denlin Posted March 6, 2013 Share Posted March 6, 2013 She's been wormed, we have changed food from tinned to Whiskas pouches but between her and next doors cat who has adopted us and gets fed at same time as her we are going through 48 pouches a week. She is 18 in April and is still quite active Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karl101 Posted March 6, 2013 Share Posted March 6, 2013 Has the cat got diarrhoea? Mine had that and eat everything and demanded food all the time. It turned out he'd become allergenic to chicken. The vet sold me some remarkably expensive duck based cat food and it cleared the condition in about a month. The vet explained that despite what flavour the packet or tin says normal cat food is a bit of a meat medley, and almost always contains chicken. K. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Squiggs Posted March 6, 2013 Share Posted March 6, 2013 Is that all that the 2 cats are eating? No other crunchies, food elsewhere etc? If so, 48 pouches a week for 2 adult cats sounds not too extravagant. It's 3.5 pouches each cat per day. My 2 would eat about the same if one didn't have turkey & ham and the other didn't get through a big pack of crunchies. Pouches can be an expensive way of feeding. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
medusa Posted March 6, 2013 Share Posted March 6, 2013 What you have to remember is that cats' digestion starts out relatively inefficient and gets worse. If your older cat is still as healthy and active as she was when she was quite a lot younger then she will need to eat up to half as much again as she ate when she was a young cat just to get the same energy. That said, older cats are at risk of lots of different conditions which can add to the need for more calories and if she's getting more hungry over time I would urge you to get her for a vet exam. Both kidney and liver failure, which can be very slow advancing, can cause weight loss no matter how much the cat eats. Neither kidney nor liver failure are 'treatable' as such, but there's lots that can be done to limit the decline which can keep your cat healthy for years before the disease becomes critical. Many older cats get a thyroid problem, which can cause huge weight loss and a raging hunger, and there is both medication and surgery which can pretty much control this completely for the rest of the life span of the cat. There's also a chance of diabetes, heart problems or other treatable conditions which may be picked up by weight loss and hunger, so please don't ignore this sign. A simple blood test could rule out any or all of the above Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
berlingo Posted March 6, 2013 Share Posted March 6, 2013 I'd say probably kidney, liver ( poss both ) or thyroid problems too, she needs bloods. Kidney problems are so common in elderly cats Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
midgecat Posted March 6, 2013 Share Posted March 6, 2013 yeah .. i wondered about thyroid too. vet can probably get a good clue about it by listening to heart rate. then again my mog will cheerfully eat 3 pouches at one sitting. ... though she doesn't turn up for all her meals as she spends a lot of time outside. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Posiepaws Posted March 6, 2013 Share Posted March 6, 2013 Highly suspicious of hyperthyroidism. The thyroid gland often becomes over active in older puss cats which leads to a very fast metabolism, high heart rate and many other signs. Cats are very bright and active but in reality this is a symptom of the disease and not a true reflection of wellbeing. It's very very very important to get it diagnosed and controlled as it also causes high blood pressure and the breakdown of all body tissues including heart muscle. You can choose from medication, diet or surgery to help with the problem. A good vet will discuss all of these! Good luck x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kitty katt Posted March 7, 2013 Share Posted March 7, 2013 Our cat had Thyroid problems as she got older, we gave her some tablets from vet which kept her going for a good few years, she would cry for food and even pinch food out of your hand, which she never did before. Also we kept her down stairs but she used to cry outside bedroom door so loud and wake us up early, because she was hungry, tablets settled her down, but she never put much weight on again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vwkittie Posted March 7, 2013 Share Posted March 7, 2013 It doesn't sound a massively excessive to me assuming the food is split evenly between the two cats. If you're concerned however I'd definitely get her checked out, especially if she has a fast heart rate, restless behaviour, panting, urinating more frequently or anything like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
denlin Posted March 7, 2013 Author Share Posted March 7, 2013 Not sure but she doesn't seem any different to normal and Tigger from next door is the same and he's a 2-3 year old neutered male so I was wondering if there is just not enough nutrition in the sachets compared to tinned food but they used to waste quite a bit of the tinned food Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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