6 month old cat always hungry?

Question

My cat is 6 months old this month, we feed him on felix kitten but he always seems to be hungry. He wakes us up in the night evey two hours and does not leave you alone until he gets fed, its become a nuisance as i have not had a good nights sleep since we got him in July, we have tried shutting him out the bedroom but he scratches the carpet until he is given attention. Any ideas how i can stop all this or why he is always hungry

Answer 1

Go to the vet and make sure he doest have worms. A lot of new kittens do and this could e the problem.

Answer 2

He is a growing cat. Plus their motabolism is pretty high. I have had 6 cats in my life time and they always are ravashing eaters early in life. If you look at the kitty litter regularly you will probably notice that they bm and pee more then average people too. It is ok to keep their dish full, cats are good at regulating them selves with food when there is a consistent supply.

Keep an eye on their over all activity level though, Like humans they need to balance eating with activity. Lots of eating and little activity means that they need to be more active. Reducing a cats food intake can be bad for them. Just remember if you are concerned about weight gain dont feed them human food as it has different ratios of fat content and caloric levels then cat or kitten food. Most over weight animals are so because they eat human food and are under exersized.

Another thought about keeping the kitten saticfied is to keep it in the bathroom but put in a clock or something that ticks. It reminds them of being with their mothers. It really works. You have set up the expectations with your kitten to make a fuss and you will come to it so try this for a while.

Also aside from ticking you might provide it with something like a low level white noise. This will block out other sounds in the house at night that might wake up the little guy (er gal?). I would try the ticking noise first before you add the white noise because often that is enough. good luck.

Richard R has a thought too. If you have not checked the cat for parasites especially worms, that could cause a problem. Sometimes you will see them in the poo but that is not a good indicator. Take it to the vet if you havenot done so already.

Answer 3

First thing is establish that there isn't a physical reason for his hunger: worms, cancer, etc...

After that, it's all behavioural, and you'll have to treat that. Cats should NOT be allowed access to food 24/7, it can be harmful to them. When cats smell food, their urine gets acidic. If they smell food all the time, their urine will get too acidic and can cause damage to their urinary tract. (My friend's cat had this condition, and had about $800 worth of surgery to correct the problem.)

Cats should be fed once a day, at the same time, and the same place. They are creatures of habit, and will quickly become accoustomed to this. You might need to lock the cat up at night until he learns this new pattern.

Next, try a better food. Felix is really the bottom of the food chain, to make a bad pun. Try Hill's science diet, or Iam's. Both are more expensive, but your cat will actually eat less of a higher quality food. It's like a person with junk food. It takes more junk food to make them not hungry than it would high quality healthy food.

Also, in the long run it's cheaper, because they won't develop as many health problems as he would if fed on the cheaper food.

Good luck!

Answer 4

It sounds to us like this is more of a behavior issue than a feeding issue.

If you feed your cat a regular healthy diet, there should be no "hungry behavior".

We believe this cat has learned how to manipulate you into giving him attention whenever he wants it. It may be difficult, but you need to be firm and consistent in your resolve to put a stop the behavior.

Put him in a carrier at night and let him yowl without going to him every time he makes a noise. He'll learn quickly (usually within a few nights) that his yammering no longer works, and he will settle down to sleep.

If this doesn't work, it may indeed be a medical problem. Perhaps he's not able to successfully metabolize nourishment from the food, or maybe he has a tape worm that is "stealing" his food from him. You can have your vet check this out if the behavior modification fails.

Answer 5

Mostly because he is 6 months old. They use up a lot of energy at that age.
Also, changing him to a better quality of food may help. Some foods look good, but are not very nutritious. He's eating a lot but not getting the nutrition he needs. Read a book called "Foods Pets Die For" by Ann N. Martin if you don't believe me. You will be shocked and amazed.
Look into Innova EVO, (the best in my opinion), California Natural, Wellness, Artemis, Felidae are all good.
Unfortunately cats are naturally more active at night.
Try to distract him with toys. Leave toys in the other room for him. Get ones like this donut looking thing that has a ball that goes around the hollow center, they love those. There are a few toys that move by themselves, try one of those. Some cats will play with the dog toys that dispense treats, see if yours will.
Get catnip, cat grass, and mint. Put them out at bedtime and he may entertain himself.
Good Luck

Answer 6

switch from set feeding times to "cafeteria style" feeding, that should help out a lot. Sounds like he is very active and the food is not holding him through till the next feeding. Also most likely need to switch to an adult formula food. I use a plastic shoe box for my cats, toss in about 2-3 cups of food and check it daily, that way they can eat when they want, without waking me up all hours of the night. If you have a compulsive eater, can help, re-trained ex's cat, literally put food in The dish every time it was empty (not a lot, but every time). After he got sick for the 8th or 9th time he realized food was there for him when he was hungry and stopped him from being a garbage can raider.

Answer 7

At 6 months he shouldn't be waking you in the middle of the night.

How is his weight? You might try changing cat foods... I'm not too familiar with Felix, but some of the cheaper cat foods aren't as nutritious and might cause him to be hungry sooner (lack of nutrients.)

If you keep giving him attention, he is just going to keep on doing it. Don't get up in the middle of the night to feed him.

Answer 8

We have a couple of cats and since they were teeny, we left out dry food all the time. None of my cats are overweight, they don't eat like pigs, just when they're hungry. At the 6 month stage, your cat is still growing (imagine a teenage boy) and may eat quite often. I have two at that age right now and they don't bother me a bit at night when I lock em out. Not only do they have each other to play with but they've always got food and water.

Answer 9

Kittens are like children, he is growing and needs the food. I would check with your vet to make sure he doesn't have worms. If he is worm free, try leaving a bit of dry food out for him to nibble on. He will be quieter and you can sleep. I have a fat Poose (his name) and he was like that. I call him fat but he is a large (big boned) cat as he is part Main Coon cat. Keep feeding him the kitten food as he needs the nutrients. I hope this helps. I couldn't leave an entire bowl of food out all night for mine as he has never had any restraint and would eat it all, but I have found over the years that a handful of dry to nibble keeps HIM quiet. I hope it works for you :)

Answer 10

maybe your kitten has worms. The worms take all the nutrients out the food and leave your poor kitten with nothing but waste material to live off