Cats should be fed once a day?

nwc

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Why would they be fed at home if they are wild cats? The behavior of feral cats is to eat multiple small kills a day, not once or twice.
I was talking about indoor/outdoor cats. When they are outdoors, they are "in the wild."

I'm not buying about food obsession either. Usually cats (or dogs, or humans) tend to be more food obsessed when they rarely get food. It makes sense evolutionary too. One meal a day means it's not easy to find food which is stress inducing.
This just goes against so many people's experiences of trying to transition a food obsessed cat to free feeding. Sure, some are able to. But for many, once the trauma's there, it's there.
 

cheesycats

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Also, with respect to the "how would you like it" argument, plenty of busy people only eat once a day. It's even becoming a health fad (look up intermittent fasting) because of its positive effects on longevity, blood sugar, and other things. Cats are different animals, but their (physical) hunger is regulated by their hormones, just like ours are; and it stands to reason that frequent feedings would have a different hormonal effect than less frequent ones.
intermitted fasting shouldn’t be one massive meal a day for humans. It should be a couple small meals throughout the time you aren’t fasting. Intermittent fasting also isn’t for everyone and eating once a day is terrible for our metabolism.
 

nwc

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intermitted fasting shouldn’t be one massive meal a day for humans. It should be a couple small meals throughout the time you aren’t fasting. Intermittent fasting also isn’t for everyone and eating once a day is terrible for our metabolism.
fasting and feasting cycle is pretty normal for beings who who live outside. the statement about metabolism just doesn't make any sense, so okay sure?
 

Azazel

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I was talking about indoor/outdoor cats. When they are outdoors, they are "in the wild."
They wouldn’t be considered “wild” cats though. We were talking about cats left to their own devices. In their natural state cats eat multiple small kills every 24 hours. Up to 10 times a day.
 

JC fka JClark

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intermitted fasting shouldn’t be one massive meal a day for humans. It should be a couple small meals throughout the time you aren’t fasting. Intermittent fasting also isn’t for everyone and eating once a day is terrible for our metabolism.
OT but there are ethnic groups whose metabolism evolved to handle periods of famine. Unfortunately in the modern world obesity and diebeties is a problem form them.
 

Purr-fect

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As I have no scientific data, no studies, no reports or any formal research.......I thought I should simply go to the source........
20191021_191726-1.jpg
greg and and arnold vehemently disagree with the once a day feeding notion. Who would have thought!

Here they are considering eating a house guest.
 

lisahe

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As I have no scientific data, no studies, no reports or any formal research.......I thought I should simply go to the source........View attachment 353898 greg and and arnold vehemently disagree with the once a day feeding notion. Who would have thought!

Here they are considering eating a house guest.
I think it would be the same here, though our cats wouldn't go to the trouble of setting out the soy sauce and other condiments.
 

klunick

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I leave out dry food and feed wet food twice a day and they act like they haven't eaten in days. At least Boone does but he is a piggy when it comes to food. What is interesting is that they never beg/cry for food. Only when they see me opening up the cans so they make a fuss.
 

Talien

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OT but there are ethnic groups whose metabolism evolved to handle periods of famine. Unfortunately in the modern world obesity and diebeties is a problem form them.
There are also ethnic groups who adapted to different diets, some groups for example can eat a diet high in fat and have no ill effects because that is what their ancestors ate for thousands of years, while other groups adapted to a diet of mostly fruits and vegetables. It is why the fad diets work for some and not others.

Cats, however, are meant to just eat meat multiple times per day. Trying to feed a Cat once a day is as almost as bad as trying to feed them plants.
 

felinelover2

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We feed ours twice a day, kibble for breakfast at 6 am and wet food for dinner at 6 pm. Scotch will never cry for food but Whiskey will cry/beg for dinner for a hour before. The funny thing is she isn't starving because when we put the food out she eats for 5 minutes or so, takes a break for awhile, then goes back and grazes some more. We leave the food down for 2 hours and then pick it up. We tried offering them a small lunch but they were not interested.

We do give them some treats throughout the day and just before bed. They never cry overnight for food.
 

nwc

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Cats, however, are meant to just eat meat multiple times per day. Trying to feed a Cat once a day is as almost as bad as trying to feed them plants.
And yet, vets and scientists think otherwise. Someone should give them a course in folk-evolutionary theory. I guess "cats are cats" except when it comes to feeding frequency.

