5 Reasons Why Your Cat Is Always Hungry And Meowing

Quality nutrition is essential for your cat to thrive and stay healthy. It’s equally important throughout all stages of your pet’s life.

It’s crucial to give your cat just as much food as needed – neither too much, nor too little.

If you are offering her an adequate number of daily meals and occasional treats, along with regular physical exercise to help her utilize her food effectively, everything should be in order with her appetite and weight.

Still, it seems that your furry friend is always standing by her food bowl and meowing like she’s calling you to give her more food, despite her having all her regular meals.

What’s going on? What could be the answer for the issue: My cat is always hungry and meowing?

There are five most common explanations for this occurrence. Let’s look at them, as well as the best ways to help your kitty.

1. Your Cat Isn’t Getting Enough Food

The solution for this problem could be as simple as possible – perhaps your cat is just not getting enough food. This makes her hungry, and meowing is her way of communicating with you that she needs to eat more!

You should know that a cat’s dietary needs change as she grows up. For instance, a newborn kitten should have around 2-6 ml kitten formula every 1 to 2 hours, according to the kitten feeding chart.

Kittens up to six months of age will need to have three meals a day, while from the age of six months to their maturity, most felines will need to be fed two times a day, as Cornell Feline Health Center suggests.

This is a general frequency of meals a cat will usually need. When it comes to quantity, an average cat will need to have approximately a little less than half a cup of cat food per mealtime.

Of course, dietary needs might also depend on the cat breed, physical activity level, lifestyle conditions, etc. 

It's always a good idea to consult with a veterinarian, especially if you believe you're providing your cat with an adequate amount of food but she still appears constantly hungry and continues to meow.

2. Attention Seeking

Many people perceive cats as independent and perfectly capable of being alone. 

This might be true, but every cat likes to get attention from their owners, and some, the ones that are used to getting a lot of it, might start to show dissatisfaction when they feel like they’re being neglected.

If your cat is constantly asking for food and meows a lot, she might not be hungry, but is trying to get your attention. Excess vocalization is one of the most common ways of attention seeking in felines.

You certainly don’t want to exaggerate with giving food and treats to your cat as, in the first place, to avoid obesity in her.

As Malin Öhlund and his associates [1] point out, the prevalence of obesity in cats nowadays ranges from 7 to 63% in different populations. 

Moreover, obesity is considered to be the main contributor to health problems such as lower urinary tract diseases, insulin resistance, and oral cavity diseases.

Second important thing to be aware of here is that you shouldn’t respond to your cat’s attempt to seek your attention, especially if you’re sure she has everything she needs. Instead, you should stop her from begging for food by distracting her with some other activities.

Still, it’s possible that your cat does seek your attention for a good reason, so, you might want to rethink whether you are spending enough time with her, and could she really be missing something.

3. Boredom

If your cat seems to constantly be hungry and meowing to alert you about this, this could mean that she’s just bored.

According to the Danbury Animal Welfare Society, bored cats might over-eat because they feel like they have nothing else to do, which can lead to obesity and further health problems.

This is, of course, a behavior you should stop as soon as you notice it. To start with, you need to ensure your cat has enough space and tools to entertain herself in your home.

This means she needs to have plenty of toys, places to hide and longue in, as well as some nice cat trees and scratching posts.

An entertained cat that has plenty of activities inside her home is less likely to overeat and meow excessively.

Animal company might also be a good idea, but, here you’ll need to estimate the temperament of your cat and whether she would get along with another feline in your household.

To decide this, reading our article on useful things to know before getting a second cat might be helpful.

4. Stress

A change in eating habits could indicate that your cat is under stress. Seeking more food than usual could be a cat’s way to relieve stress and to find emotional comfort. It’s also common for a stressed or frightened cat to meow a lot.

Why might your cat be stressed? There are numerous potential reasons for this, including a visit to the veterinarian, any alterations in her environment, the presence of guests in your home, sudden loud noises, and so on.

You should do your best to find the root of this problem for your cat. If you have difficulties with this, you might want to ask a veterinarian for help.

Stress is a serious emotion and something you should never ignore in your furry friend. 

5. Underlying Medical Issues

Finally, a cat that’s always hungry and meowing could be dealing with an underlying health problem. 

Let’s look at three most common medical issues that these symptoms could indicate.

Diabetes

Some of the common symptoms of feline diabetes are increased thirst and frequent urination, especially outside the litter box.

Kingsdale Animal Hospital explains how it’s also possible to notice increased appetite in cats, although this is one of the lesser-known diabetes symptoms. This sign usually appears in the early stages of illness, so you should take your cat to a vet’s as soon as you notice it.

You might also notice your cat is in distress, which she could show with loud meowing.

Most likely, your cat will need to receive injectable insulin as a treatment for diabetes.

Hyperthyroidism

Cats with hyperthyroidism might always be hungry, but losing weight. This is a condition where there’s an overproduction of thyroid hormone and an increase in metabolic rate in a cat, as VCA Animal Hospitals explains.

Besides unusual hunger, cats with this health problem might vocalize a lot, especially at night.

Hyperthyroidism may be treated in various ways, such as with dietary therapy, medications, radioactive iodine therapy, and even surgery.

Of course, the most important thing is to get your cat examined as soon as you notice potential  hyperthyroidism symptoms in her.

Intestinal Parasites

A cat that’s always hungry might be having intestinal parasites. Once worms infest a cat’s system, they take all of the nutrients from it, making her feel like she hasn’t eaten anything in a while. Excess meowing is, once again, a cry for help from your cat.

To solve this health problem in your cat, you’ll need to give her medications as prescribed by a veterinarian.

The recovery will depend on the type of worms in your cat, but, in general, she should be back to her normal dietary habits and feeling fine very soon.

Final Thoughts

My cat is always hungry and meowing: Could this indicate a severe problem in her?

Well, as we could have seen, there’s always a good explanation behind this behavior in cats. Maybe you’re not providing your cat with enough food for her age and needs, and she’s meowing to let you know about this.

She could also be just bored or trying to get attention from you. Still, your cat could be experiencing stress or health problems such as worms, diabetes, or hyperthyroidism.

In any case, it’s wise to get your cat checked by a veterinarian. Even if there isn’t anything medically wrong with her, overeating and excessive meowing is something you definitely don’t want to see in your furry friend.

Therefore, you need to get to the root of the problem and then take the appropriate steps to prevent this behavior.

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