Free feeding to schedule?

[GranolaLouise]

To those who have older cats....how many times a day or night do you feed?
My 8 year old adopted cat was free fed at the shelter. Now she wants to eat all day long non stop. She even wakes me up at 1,2 or 3 a.m . demanding canned food and then wants breakfast at 6.. She is so vocal about it I give in just so I can sleep! It seems she is making up for lost time when she had dental problems and could not eat. Any tips on getting a cat with a free fed shelter background on a schedule?
I can't give her dry because of mouth sutures.
How do you feed your cat?

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi
My angel kitty Poppy got a morning and evening meal of canned with some kibble for snacking and overnight.

Would a timed feeder for canned food help you for overnight?

Transitioning Your Cat From Kibble To A New Type Of Food – TheCatSite Articles

Transitioning Free-fed Kibble Kitties To Timed Meals – TheCatSite Articles

 

[arr]

I feed my cats three times a day, around 7:00 AM, 1:30 PM, and 8:00 PM. They are usually waiting in the kitchen about 10 minutes before mealtime. At each meal, they get a combo of wet and dry food, about 2/3 wet and 1/3 dry, and I let them eat as much as they want until they walk away. Then the bowls get washed and put away until the next meal. I don’t leave any food out. They don’t bother me at all between meals or during the night. If I decide to sleep in until 7:30 or 8, they will come paw at my face to wake me up.

 

[OopsyDaisy]

I feed three times a day. I do mixed wet and kibble at 10:00 am and 5:00 pm. Then around 11:30 pm I put out a little kibble. They don't bother me during the night at all. They never ask for food in between. I'm pretty strict with the amounts because I know how easy it is for them to become overweight.

 

[GranolaLouise]

Thank you all for your response. My cat has trained ME, I see. She eats all day long. Last night she wolfed down her Purina pro wet food and 30 minutes later I heard her getting rid of it on the floor because she ate it too fast and then drank a lot of water.
After three hours I gave her a small bit of Hill's ID that the doctor prescribed and she wouldn;t touch it because there was no gravy.
I refuse to give in to her today. If she does not eat it , I will change it later on for fresh of the same and figure "if she's hungry, she'll eat it". She did eat it several weeks ago.

 

[Alldara]

Magnus needs small portions more frequently so we do 4 times a day:
8 am, 12 noon, 5 PM and 10 ish pm (before bed)

You must stop giving in to her meowing to wake up if you want that to stop unfortunately. It's very hard. I'll admit I'm not great at it...

At bed I give a bigger portion so he can go back and eat throughout the night.

If I have to go out during the day, the times may change slightly. Like if I'll be gone awhile I'll put more down before I go rather than noon feeding.

 

[GranolaLouise]

Magnus needs small portions more frequently so we do 4 times a day:
8 am, 12 noon, 5 PM and 10 ish pm (before bed)

You must stop giving in to her meowing to wake up if you want that to stop unfortunately. It's very hard. I'll admit I'm not great at it...

At bed I give a bigger portion so he can go back and eat throughout the night.

If I have to go out during the day, the times may change slightly. Like if I'll be gone awhile I'll put more down before I go rather than noon feeding.

That's just the thing...she is a piggy and will eat it ALL in one go,drink water and then regurgitate the whole feast. I can't win! Lol

 

[OopsyDaisy]

Maybe you could try one of those special feeders that slow them down, or a puzzle feeder.

 

[Alldara]

That's just the thing...she is a piggy and will eat it ALL in one go,drink water and then regurgitate the whole feast. I can't win! Lol

Are you feeding her in a bowl or on a plate? Apparently a plate can slow her down, or a lick mat or something.

Eventually she will get more used to the small portions.

You mentioned she has sutres in her mouth, is she on a medication that has the side effect of making her more hungry?

 

[GranolaLouise]

Do they sell them for canned wet food other than lick type mats and dishes? They just encourage her to lick the gravy and leave the solid pieces of poultry. My cat came to me being a spoiled brat and I encourage it, I find.

 

[Alldara]

Do they sell them for canned wet food other than lick type mats and dishes? They just encourage her to lick the gravy and leave the solid pieces of poultry. My cat came to me being a spoiled brat and I encourage it, I find.

I honestly haven't even seen any that are cat specific.

 

[GranolaLouise]

I have tried a saucer and a whisker distress prevention bowl , and she was given an appetite gell injection about 2 weeks ago. It should have worn off by now, though. She is just a brat! If the food is scattered around the saucer she will leave it. Then i will scrape it together with a spoon, BUT she won't eat that because it has no gravy. So I top it off with some from the can. She is so bad, she won;t eat from the can unless it is a NEWLY OPENED CAN! She listens for the pop top. LOL SO I fake the new can sound, and she goes to town! I am laughing now, but that little lady is getting very demanding and $$$. Somehow it has to stop!

 

[Alldara]

Magnus was doing this too and wasting a ton of food.

We had to just make a decision on times to feed and stick to it. Now he eats everything in his sitting, except at night when we purposely give too much. (That last bit won't work for you).

So if she's say 6lbs and a good weight and the food says feed 1 can per 3 lbs then you decide how to split up the feedings and divide the two cans up accordingly.

 

[GranolaLouise]

I must admit, though she is eating more of the solids than she did 3 weeks ago when she had her dental problems. But now she is very demanding and wants food all the time. I guess I just have to learn to just let her meow whine..

 

[Robyn5678]

I do wet food at 530 and 6ish pm. I have started leaving dry food overnight because otherwise they wake me up at 3am instead of 530

 

[ladytimedramon]

When I had just 1 cat I used a timed feeder that allowed me to put in wet food. It really helped with overnight.

 

[GranolaLouise]

When I had just 1 cat I used a timed feeder that allowed me to put in wet food. It really helped with overnight.

thank you