Why is my cat eating all the time but skinny

Why Is My Cat Always Hungry But Skinny?

If your cats eating lots of food yet remains thin, youll be concerned. We know that overindulging in food leads to weight gain, so its hard to understand how a cat could overeat but stay very lean.

If a cat is hungry but skinny, this may be due to parasitic worms, which consume any food thats been ingested. Diabetes, hyperthyroidism, and inflammatory bowel disease interfere with food absorption, so cats can eat voraciously yet lose weight. Also, ensure that another pet isnt eating its food.

Occasionally, neither medical nor psychological factors are to blame for a cats excessive hunger. Your cat may be hungry because its not getting sufficient calories or is eating less nutritious food.

Why Is My Cat Hungry All the Time?

Polyphagia is the medical term for excessive hunger. Hunger is a complex process thats affected by physical and psychological factors.

While the cause of polyphagia isnt always easy to discern, the following explanations may apply:

Calorie Deficit

Perhaps your cat is genuinely hungry. This could be because you are not feeding it enough, another animal is stealing its food, or its energy needs have significantly increased.

Malnutrition

If you feed your cat enough calories but the food is devoid of essential nutrients, it may instinctively develop constant food cravings.

Psychological and Emotional

If your cat is bored or lonely, it may learn that begging for food gets it more attention.

Not only that, but they may become addicted to the sensory pleasure of eating, especially if they dont have any other forms of stimulation and enrichment.

However, if your cat is overeating due to psychological factors, youd likely see some weight gain.

Physical Illness

If youve noticed some weight loss along with increased appetite, your cat likely has an illness or disease.

Diseases interfere with the cats hormones, metabolism, and digestive health. Unfortunately, theyre common in older age, such as kidney disease, but some treatments ease the symptoms.

Symptoms of Polyphagia in Cats

Here are the most common signs of polyphagia in cats:

• Whining and begging for food at inappropriate times
• Becoming aggressive when asking for food
• Stealing food from the fridge, cupboards, another pets food bowl
• Eating very quickly, leading to regurgitation
• Weight changes
• Increased thirst, perhaps drinking inappropriate/stale liquid to quench their thirst
• Eating non-food substances, such as dirt
• Hyperactivity

If these apply, your cat is eating excessively due to an endocrine or digestive disorder.

Calorie Requirements for Cats

A good owner would never willingly underfeed a cat, but it can happen.

A cat may go hungry if the following apply:

• Its assumed that someone else has fed the cat.
• Another pet is stealing food from the cats bowl, but it goes unnoticed.
• First-time owners dont always know how much food is appropriate, and some cat food labels arent clear about portion sizes.
• Kibble is more calorie-dense than wet food. If owners switch from a mixed diet to a wet food-only diet, they may not increase the quantity of wet food sufficiently to satisfy the cats energy needs.
• Energy requirements change due to pregnancy/nursing, or recovery from injury/surgery/trauma.

According to NAS, an average domestic cat has the following daily kilocalorie (kcal) requirements:

It varies, but one pouch/sachet (1 serving) of wet cat food usually contains 70-120 kcal. It varies, but dry kibble usually provides more calories than wet food per portion.

Feeding Schedule for Cats

If your cats hunger seems out of control, consider how regularly youre feeding it.

Cats love to graze on food throughout the day. If you feed them 4-8 small meals per day at consistent intervals, your cat is less likely to experience hunger pangs.

When it comes to feeding your cat, consistency is paramount. If your cat is forced to wait hours for a meal, itll be ravenous by the time the food arrives.

If your feeding schedule is irregular, your cat may develop a condition called psychogenic abnormal feeding behavior, causing them to steal food, binge eat, and pester you for food.

Why Is My Cat Eating A Lot But Losing Weight?

Here are the various explanations for weight loss among cats that are eating well:

Malnutrition

Once youve checked the calorie content, look at the nutritional content. Cats fed poor-quality cat food can develop nutritional deficiencies, even if theyre consuming large amounts of food.

Cats fed leftovers may develop deficiencies if they dont consume a wide range of foods.

Deficiencies in the following vitamins and minerals can increase a cats food cravings:

If your cat is ravenously hungry constantly, this may indicate that it lacks a vital nutrient in its diet. You can prevent this from happening by getting a complete cat food.

If youre already providing your cat with a nutritious, calorically dense diet and its still constantly begging for food, it could have one of the following conditions:

Thyroid Issues

Hyperthyroidism is an endocrine disorder thats relatively common in older cats. It occurs when a cat secretes too much thyroid hormone (T3 and T4) from the thyroid gland in its neck.

