Oct 11, 2009)

GreyHare said:


> I think the OP said the cat was on a specific diet dry diet due to a sensitive tum, so don't think he wants to change the diet just the behaviour.


what food has the op tried? I'd be fairly suprised if raw isn't worth a try...


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## Guest (Jul 10, 2010)

I don't know but in the original post he said that the cat had a sensitive tum so was on Royal Canin sensitive control and that it suited him and that it was the food his tummy could take. I read the OP as more of a behavioural thing that a diet change thread.


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## Taylorbaby (Jan 10, 2009)

tim1987 said:


> How do I solve the above problem with my 1 year old cat?!! I do know that British Shorthairs are prone to obesity and like to eat a lot! We are keeping him to his recommended daily allowance for his weight from the food packet.
> 
> But this doesn't seem to fill him and he's just hungry all the time pretty much. He's meowing by the food cupboard every few hours!! Do we just ignore him? I don't want to be cruel, but I don't want him to get fat with us over feeding him. He's on a special vet Royal Canin Sensitivity Control diet which is the only food that his tummy can take.
> 
> Many Thanks


Dont go by what it says on the packet, that is fo 'average cats' what is a average cat? No idea!!

Go by your cat, bics down all day and meat at certain times. my BSH loves her food.....as soon as the fridge is open she is under my legs mewing!

If he is really hungry give him more bics and feed little and often and lots of play time to!


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## tim1987 (Oct 3, 2009)

We've tried raw, but the result is not good at all!! We will keep his food to what the vet says. He's very, very happy, I'd say more of a behavioural problem. He's on a very bland diet with him just on this Royal Canin diet. 

Today, we gave him his food at 7:30 am. By 11:30 he's meowing by the food cupboard. So we give him his dinner. Then by 2:45 he's meowing again!! We tried giving him rice to keep him going but he's not interested as it's so bland!


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## hobbs2004 (Mar 12, 2010)

Instead of rice, could you add a little of raw or boiled chicken to his meal plan? The protein in that is going to be more filling than the carbs in rice.


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## Taylorbaby (Jan 10, 2009)

sounds normal to me!!  

is there a reason for this 'diet??'


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