Feeding habits.

mrw5641

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Hi all!

I am just wondering what some of your feeding habits / schedule are for you cat.

I have an automatic feeder and in a diet so I give him

3 servings dry at 6:15 am
2 servings dry at 10 am
2 servings dry at 3 pm
Wet food at 6 pm
Wet food at 10 pm
2 servings dry at 2 am

Seems like I feed him too much but if I give him all his food or half of his food in morning at night he will eat it all.

How about y'all
 

FeebysOwner

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Hi. What are the serving amounts? That makes a big difference. Also, how old is your cat? If he does better on being fed that many times a day, there is really no issue with that unto itself. As a basic norm, an adult cat can sustain their weight on about 20-25 calories per pound.

Since Feeby (15+ yo) went to a mostly wet food diet, she is fed 4 times a day - 8AM, 1PM, 6PM, 11PM - about 1.5 to 1.75 oz each meal, which averages a total per day of about 6-7 oz. But, I do leave some dry out for her for overnight. She might eat, at most, about 1/8 cup. She is an anomaly in that she can maintain a weight of 16 pounds on about 250 calories a day. I believe it probably has to do with the fact that she is relatively sedentary, given her age.
 

tabbytom

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Hi all!

I am just wondering what some of your feeding habits / schedule are for you cat.
How old is your cat? Kittens before the age 1 year needs to be fed more often as they're growing up and somewhere after a year old, their amount of food intake will taper off. (1 year as in normal breeds that reaches maturity at this age)

Cats have different feeding schedules and some cats will still maintain their schedule as the grow but some does not. I know mine does not. My boy can eat 3/4 of a 3oz can and one hour later he ask to be fed again. Sometimes I beg and beg him to eat when he looks hungry but he does not want to eat :lol:. It all depends on your cat's energy level too.

Some are being free fed and so they eat as and when they want to eat. Most cats that are fed on a schedule will most likely keep to it but as I mentioned earlier, not all will keep to schedule.

As long the feeding schedule fits into your timing, it should be ok. Since yours is timed feed and if according to what you mentioned, your cat may not like dry food and therefore when you feed him all or half (I presume it's wet food) in the morning or night and he finished it all.

I suggest that you give him more wet food as wet food has more protein and they keep the cat fuller longer than dry food which is full of carbohydrates.

For my boy, I feed him only wet food and I fed as much as he can eat at one sitting when he was a kitten till 1+ years old and his amount of food and timings have tapered down and he's already 4 years old now but I still feed him as much as he can eat at one sitting and he does not over eat. And of course, his schedule is really on time but close enough and sometimes it's supposed to be his meal time, he does not want to eat. So cats are different from each other and pretty hard to determine and follow other's schedule but best is train your cat from young to eat on schedule and do some adjustment later as they grow older.
 

Azazel

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In general the more small meals you can give adult cats throughout the day the better. Mine get 4 fixed meals a day and I use a timed feeder when I’m not home.
 

Erin80

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Mine are fed wet food only. They get 2.75 oz 3x a day...7am, 2pm and 8:30pm. Works for mine! All healthy weights and happy.
 

MissClouseau

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You know calorie calculation is important. One former wet food of Hima's was recommended 4 cans a day (so low on calories!) That wouldn't work for Hima as she can eat max. 40 grams of wet food at one sitting. Her current wet food is recommended 2-3 cans a day.

9-9:30am depending on when she wakes up: 40 grams wet food.
Around 12:30pm: some dry food.
Somewhere between 14:30-15:00: 40 grams wet food
17:00-18:00: dry food
19:00: boiled turkey breast as treats. I give with a little water. Sometimes I change it to puree form treats she has.
21:00-22:00: 40 grams wet food.
23:30--: dry food (She needs to have dry food on the plate at night. She panics if she doesn't see food and sometimes she likes to nibble very late at night.)

Dry food portions are maybe like one tablespoon. And Hima is physically quite active, she runs around daily.

In my opinion it's the best to weigh the cat on the same scale the same day every week. Of course in one week there can't much difference and shouldn't be. Just to say, if he's the same weight you may or may not be feeding too much that would leave things unclear. But if he lost a healthy amount, then you are probably on the right track.
 

solomonar

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Each person has a specific Metabolic intake. True for cats as well.

In humans, the need is somehow automatic, following sophisticated metabolic paths, including hormonal ones and circuits that close in brain. Complicate.

In my opinion then , a scientific way to come to more precise figures would be to experiment free meals for a couple of days. Collect data and set the feeder with these data.

Bear in mind however that nobody can process thousand of interconnections, e.g. lower environment temperature needs more energy (thus larger food intake), but how much more? Higher intake requires more water, but this is regulated by a deep-brain mechanism, not by will, in case of a cat. Low sodium will inhibit this mechanism, but higher sodium interfere with processes in kidneys. Just an example. :-).

Simply speaking, servings OK today, can be very well not OK tomorrow. Very contextual.

For myself, I never attempt to quantify the food intake, but only to keep an eye to the lifestyle.
 

daftcat75

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I have a toothless 15 year old with IBD. No dry food anymore and she doesn't handle two gut bomb meals a day like she used to.

Lately, it seems like she might be having issues with too much fat in her food.

I feed her smaller meals that don't distress her. But that means I have to feed more of them to help her maintain, and hopefully gain weight back.

I used to feed her four scheduled meals and wet food timed feeders to give her up to two extra portions a day. This schedule was 6am, 9am, 6pm and 10 pm with the feeders to cover the periods from 9am to 6pm and 10 pm to 6 am. These used to be as much as 1.5 oz (42 grams.)

Now she's fed 1 fat ounce (33 grams because Her Toothlessness always leaves a few grams on the plate) every few hours as she seems ready for it. This looks more like 6am, 9am, noon, feeders to bridge to 6 pm, 9 pm, midnight, and feeders to bridge from midnight to 6am. So she's getting two extra scheduled meals now. Her scheduled meals add up to 6 oz and she can eat up to 8 oz a day if she finishes her feeder portions. She rarely does. They are there so I don't have to wake for a 3am meal and I can step out in the afternoon for a few hours.

She gets an ultrasound tomorrow and I'm hopeful we can figure out the best course for her after that. She may yet return to her four a day plus feeders if we can figure out which inflammation needs to be cooled (gut or gallbladder?) and the best way to do it (pred? ursodiol? or other.)
 
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