This speeds up the metabolism, thereby increasing appetite. Occasionally, hyperthyroidism can dampen a cats appetite, but this is less common.

Here are some of the additional symptoms of thyroid problems to look out for:

• Weight Loss This is common among cats with hyperthyroidism and it can happen rapidly.
• Poor Coat Cats with hyperthyroidism often develop a shabby, disheveled coat.
• Vomiting This is a side effect of excessive eating, but can be be a symptom of a primary disorder.
• Hyperactivity Meowing, pacing around, padding paws into the ground repeatedly.

If your cat has an overactive thyroid, it can be given radioactive iodine therapy. Occasionally, surgery is required to remove the thyroid gland.

Scientists believe that a high iodine diet may aggravate the condition because iodine facilitates the production of thyroid hormones.

Diabetes

Like hyperthyroidism, diabetes mellitus (type 2) is common among aging cats (10 years+). Diabetes occurs when the pancreas doesnt produce enough insulin, or the cells respond inappropriately to insulin.

If insulin is low, glucose cant be transported around the bloodstream effectively, leading to lethargy and extreme hunger. Diet is thought to play a key role in developing this disease, as some mass-produced cat foods contain large amounts of carbohydrates and hardly any protein.

This has contributed to a rise in type 2 diabetes. Cats living in the wild would eat a high-protein diet, making them less susceptible to this disease.

Diabetes is sometimes quite difficult to distinguish from other diseases, although the Blue Cross has summarized the symptoms to look out for:

• Urinating frequently
• A thirst that cant be satisfied
• Being hungry all the time, no matter how much food is provided
• Weight loss because the cat cannot absorb the sugars in food
• Bladder infections
• Weakness and lethargy

The standard diabetes treatment is insulin injections and improving your cats diet.

Feline Acromegaly

Acromegaly is linked to diabetes because cats with this disease have difficulty maintaining a healthy blood glucose level. So, itll feel hungry and thirsty all the time and may have some of the other symptoms associated with diabetes.

Feline acromegaly occurs when too much growth hormone (IGF-1) is produced in the pituitary gland, resulting in the following physical changes:

• Large body
• Broad face
• Larger than average feet
• Protruding lower jaw
• Bloating around the stomach area

If you observe these physical changes, along with an increase in hunger/thirst, you should consult a vet. If your cat is diagnosed with acromegaly, the severity of the symptoms can be managed.

Inflammatory Bowel Disease

If your cat eats a lot but is skinny, it could have feline inflammatory bowel disease (FIBD).

FIBD occurs when the gastrointestinal (GI) tract walls become inflamed. The GI tract comprises the esophagus, stomach, intestines, and colon, so inflammation of these locations can cause FIBD.

Due to this inflammation, food cannot be absorbed properly, so its usually thrown up as foamy vomit or comes out as loose stools. The cat cannot absorb enough nutrition from its food, so itll feel hungry.

Given that FIBD affects any part of the GI tract, there are various causes:

• Food intolerances and allergies
• Stress
• Genetic abnormalities in the GI tract and immune system
• Parasites
• Bacteria in the stomach, intestines, and colon

Your vet may suggest switching to hypoallergenic cat food or managing stress in the household. If these treatments are inappropriate, your cat may be prescribed antibiotics or anti-inflammatories.

Worms

Parasites can sometimes be the culprit for inflammatory bowel disease. Parasitic worms such as tapeworms, roundworms, and hookworms interfere with digestion and increase a cats appetite.

If your cat frequently plays outside, or you have other pets in the household, the risk of contracting worms increases. Worms can be caught from fleas or the soil where other animals have defecated.

The easiest way to detect worms is by examing the cats stools or vomit. Worms will usually be white/gray, although theyre not always visible to the naked eye.

Worms can cause weight loss, malnutrition, and death if theyre not treated appropriately.

Cancer

Having cancer may impact a cats appetite because:

• A cancerous tumor may press on the GI tract. If this impairs digestion, this can make the cat feel hungrier than usual.
• Some cancerous tumors secrete an excessive amount of hormones, such as IGF-1, which can raise the cats metabolism. Inevitably, this makes it more difficult to satisfy their hunger.

Nevertheless, cancer is less common than many other conditions, and it usually decreases a cats appetite.

Psychological Reasons Cats Overeat

If your cat is fed a quality diet, is fit and healthy, but is always begging for food, it may have psychological/emotional hunger, known as psychogenic abnormal feeding behavior.

Here are the causes of this condition:

Boredom

If your cat doesnt get much attention or opportunity to play, the sensory pleasure of eating may become central to its life. This can cause your cat to overeat or constantly beg for food.

