Is your cat constantly begging for food, alternating between soft eyes and shrill meows? It may be helpful to look at the contents of his bowl or offer him a more stimulating environment.
My cat is always hungry: understanding our cats' eating behavior
As in humans and other species, satiety corresponds to the state of satiation, that is, the stage where the sensation of a full stomach is reached.
In order to better understand the mechanisms of food intake in our cats, we will explain the 3 states felt around the meal:
- The pre-ingestion phase : this is the feeling of hunger before the meal, which will motivate your cat to look for food.
- The "prandial" or consumption phase : this is the time of food intake and satiation. Satiation is a progressive process that puts an end to food intake.
- The “post-prandial” or satiety phase : this corresponds to a state of satiety of variable duration.
The hypothalamus, located in the brain, is the seat of appetite regulation. Normally, food intake is triggered by the appearance of the sensation of hunger. This is favored by the following factors:
- External stimuli : these are the visual and olfactory stimuli that make your cat “appetite”.
- Metabolic information : the drop in blood sugar.
- Hormonal information : such as ghrelin, secreted by the endocrine cells of the stomach following a drop in blood sugar and which stimulates the appetite. And glucocorticoids: their increase during stress will promote food intake.
Why is my cat always hungry?
Because he is bored
Outside, our cats spend several hours a day hunting, so you can imagine they don't have time to get bored!
If your cat does not have access to the outdoors, it will be important to make sure that he does not get bored. We will try to provide him with hiding places, a cat tree and games to stimulate him mentally and physically. Do not hesitate to give him access to the windows either. Our cats love to observe their environment; birds, passers-by in the street, etc.
Other signs that your cat is bored include sleeping a lot or becoming aggressive.
Because the rhythm of his meals is not optimal
Besides boredom, the rhythm of your meals can also be the cause.
If you only feed 2 meals a day, your cat will feel frustrated and will seek food outside of its meal times. Remember that our whiskers are by nature small nibblers, able to have up to 20 small meals a day.
To regulate its appetite and at the same time promote gentle digestion, we advise you to divide your cat's ration into at least 4 small meals per day. For example, a first meal in the morning when you get up, a second when you leave for work, a third when you come home and a last one before bedtime.
What can I do to regulate my cat's appetite?
Favor a wet diet
Thanks to its high moisture content, pâté adds volume to the stomach, without the calories that go with it! Yes, pâté is on average 4 times less caloric than kibble (for an equivalent quantity). It allows you to eat enough without gaining weight.
Another advantage of pâté: it is very rich in water and perfectly meets the water needs of our cats. As an indication, pâté contains on average 75% water compared to 10% for kibble! A cat consuming only kibble of course drinks “a lot of water” in its bowl, but it drinks much less and urinates less than when it eats wet food and “drinks little” in its bowl.
Obviously, the pâté must be of quality. At Ziggy, all our pâtés for cats are rich in quality animal proteins (+60%). We do not use reconstituted meat, VSM (mechanically separated meat) or animal “waste” such as carcasses, skin, feathers or bones. You will only find real pieces of muscle and noble offal (chicken, beef, pork). In addition, they contain a minimum of carbohydrates (-2%), which, as a reminder, are not essential to the diet of our whiskered ones.
Zucchini, the secret ingredient for a satisfied cat
A simple and inexpensive tip is to add boiled or raw zucchini cubes to your cat's diet. This vegetable provides volume and very few calories and is often appreciated by our fine gourmets. Zucchini is ideal for a sterilized adult cat who does not necessarily have access to the outdoors or for a cat who has difficulty regulating his diet.
Zucchini offers many benefits. In addition to being rich in water, it allows good transit thanks to its fiber content. The fibers present in zucchini guarantee better intestinal transit.
A substantial amount of zucchini (at least 10g/kg of the cat's optimal weight) also helps to reduce urinary saturation in calcium oxalates, and can thus help prevent the recurrence of urinary disorders .
Feel free to start with a small amount the first day and then gradually increase the amount.
Several small, divided meals
Finally, as we mentioned above, split meals are key.
This rhythm not only respects your cat's nature, but also allows your feline not to feel frustrated.
Finally, this rhythm helps to preserve urinary health. After a meal, urine tends to become more alkaline. And the larger the meal, the more alkalinization increases, thus promoting the formation of urinary crystals.
A good compromise is to prepare the daily quantity necessary and sufficient, and plan for distribution in 4 meals.
For example, for a mixed diet (kibble and pâté): you can give pâté in 3 or 4 meals (in the morning when you get up, before leaving the house, when you get home, later in the evening) and give the kibble in a play device (filled with a few kibbles for the day and a few kibbles for the night).
Please note that the rations must of course be adapted to your cat, according to its energy needs. To know the right amount of food, do not hesitate to use our ration calculator. 😺
Use fun bowls
If your cat is a little too gluttonous, don't hesitate to turn to fun bowls to slow down its food intake, such as:
- An anti-glutton bowl
- A kibble ball
- A maze. Your cat must move the kibble to get it.
- A licking mat.
- An ice cube or cannelé mold in which you can add pâté and/or croquettes.
My cat is always hungry, but he is losing weight
Several illnesses can cause an increased appetite, making it seem like your cat is hungry all the time. However, you may not notice any weight gain, or even weight loss.
In any case, it is important to consult your veterinarian as soon as possible if you notice that your cat is losing weight inexplicably. We advise you not to give your cat even more to eat, it is not useful and even risky, without other treatment.
Parasitic infestation
We are talking here about "intestinal worms", which feed directly on what your cat eats, and therefore "steal" a good part of the nutrients present in its diet. This is the reason why we recommend treating our cats regularly with a dewormer.
Diabetes
This is the most common disease in our cats. Diabetes affects adult cats, with a predominance in sterilized cats, and with an increased risk in cases of overweight or obesity. In addition to increased hunger, an increase in thirst can also be observed in a cat with diabetes. Once the diagnosis is clear, treatment can be put in place, based on insulin injections and an adapted diet.
At Ziggy, taking care of our whiskers is a priority. We have developed a special pâté for cats suffering from diabetes.
Hyperthyroidism
It occurs more frequently in older cats. A simple blood test at your veterinarian will allow a diagnosis of the disease. It can then be treated with tablets and/or nutritional measures.
Everything you need to know about feeding your cat
What are the best kibbles for my cat? Which pâté should I choose? In this guide, we teach you how to decipher the packaging (and avoid the pitfalls) so that you can offer the best possible diet to your furry love.
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