my cat never stops eating!!!!!?

Question

i took my cat sofia to the vet on 5/7 and she had worms(first visit after i rescued her) i did the treatment the vet prescribed and i check her poop and all seems fine, but she eats non-stop, she was 11lbs with worms, and she was homeless for a year prior to my taking her in, and now she is 14lbs, she sometimes vomits, and i dont know why, any ideas as to why she vomits and why she eats so much???? thanx for any help!!!

Answer 1

She might need a specialized cat food so she doesn't vomit. My cat does better on anti-hairball formula - it also stopped the vomitting which was different than her occasional hair ball. She might be gorging from her former life of starvation. Just put out the recommended serving split in half, twice a day. And always fresh water. She will adjust in time.

Answer 2

I had a cat like her. My old tom Harley spent half his life with his paw wrapped around a dish of crunchies. For much of his adult life he was a big fat lump. Some cats, especially if they have experienced periods of food deprivation will eat as long as there is food in front of them. If you can, measure portions and take the food up instead of leaving a full bowl all the time. She is not sick - worms have the opposite effect. And she would have lost weight if she had a bad case of worms when you first got her so she is probably making some weight up from being sick.

Harley was also what my vet called a "puker". To put it simply, cats stomachs don't have the motility (continuous motion) that humans do. Some cats especially those that are quite sedentary, will get a lot in a quiet stomach and then vomit and eat all over again. They also have a miserable time getting rid of hairballs.

There are a couple of things you can try. The one that gave me the most success was switching to a really good hairball control dry food. I get Science Diet. It really helped cut down on the vomiting. You can give a child's dose of pepcid to your cat once a day if you want to mess with it, but the whole pill thing just upset the cat even though it worked to a degree. The food change worked better.

By the way, if you do change to a new food, remember to introduce it a bit at a time mixed with the old to avoid diarrhea. Good luck!!!!!!

P.S. My Harley lived to be nearly 16 - he died of cancer this spring. He was a real character and I miss him horribly. Good luck with Sofia. Cats can be such wonderful pals and terrific clowns. I know she'll take good care of you since you seem to be doing a great job with her.

Answer 3

You said you rescued her--was she an outdoor cat? Ones that have to find their own food or they'll starve usually take a while to calm down about food when they get an endless supply indoors. They still think that THIS bowl is going to be the only food they'll ever have, so they try to eat it all. They don't realize that you'll be filling it up every day. If they don't eat it when it's here, they may not have any later--so they eat and eat, stuffing it in.

The two outdoor cats we adopted both had this behavior. It took one of them a whole two months before he realized the bowl indoors was always going to have food. He stopped his 'survival' eating after that and trusted that if he left food, it would still be there later. The other guy took longer to believe it, I think with him it was a good six months before he stopped trying to eat every bit in the bowl every day, every time he went by it. He porked up 4 pounds in the first 2 months, and we were getting worried, but he did stop the panic eating, eventually, and though he's a little overweight now (feels like picking up a brick when you lift him) he's more reasonable when it comes to food.

Answer 4

Signs of intestinal worms are not usually apparent to the naked eye when examining feces. Another stool sample should be brought in so she can be re-checked for worms. While her first prescription of dewormer may have killed all of the parasites in a certain life stage, other parasites that were not killed may be maturing now. Multiple dewormings are frequent to really wipe the parasites out. Although dewormer is medication, if given in proper dosages it should not cause ill-effects and certainly shouldn't induce "chemo-like" reactions as one poster claimed.

Hyperthyroidism is fairly common in felines, especially older cats. While this may be a possibility, it's not something I would spend a lot of time on at this point. Hyperthyroid cats eat and eat and eat, however, they usually get skinny instead of gaining weight.

She was a rescue cat and that makes me think that she didn't always have food available to her. She may be gorging now because she's still not convinced that she'll get her next meal. The vomiting may be a result of eating the food too fast. Make sure you're feeding her a high quality cat food that only uses ingredients fit for human consumption. Innova, California Natural, Natural Balance, Wellness, Nature's Variety, Wysong, and Felidae are all high quality cat foods that you can find at small or independent pet stores. Grocery store cat food (Purina, 9 Lives, Whiskas, etc.), Iams, and Science Diet are all low quality foods that use high levels of grains and frequently use 'feed grade' ingredients that have been condemned from human consumption. I would also recommend avoiding a diet or reduced calorie food as they replace meat with fillers like grains which provide little nutrition to a carnivorous cat. Instead, measure her food and feed her several times a day. Start with portions recommended by the cat food company (feeding guidelines are found on the side of the bag) and adjust as needed. If she eats the food too quickly and vomits, slow her down by giving her kibble in ice cube trays. You may also want to try California Natural as it's made only with chicken and rice and is easier to digest than many other cat foods. As with any brand transition, mix any new foods in with her old food over the course of a week to avoid intestinal upset.

Answer 5

First of all I would discuss this with your vet incase there is something serious that needs to be taken care of. However it may be phychological. As a homless cat it needed to eat whenever it can. The instinct is still there and she will eat anything you put in front of her because of it. Try giving her the recomended amount on the cat food bag, once daily and don't give her anymore. My dog does it too. It's sorta like the don't feed the goldfish too much because it's too stupid to know when it's going to explode.

Answer 6

Worm treatment it like kemo for cats... your cat just feels like poop. I am surprised your vet didn't tell you that.

Just manage the food your cat get, I would probably try science diet for adult cats to help weight control and just regulate how much it gets, don't feed it all the time, it won't starve.

Answer 7

well....

stop feeding her all the time... lol

Feed her once a day ... don't just keep her bowl full so she can eat anytime she whants