Feeding Times vs. Amount

linkworshiper

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My 8 year old cat, Reginald, is getting to that age where his food intake is changing. He's been on a variety of vet-prescribed foods for about two years now. I don't think he dislikes his food, because there are times he'll suck it all down. I just wonder, because there are times he won't finish food, but then he'll meow and lead me to his feeding spot hours before his next meal is due. I'm worried about getting him used to an extra feeding time because I won't be home to give it to him when the quarantine ends. I'm just trying to figure out if I'm not feeding him enough, or if he really should have an extra feeding time or what. Below is his current feeding schedule, which amounts to three times a day and six total ounces of wet food, plus dry food in a puzzle feeder.

5AM (before work) -- 1.5 ounces wet food
5PM (when I get home) -- 1.5 ounces wet food
10PM (give or take) -- 3 ounces wet food

He'll eat treats like there's no tomorrow, so I know he's not got a problem with crunchy dry food, though the times I've tried leaving that out in a bowl during the day, he doesn't eat too much of it. Here is a picture of him as well. As you can see, he's a little plump, and he's very soft. He weighs 9lbs.

1590715372320.png
 

LTS3

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You can use a programmable timed feeder to give your cat canned food meals when you go back to work or wherever after quarantine :) Canned food is a cooked product so it's ok to leave out until you get home. I like the Petsafe 5 compartment feeder but there are other ones out there.

What brands of food are you feeding? 6 oz of food daily plus some dry might be enough calorie-wise. It's generally suggested to feed 20 to 25 calories per pound of ideal body weight daily.
 

sweetblackpaws

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What a handsome boy! However, I am partial to black cats, as I have three of them, lol! I really wouldn't stress too much about this. That is great you wish to keep him on a schedule - but he will adjust quickly once you are no longer on quarantine. It is only one extra feeding.
 
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linkworshiper

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You can use a programmable timed feeder to give your cat canned food meals when you go back to work or wherever after quarantine :) Canned food is a cooked product so it's ok to leave out until you get home. I like the Petsafe 5 compartment feeder but there are other ones out there.

What brands of food are you feeding? 6 oz of food daily plus some dry might be enough calorie-wise. It's generally suggested to feed 20 to 25 calories per pound of ideal body weight daily.
Unfortunately, the feeders that would really work for our situation are very expensive, though I agree that one would probably help. The caveat to my problem is that my other cat is allergic to chicken and inhales food like his face is a black hole of doom. He'll sit aside and wait for Reginald to leave the bowl. So if I leave Reginald's wet food out, the other cat will just get in there and finish it.

I feed Reginald vet-prescribed food. He used to be on Purina urinary tract food because he had urinary crystals, but the last time I brought him to the vet, the very prescribed food for his kidneys. I think it's the Hills brand. Both of them have chicken. I can't find the kcals on the Hills, but the Purina is 189 kcal per can.

Is it really hunger that makes him beg for food so much? Or does he just think he's smart because he knows where I keep the food and also that he's cute.
 

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A microchip feeder for each cat would help but at around $150 each that's pricey. Try looking for a used one on Craigslist, Freecycle, FB Marketplace, etc.

Hills K/D is 177 per 5.5 oz can. A whole can plus maybe half of another can daily, spread out in a few meals, would keep most tummies happy. How much does your cat weigh? It's ok for cats to feel some hunger pangs and complain a little and for you to ignore the cat :agree: Giving in just gets the cat to associate meowing and sitting by the food bowl with a food reward or attention.

Are you aware of this great web site? Tanya's Comprehensive Guide to Feline Chronic Kidney Disease - Everything You Need to Know to Help Your Cat There's a section on commercial foods you can feed. There might one that doesn't contain chicken which your other cat could also eat. Some vets may insist on prescription food but for some health issues, it's not necessary.
 
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linkworshiper

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A microchip feeder for each cat would help but at around $150 each that's pricey. Try looking for a used one on Craigslist, Freecycle, FB Marketplace, etc.
Yeah, that is something I've had my eye on because it would definitely solve the problem. Good idea to look for one on Craigslist or something.
Hills K/D is 177 per 5.5 oz can. A whole can plus maybe half of another can daily, spread out in a few meals, would keep most tummies happy. How much does your cat weigh? It's ok for cats to feel some hunger pangs and complain a little and for you to ignore the cat :agree: Giving in just gets the cat to associate meowing and sitting by the food bowl with a food reward or attention.
That's about what I feed. Well, the 3oz cans since that's what Chewy sends us. So he gets about 6oz a day. I hope it's just Reginald trying to be a bit of a con artist about it (something he's obviously learned from his brother), but since he doesn't always finish his food at mealtimes, I just worry. He weighs about 9/10ish pounds. He came up in weight after we first brought him to the vet when we noticed that he was getting really skinny. It turned out to be related to the kidney/urinary crystals. Since we got the prescription food, there has been an improvement. But yeah, he'll lead me across the apartment to the place I usually put his food down like he's trying to give me an idea. Simon's cat comes to mind, lol.
Are you aware of this great web site? Tanya's Comprehensive Guide to Feline Chronic Kidney Disease - Everything You Need to Know to Help Your Cat There's a section on commercial foods you can feed. There might one that doesn't contain chicken which your other cat could also eat. Some vets may insist on prescription food but for some health issues, it's not necessary.
Good to know. There are so many options, I get overwhelmed. Unfortunately, having spent a ridiculous amount of time reading can labels, I have yet to find a brand for Reginald that also works for Hemingway.
 

