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I put my 2 cats on a wet food diet. Why do they act like they're starving?
I recently just switched my two adult male cats (one is 1 year 1 month old, the other about 1 year 7 months) over from a dry food to a wet food diet. Previously they had a bowl of dry food that was out all day (so a free feeding diet). Now, I'm feeding them Purina Friskies 100% Complete & Balanced Nutrition for Adult Cats & Kittens and the cans are 5.5 oz each.
I read online from several reliable sources that they should get around 8oz of canned food a day as they both have a large build (as in they have large bone structures not that they're fat).
Right now I put out one can in the morning and one night, so 5.5oz twice a day or 11oz in total which is more than the recommended feeding amount. I also give them around 5-10 dental kibbles a day as suggested on the package.
However they still act like they're absolutely starving and cry around the cans of food and try to find/and get into the treats. What am I doing wrong?
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You probably aren't doing anything wrong.
Dry food is harder to digest, and like a person filling up by eating bread, it leaves your cats 'feeling' fuller. They might be experiencing more hunger, even though they are getting the nourishment they need.
They may also simply just be protesting the change. Lots of animals just get cranky when something in their lives change and switching from free-feeding to fixed feeding schedule is a huge change. The best thing you can do for them is hold to really strict schedule. Always feed that at basically the exact same time each day. If what is upsetting them is mostly the change in their schedules, making the expectations really clear about when they will be fed might help control the behavior.
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Might be something in the taste or smell of the canned food that's making them crave the food? Might be the dry food filled their stomachs more and stopped them sending 'I am hungry' messages? Cats are notoriously picky eaters, maybe they need a while to simply 'get used' to the new feeding schedule/policy? I'd tend to stick with the suggested servings a while and not give them a plate of wet food every time they show-off and try to persuade you to feed them. If they're holding their weight they're OK. Too much high-nutrition wet food will quickly make them pile on the weight which you'll notice, and isn't that great for them. My experience of cats is that they are more active in warm summer and spring months. Maybe the diet change coincided with the period when they're burning a bit more energy? The little packs of cat 'treats' can deflect their attention when they pester for food you don't really want to give them. A bit of 'fussing'/stroking and a couple of treats from your hand can 'put them off' demanding a plate full of food. Cats are funny bits of aren't they? Got their little ways and routines. Guess you know that, having a couple? Dogs are much more predictable! I'd definitely 'stick them out' for at least a while and keep up the suggested servings. They maybe are just used to dipping in to the always-available dry food at will all day, and just need to learn the new set-up. Best wishes.
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