Anyways, seconding those whose cats only make a fuss when you bring out of the food.
 
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nwc

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OT but there are ethnic groups whose metabolism evolved to handle periods of famine. Unfortunately in the modern world obesity and diebeties is a problem form them.
I guess it's a coincidence that these same ethnic groups tend to grow up eating WIC product, have poor access to food and education, and that the subset for which this doesn't apply tend to have decent health outcomes.
 

Talien

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And yet, vets and scientists think otherwise. Someone should give them a course in folk-evolutionary theory. I guess "cats are cats" except when it comes to feeding frequency.

Anyways, seconding those whose cats only make a fuss when you bring out of the food.
Much of the info that vets get while in school comes from material produced by the big pet food companies and studies funded by them, and there are a lot of "scientists" in their pockets. Talk to an actual nutritionist and you will get very different info on what is and is not good feeding habits.

There's nothing "folk" about it, you can compare the feeding habits of a common Cat to a great Cat all you want, but trying to feed a housecat like you would a great Cat is not the best idea. A Lion is an apex predator and does not have to worry about a larger animal hunting it while it lays around in the open sleeping off the food coma after gorging on large prey that took 4 of them to bring down. A common Cat is both predator and prey and does need to worry about a larger animal hunting it, they don't work together to bring down larger prey and gorge on it then go for a few days without needing to hunt again while eating leftovers, they hunt small prey when they find it and eat multiple smaller meals.

Thousands of years of Cats living like that is a better indication of what works for them than a badly done study with far too few subjects and too many unaccounted for variables.
 

nwc

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Much of the info that vets get while in school comes from material produced by the big pet food companies and studies funded by them, and there are a lot of "scientists" in their pockets. Talk to an actual nutritionist and you will get very different info on what is and is not good feeding habits.
Please do enlighten us. What is the financial incentive for Big Pet Food to recommend less frequent feedings? Big Human Food recommends 10 small meals a day for humans, which obviously leads us to buy more food. But somehow, Big Pet Food is the exact opposite. Fascinating.

The only good reason for frequent/free feeding is behavior modification. Cats that were free fed as kittens are prone to fits if they don't get fed every hour, so it's easier to just acquiesce. It's as simple as that.
 

Talien

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Please do enlighten us. What is the financial incentive for Big Pet Food to recommend less frequent feedings? Big Human Food recommends 10 small meals a day for humans, which obviously leads us to buy more food. But somehow, Big Pet Food is the exact opposite. Fascinating.

The only good reason for frequent/free feeding is behavior modification. Cats that were free fed as kittens are prone to fits if they don't get fed every hour, so it's easier to just acquiesce. It's as simple as that.
Free feeding dry food is the most common recommendation which is itself terrible advice going by what any nutritionist will say. I've never talked to a vet, let alone a nutritionist, that recommends feeding a big meal once per day. Again, this was one badly done study with far too few subjects and too many variables.
 

nwc

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Free feeding dry food is the most common recommendation which is itself terrible advice going by what any nutritionist will say. I've never talked to a vet, let alone a nutritionist, that recommends feeding a big meal once per day. Again, this was one badly done study with far too few subjects and too many variables.
Well, the OP just directed you to a few from Canada. Here's another one.
How Often Should You Feed Your Cat? | Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine
 

Talien

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shyandfaith

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This story seems to be all over right now; I've seen it from several different sources. A recent study seems to indicate that it's mentally and physically healthier for a cat to eat once a day.

Here's the actual study: The daytime feeding frequency affects appetite-regulating hormones, amino acids, physical activity, and respiratory quotient, but not energy expenditure, in adult cats fed regimens for 21 days

Here's a more accessible recap that still seems accurate: Feeding indoor cats just once a day could improve health

Thoughts on this? I don't think I know any cats who are fed once a day to compare my cats to.
i have one of those feeders that can hold a small bag of cat food so when my cats are hungry they can eat and i have 3 cats 1 is an outdoor cat so we let him in and out and if their water dish is empty i fill it unless my mom or sister fill it (my sister never fills it but my mom does sout out to my mom) yeh my cats are weird
 

shyandfaith

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No, that's because of their instincts. Cats have evolved to be able to survive through periods when there is a shortage of prey around by hunting whenever the opportunity arises.
agreed and if its a pet cat its giving you food because you give it food its like a life time debt
 
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