Addiction

According to the Telegraph, cats that beg for food may have a psychological addiction rather than a physical need or a medical condition. This is due to the sensory pleasure of the food and the attention they receive at mealtimes.

This double stimulation can be addictive for cats, causing them to constantly beg for food. For example, if several family members feed the cat throughout the day, it may become addicted to food and the feeling of being cared for by several individuals.

If you feed your cat leftovers from the table, it may start to become addicted to the extra food and attention. Even if you refuse to feed your cat from the table the next day, it may pester you for food.

Fear of Starvation

This is quite common among cats who have been neglected or share meals with others. If they dont know when the next meal is coming, this can lead to bingeing and stealing food.

If your cat is overeating out of boredom or addiction, itll probably see some weight gain. However, owners arent good at recognizing weight gain in their pets, especially if a cat has a long, thick coat. So, dont be too quick to disregard psychological hunger as a factor.

If a vet determines that theres nothing medically wrong with your cat, its excessive hunger may be caused by psychological factors. Alternatively, it may be experiencing genuine hunger pangs due to a calorie and nutrient-deficient diet.

My Cat Is Getting Skinny but Is Still Eating

Many of us are aware of the risks in overfeeding our cats. Obesity in cats can seriously affect many aspects of their health and well-being. However, if a cat is too thin, similar health problems will occur. Not only is an undernourished cat ill-equipped to withstand threats to their health, it could be a symptom of an underlying disease. For these reasons it is important to give cats the right amount of food and ensure it is of adequate quality.

However, some of us may still observe that my cat is getting skinny but is still eating. AnimalWised explains the reasons why a cat is losing weight even though they should have the right levels of nutrition. We also show you what can be done about it.

Cats losing weight

When we have an overweight cat at home, we need to portion control their food and encourage exercise. While there are some medical conditions which can leads to a cat becoming obese, too much food, poor nutrition and a sedentary lifestyle are some of the biggest factors.

When a cat is losing weight, despite being provided with sufficient food, the problem is usually a little more complex. Two very important considerations to make are how much weight the cat is losing and how quickly it is happening.

Although rapid weight loss can be a problem in itself, more worrying is that it is the symptom of serious health problems in cats. If the cat is still eating normally, but losing weight regardless, the implication is that illness is preventing them from metabolizing their food properly. Physical conditions can present this problem, but it is important to note that psychological problems and changes in the environment may contributing factors.

The main causes of a cat losing weight while still eating are:

1. Hyperactivity
2. Psychological stress
3. Dietary changes
4. Hyperthyroidism
5. Gastrointestinal diseases
6. Diabetes
7. Parasites

In the below sections, we look into each cause of excessive weight loss in cats as well as what we can do about it. It is also important to know that how a cat eats can also affect their health and well-being. We explain more in our article about types of cat food bowls and feeders.

1. Hyperactivity

The amount of energy a cat will need throughout the day depends on various factors. Many of them are related to genetics. For example, some breeds are known to need to expend more energy (such as the Bengal cat), while are others are usually a little more sedentary (the Bombay cat).

Hyperactive cats will need more exercise and physical activity to release their excess energy. They will also likely have a high metabolism, meaning they quickly burn up the calories created by their food intake. The food we give a hyperactive cat will be burned up faster than the food we give a cat with a slower metabolism. We may have used correct guidelines on how much to feed a cat of a given size, but it is possible we have not figured in their hyperactivity.

When a cat gets skinny due to hyperactivity, we either need to increase their portion size or provide food which has different nutritional values. They will likely need a higher protein and lower carbohydrate diet, but you should check with your veterinarian regardless.

2. Psychological stress

Although we need to be considerate of physical problems leading to weight loss in cats, psychological issues may be a factor. When as cat is stressed, they may not eat out of anxiety. However, many cats suffering from stress may eat their food, but their nervous condition prevents them from being to hold it down. This is why we may see the cat vomiting, as well as other signs of stress.

If the cat has access to the outdoors, we may not be able to see the evidence of their vomiting. This would explain why the cat is losing weight, even though they appear to have a normal appetite.

The causes of stress in cats are myriad and we will need to look at the context of the individual. Cats are creatures of routine. Any change to this routine can be upsetting. Such changes include moving house, the arrival of a new baby in the home, adopting a new pet or changing your own schedule. Addressing these issues and providing the cat with more security will help reduce the effects of stress.

