Tania, eating like porky pig after hysterectomy

Hi All:

Some months ago I posted here about my 14 year old not-fixed Feral Coon
cat who came down with pyometria, and was saved by VERG on Christmas day
here in Brooklyn. They were wonderful, and did right by Tania.

She survived and healed very well from her operation. Her recovery was
due in large part to the advice I got right here.

Since her return home there have been two personality changes in Tania.
One very good, one troubling.

She is much more mellow, less prone to scratch and bite me, much more
affectionate, and certainly more tollerant of "mistakes" I make
ocasionally. She also no longer freaks out at some of the sounds which
used to set her off.

I have lived with her for many (14) years, and I have always provided
her with a constant supply of food. I keep her dry food bowels filled
with a variety of her favorite kibble always, and I used to offer her
canned food once every two days or so. She would usually pick at her wet
food, drink the gravy, and never actually eat more than 1/8 of the can.

Things have radically changed since her operation and her several day
stay in the hospital; where she refused to eat anything, and lost a
significant amount of weight.

Now, she has become Miss Porky Pig! She demands her canned food at the
moment I awake, she will sit in front of her bowl, woof down as much
food as she can handle, burp, go to her box and dump, then return to
scarf the rest of her can. This is so unlike her! At first I was happy
as she had lost a lot of weight in the hospital. She has regained all
her body weight, and much more. She is actually getting quite plump. She
eats much more of her dry food than ever before, and goes bonkers over,
what was in the past, a treat. Come evening, she is demanding another can!

She has always been a "self-feeder", she was slim, and never over ate.
That seems to have changed since her operation. Since I have never had
to monitor her eating, nor ever had to limit her intake in any way,I am
at a loss as to what to do. She seems to have lost here ability to
manage her calorie intake, and wants to eat all the time.

I asked the folks at the VERG whether or not this operation would change
her eating habits, and was told no. Obviously they were not correct.

I used to be able to leave her alone for a few days while I visited
friends. Now, I don't know what to do. She seems to eat till ready to
burst, and seems to have lost her ability to manage her intake properly.
She sleeps with me, every night, and now makes stinky farts. She never
farted like this before. That's not a big issue, just another change.

what has happened to her? How can I manage her food consumption
intelligently? If I want to leave her on her own for a few days (which
has never been an issue), how can I insure she does not woof all her
food day one, and becomes starved on days 2 and 3?

It seems her dietery instincts have been totally screwed up by her
hysterectomy. Any suggestions?

One more disturbing symptom! When Tania was in estrus, before her
operation, she would ocassionally "yowle" at night. A "calling" "horny
cat" behavior which I understood. Recently, she has taken to yowle in
the middle of the night, and what she apparently wants is more food! In
some ways, I liked her some of behavior better before. Seems her
operation has unbalanced her in some fundamental ways.

How much to feed a cat? How often? I never had to deal with such
fundamental concerns, she always knew.

Bob

--
"If we believe absurdities, we shall commit atrocities" -- Voltaire

"NYXfer" wrote in message
...
Hi All:

Some months ago I posted here about my 14 year old not-fixed Feral Coon
cat who came down with pyometria, and was saved by VERG on Christmas day
here in Brooklyn. They were wonderful, and did right by Tania.

She survived and healed very well from her operation. Her recovery was
due in large part to the advice I got right here.

Since her return home there have been two personality changes in Tania.
One very good, one troubling.

She is much more mellow, less prone to scratch and bite me, much more
affectionate, and certainly more tollerant of "mistakes" I make
ocasionally. She also no longer freaks out at some of the sounds which
used to set her off.

I have lived with her for many (14) years, and I have always provided
her with a constant supply of food. I keep her dry food bowels filled
with a variety of her favorite kibble always, and I used to offer her
canned food once every two days or so. She would usually pick at her wet
food, drink the gravy, and never actually eat more than 1/8 of the can.

Things have radically changed since her operation and her several day
stay in the hospital; where she refused to eat anything, and lost a
significant amount of weight.

Now, she has become Miss Porky Pig! She demands her canned food at the
moment I awake, she will sit in front of her bowl, woof down as much
food as she can handle, burp, go to her box and dump, then return to
scarf the rest of her can. This is so unlike her! At first I was happy
as she had lost a lot of weight in the hospital. She has regained all
her body weight, and much more. She is actually getting quite plump. She
eats much more of her dry food than ever before, and goes bonkers over,
what was in the past, a treat. Come evening, she is demanding another can!

She has always been a "self-feeder", she was slim, and never over ate.
That seems to have changed since her operation. Since I have never had
to monitor her eating, nor ever had to limit her intake in any way,I am
at a loss as to what to do. She seems to have lost here ability to
manage her calorie intake, and wants to eat all the time.


Some studies have shown that estrogens and androgens suppress the appetite
to a degree. When the metabolic effects of these hormones are removed by
spaying and neutering, appetite increases. In spite of this, some neutered
cats are self-regulators and never get fat- but many neutered cats aren't
and must have their feeding times and portions controlled.



I asked the folks at the VERG whether or not this operation would change
her eating habits, and was told no. Obviously they were not correct.


I'm surprised. I would image most vets would know neutered cats have a
lower daily energy requirement than intact cats.



I used to be able to leave her alone for a few days while I visited
friends. Now, I don't know what to do. She seems to eat till ready to
burst, and seems to have lost her ability to manage her intake properly.
She sleeps with me, every night, and now makes stinky farts. She never
farted like this before. That's not a big issue, just another change.

what has happened to her? How can I manage her food consumption
intelligently? If I want to leave her on her own for a few days (which
has never been an issue), how can I insure she does not woof all her
food day one, and becomes starved on days 2 and 3?


Get an auto feeder that dispenses portion controlled meals at predetermined
intervals. Ergo makes an 8-day feeder that you can set to dispense 8 meals a
day for 1 day, 3 three meals a day for 2.5 days, or 2 meals a day for 4 days
or 1 meal a day for 8 days. The feeder has 8 indivdual compartments that
accommodate dry or canned food.

Here's a link to the Ergo feeder on Amazon: http://tinyurl.com/yzfungc



It seems her dietery instincts have been totally screwed up by her
hysterectomy. Any suggestions?


Feed her less. After neutering, a cat's metabolic rate drops by about 1/3.
As a result, their daily caloric requirement also drops by about 1/3. If
you don't reduce her daily caloric intake, or drastically increase her
activity level, she'll get fat.



One more disturbing symptom! When Tania was in estrus, before her
operation, she would ocassionally "yowle" at night. A "calling" "horny
cat" behavior which I understood. Recently, she has taken to yowle in
the middle of the night, and what she apparently wants is more food! In
some ways, I liked her some of behavior better before. Seems her
operation has unbalanced her in some fundamental ways.

How much to feed a cat? How often? I never had to deal with such
fundamental concerns, she always knew.


A good starting point would be to feed her about 16-18 calories/lb/day- 20
calories/lb/day if she's active. If you're not home all day, you can set the
auto feeder to dispense her total daily caloric requirement over 4, 6, or 8
meals.

Best of luck,

Phil