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There isn't a microchip timed feeder that I know of. Microchip feeders are for free-feeding. But you can get a microchip pet door and make a feeding crate/box that only Reginald has access to. That's if he'll go for that. Then within that feeding box, you could put in some timed feeders. I like these because they're cheap, you can split the two apart, and if Reginald doesn't finish one before the next timer goes off, the food doesn't rotate away like it does in something like the 5 compartment.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07M9J4SNR/?tag=thecatsite
 
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linkworshiper

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There isn't a microchip timed feeder that I know of. Microchip feeders are for free-feeding. But you can get a microchip pet door and make a feeding crate/box that only Reginald has access to. That's if he'll go for that. Then within that feeding box, you could put in some timed feeders. I like these because they're cheap, you can split the two apart, and if Reginald doesn't finish one before the next timer goes off, the food doesn't rotate away like it does in something like the 5 compartment.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07M9J4SNR/?tag=thecatsite
The door idea is an interesting one. I'd have to come up with a pretty indestructible box though. My other cat is a tornado, whose first instinct is to eat pretty much anything. I guess it still goes back to my question of whether or not Reginald needs more feeding times or just more food. I mean, today he cleaned up his dinner, but yesterday he didn't. He's so weird.
 

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My 8 year old cat, Reginald, is getting to that age where his food intake is changing. He's been on a variety of vet-prescribed foods for about two years now. I don't think he dislikes his food, because there are times he'll suck it all down. I just wonder, because there are times he won't finish food, but then he'll meow and lead me to his feeding spot hours before his next meal is due. I'm worried about getting him used to an extra feeding time because I won't be home to give it to him when the quarantine ends. I'm just trying to figure out if I'm not feeding him enough, or if he really should have an extra feeding time or what. Below is his current feeding schedule, which amounts to three times a day and six total ounces of wet food, plus dry food in a puzzle feeder.

5AM (before work) -- 1.5 ounces wet food
5PM (when I get home) -- 1.5 ounces wet food
10PM (give or take) -- 3 ounces wet food

He'll eat treats like there's no tomorrow, so I know he's not got a problem with crunchy dry food, though the times I've tried leaving that out in a bowl during the day, he doesn't eat too much of it. Here is a picture of him as well. As you can see, he's a little plump, and he's very soft. He weighs 9lbs.

View attachment 336558
My cat Maggie is also 9 pds and eats a lot. 7 yrs old.
20200309_225633.jpg
I have too many days off. She eats 1.5 oz, comes back few minutes later and eats another 1.5 oz. Just like your cat, wet 3x a day. A timed feeder would greatly benefit. I was just reading that for wet food, freeze it the night before then add it to the timed feeder just for wet food which has an ice packet in it
Black cats think alike!
 
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linkworshiper

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My cat Maggie is also 9 pds and eats a lot. 7 yrs old. I have too many days off. She eats 1.5 oz, comes back few minutes later and eats another 1.5 oz. Just like your cat, wet 3x a day. A timed feeder would greatly benefit. I was just reading that for wet food, freeze it the night before then add it to the timed feeder just for wet food which has an ice packet in it
Black cats think alike!
See, my only thing is that Reginald doesn't always finish his food. Which leads me to think he's full. But if he's hungry before my next feeding time, doesn't that mean I'm not giving him enough?
 

daftcat75

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See, my only thing is that Reginald doesn't always finish his food. Which leads me to think he's full. But if he's hungry before my next feeding time, doesn't that mean I'm not giving him enough?
Cats naturally snack. They'll eat some and then come back later for more. This is how they eat in the wild too. You can leave wet food out for several hours. My Krista will pick at her plate over several hours before I change it out for a fresh one.
 

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Maggie eats 9 am,5 pm, and 9 PM and I have started feeding her 1.5 oz 4 am because she throws up water every morning when I get up before eating. I am guessing it's because she is with out food for 12 hrs. The throwing up has stopped! I am buying a timed feeder so I dont have to get up 4 am to feed her.
 

daftcat75

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Maggie eats 9 am,5 pm, and 9 PM and I have started feeding her 1.5 oz 4 am because she throws up water every morning when I get up before eating. I am guessing it's because she is with out food for 12 hrs. The throwing up has stopped! I am buying a timed feeder so I dont have to get up 4 am to feed her.
Krista's an old gal (16) with IBD/lymphoma. It's easier on her (not so much on me) if she gets food every few hours. I used to have her on a 4 hour schedule. But since she's started steroids and because the lymphoma seems to still be robbing her of calories, she gets food every 3 hours. I use timed feeders for those meals I won't be home or don't want to wake up for.

I like these feeders. You can buy them in pairs but you can deploy them individually. There's a removable piece of plastic that joins them together. It's not necessary to put them out in pairs. They come with a gel pack so you can keep food cold if that's your preference.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07M9J4SNR/?tag=thecatsite
 
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linkworshiper

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Krista's an old gal (16) with IBD/lymphoma. It's easier on her (not so much on me) if she gets food every few hours. I used to have her on a 4 hour schedule. But since she's started steroids and because the lymphoma seems to still be robbing her of calories, she gets food every 3 hours. I use timed feeders for those meals I won't be home or don't want to wake up for.

I like these feeders. You can buy them in pairs but you can deploy them individually. There's a removable piece of plastic that joins them together. It's not necessary to put them out in pairs. They come with a gel pack so you can keep food cold if that's your preference.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07M9J4SNR/?tag=thecatsite
Yeah, my biggest problem is that I can't just leave food out. My other cat is superduper allergic to chicken, which, of course, is what all vet food seems to be made up of. (You can smell his turds for miles. They are biological warfare.) Maybe I do just have to figure out a way to get Reginald that extra meal. Or something. He's so random with his diet. At least... well... at least I know now that he's not just starving to death or something.
 
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