3. Dietary changes

Another important aspect of a cat's routine involves the food they eat. If we change the time we give them their food, it can lead to them not eating. However, the type of food is also vital. Some individual cats can be very fussy when it comes to the brand and type of food they eat. When we change cat food brands, it is possible they will eat less and lose weight accordingly.

Comparing wet food and dry food, we see that wet food has more protein and less carbohydrates than dry food. It also usually has more fat. If we start giving the cat only dry food, it is possible this is causing them to lose weight.

Many cat guardians want to give them the best diet possible and will opt for homemade food to do so. However, we need to ensure the nutritional levels are balanced for our cat's specific needs. It is possible giving our cat a homemade diet such as the BARF raw food diet causes them to lack certain nutrients and result in the cat becoming skinny.

4. Hyperthyroidism

Generally, when the reason your cat is skinny is due to a disease or health condition, other symptoms will also be seen. If the cat has cancer, for example, they may also start losing hair, developing growths and losing energy.

Also known as an overactive thyroid, hyperthyroidism may not have many other visible symptoms. In fact, the problem may be asymptomatic for a long period of time, even if there is internal damage being done. One of the earliest symptoms is that your cat will lose weight, even if they are eating normally.

Hyperthyroidism is when the thyroid overproduces the T3 and T4 hormones in the cats which results in the problematic symptoms. It can be treated with both drugs and surgery, but the earlier the diagnosis the better. This is why we should never ignore changes to the cat's well-being.

5. Gastrointestinal diseases

Since the gastrointestinal system is where the process of metabolizing food takes place, any diseases affecting the system can have knock-on effects. Such gastrointestinal diseases in cats include:

• Colitis
• Feline Enteric Coronavirus
• Gastritis
• Gastrointestinal obstruction
• Inflammatory bowel disease (IBS)
• Digestive cancers

If your cat is suffering from any of these problems, the resulted effects on metabolism can mean the cat eats food, but does not absorb the nutrients properly. This means the cat seems to eat normally, but becomes skinny over time.

A cat losing weight is only one symptom of gastrointestinal disease. Each disease will have specific causes and treatment, but some are very serious and potentially fatal. Take your cat to the veterinarian for an accurate diagnosis.

6. Diabetes mellitus

Unfortunately, diseases such as diabetes mellitus in cats are on the rise. Diabetes mellitus causes the body to be unable to produce sufficient insulin. As not enough insulin is produced, the cat cannot balance their glucose levels in the blood. There are various symptoms of diabetes in cats, although it is possible the cat will be asymptomatic in the early stages.

Apart from weight loss, cats with diabetes mellitus might have depression, vomiting, diarrhea, dehydration and even motor functions. If the cat does not have treatment, it can be fatal. If you suspect your cat has diabetes, take them to a veterinarian. They will likely change their diet to a low-carbohydrate option and will likely need daily insulin injections.

7. Parasites

There are various types of internal parasites which prey on cats. They can affect various parts of the body, but when they inhabit the gastrointestinal system, they can affect metabolism. For this reason, intestinal parasites in cats are a potential reason why your cat is skinny even though they still eat well. Type of feline parasite include:

• Roundworm
• Hookworm
• Giardia
• Physaloptera
• Coccidia
• Tapeworms

The parasites will often not only use up their resources, but they can prevent the intestinal tract from functioning properly. The result is often that the cat will start to lose weight.

Since intestinal parasites live in their body, discovering signs of an infestation can be difficult. This is why we need to look at other symptoms such as lethargy, vomiting, diarrhea and signs of egg remnants in their stool. Many of the reasons why a cat is losing weight have similar symptoms, which is why it is vital to go to the veterinarian. If they suspect parasites, they will test for which specific one and administer the appropriate antiparasitic medication.

Diagnosis and treatment of cat losing weight

When we detect that our cat loses weight, we must go to the vet to carry out the appropriate tests. You also need to be sure they are an incorrect weight, something we can see from the chart above. This shows you when a cat is overweight, underweight and the ideal weight by looking at their body shape. Please bear in mind, this may change a little according to the cat's breed.

After you take them to the veterinarian, it is important you also tell them any additional observations you have made regarding their recent health issues. They can use this information to best suspect a cause of weight loss and engage the appropriate tests.

These tests will most likely involve a blood test and perhaps a urine test to make the diagnosis. They can then rule out or confirm the presence of the aforementioned diseases. The veterinarian will then be able to provide the correct course of treatment and answer any additional questions you may have.

While your cat can lose weight even if they keep eating, they certainly will if they don't. Our video on why a kitten is not eating will explain more:

If you want to read similar articles to My Cat Is Getting Skinny but Is Still Eating, we recommend you visit our Diet problems category.