My cat eats like it's The Last Supper!?

Question

My kitten (Madeline) eats her wet food as if it's the last meal she'll ever eat. She's 4 months old and growing well. She's active and all that good stuff. I leave dry food out for her 24/7 (b/c she's growing). I also leave out water (of course).
I mix wet food in with her dry food about 4x per week, so she knows that this is not a one-time treat. When I put her dish out, she will sit there and eat, and eat and eat until the bowl is empty. I'm afraid she's eating too much at a time and I don't want her to get sick.
I feed her Naturals wet food and Castor & Pollux dry food. She never "binge" eats the dry food like that. I only give her 1/3 of the can at a time and barely a handful of dry food to mix with it....so it's not a whole lot of food, but still.......
Is she okay? Am I doing something wrong?
Your help is greatly appreciated and have a good weekend!

Yes- she's been to the vet and everything is fine. Her shots are up to date and all that jazz. She just never does this with her dry food. She'll nibble it and then walk away when she's finished, not when the food is finished. lol.
Shelly C- I have a question. I heard it was really bad to feed a cat a lot of dry food. That's why I feed her a mix. You have actually lived the opposite. What types of health issues did your cat incur?

Answer 1

Please stop the dry all together. Dry = Urinary tract infections, kidney failure and diabetes plus other problems. These usually show up when the cat is 11 or 12 and then you have lots of vet bills, insulin bills, learning to do sub q fluids so the kidneys get enough liquid and on and on.
Please read what I have to say about dry food and a proper food and then check out the links I give. Your cat will be much healthier. Give your cat as much of the good canned as she wants and she will fill up faster and soon eat less as her body will have all the protein she needs.

Feeding a cat a healthy diet is of the utmost importance for the good health of every cat.
Many people feel that dry is the best way to go. Vets feel it is the way to go. Why? Vets are taught very little about nutrition and they are taught what they know by the Pet Food Companies. The companies push dry as it is the very cheapest food in the world to make as they use fillers, vegetable protein and things that cats do not eat in normal life like veggies and fruits. Of course the veggies and fruits are NOT good for human consumption and thus they get it free or for pennies so the big suppliers can get rid of it.
Dry does not keep teeth clean. A cats jaw is made to grab, tear and shred. They have no chewing action. When a cat barfs he throws up the chunks of food. Sometimes the dry shatters but that doesn't rub on the teeth either. A vet told me that she had an elderly cat around 20 who had had wet food her whole life and never had a problem with her teeth, but she had a 7 month old kitten who had to have every tooth pulled since they were so bad he was sick.
Dry food causes diabetes, UTI's, Kidney problems and the list is to long to continue.
The proper food is a diet for an obligate carnivore. Remember you have never seen a lion chasing a biscuit. Your cat needs wet food of good quality. It should be high in protein and under 10% carb. You should not feed your cat fish or seafood more than 1 or 2 meals a week if that much as they become addicted to it and it is high in phosphorous and low in nutritional value.
http://www.geocities.com/jmpeerson/canfo...
Here is a chart of most wet foods. The good and the bad. Look for one that is high in protein and low in carbs. Fancy feast is a good middle of the road one, and the cheaper brands but still following the rule are much better than any dry ever could be. Wellness is on the higher end with higher cost. But you have good food.
It is cheaper to feed a cat the wet as they are filled up faster. Think if you are hungry and eat a bag of potato chips you are soon hungry but if you have a nice piece of chicken you are filled up longer. The same for a cat. I began adding small amount of water and mixing it in good for the meals and now add 1/4 cup water to 1/3 cup wet food. It is now like soup. It keeps the food from drying out and Cessan eats when she wants. She is a grazer and I let her be happy. She gained the weight she needed and then the weight gain stopped. If your cat is over weight he will lose weight on a wet diet.
Here is a link explaining very clearly cat nutrition and care. It is excellent and I think every new cat owner should have to read it first.
http://catinfo.org/ Good luck to you and your sweet kitty.

Answer 2

Have you seen the video of the kitten FIGHTING the owner for the wet food? I just saw it and it's hilarious.

Here's the link: http://www.teensay.co.uk/funnyvideos/kitten-refuses-to-let-his-food-go_277.html

My kitty used to eat like that because she was a skinny little stray that didn't eat much on the streets, and she also had a bad case of ringworm. Several times her tests came back negative, but we'd find out a month later that she actually did have it.

Now that we've had her for 9 months, she has outgrown the obsession and eats much more calmly. She used to jump eh air and twist her body at the can, lol. Now she knows I'm going to give her some wet food twice a day and she'll always have dry food available. :)

Answer 3

I have one like that too. It hasn't caused any problems. Her (former) obesity was due to my feeding her crappy dry food and feeding her too much, all of which I stopped doing.

Don't worry about the wet v. dry - you are doing the right thing. I would keep an eye on her though to make sure she doesn't swell up like a poison toad the way my Poppy did. Of course, since you are feeding canned and you say she doesn't attack the dry food in the same way, you're probably safe enough.

I think you're doing just fine!

Answer 4

Kittens eat a lot because they are growing very fast. They need the fuel they receive in food for the energy to play, investigate their home and toys, etc.

I would suggest that you feed more wet food than dry. Cats need mostly protein in their food source, not carbohydrates that are found in dry food. It's ok to give your kittly a little dry food, but her main source of food should be wet food, preferably without any grains in it - such as corn, wheat, soy, rice, etc.

Answer 5

I have 3 cats ages, 3 14 and 13, The 13 year old becomes a madman at dinnertime. He has always wolfed his food down and then runs the other two off of their plates. He has been that way since birth and its never been a problem. Good luck

Answer 6

I used to feed my cats the moist food as well and it caused all kinds of health problems. I would try to start cutting back. I would try only to mix a table spoon of the moist in with more hard food ( a good brand) and then use it only as a treat. i.e. holidays and such.
Has she been to the vet yet? If she's not getting full then she could possibly have worms. Good luck!

Answer 7

It sounds like you are doing everything okay. She just like the wet food better. She will be fine.

Answer 8

Cats are naturally greedy creatures so they don't like leaving anything behind. Don't worry it's something you should get used to cause it ain't gonna ever stop.