Going from 3 feedings a day to two?

Coolgram

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Hi! I feed Gracie wet food 3x a day (2/3 of a 3oz. can each feeding) - approx. 8am, 1-2 pm and 7-8 pm, then I give her about 1/4 cup of dry food before I go to bed which she picks at throughout the night when she's hungry. I've been thinking about reducing the feedings to twice a day and feeding an entire 3 oz. can at each feeding. As it is now, for the last feeding of the day I need to heat the leftover food from two cans but she seems to like it better right out of the can rather than reheated. I only heat it for 10 seconds and test it to make sure there aren't any hot spots, but she's still not as enthusiastic about that last meal. Going down to two feedings would eliminate the need to store and reheat it. Just not sure she can eat an entire can at one sitting and I won't let it sit out too long waiting for her to finish it. I guess all I can do is try it, right? Any thoughts?
 

MissClouseau

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Smaller meals are easier to digest you know. Two meals would never work for my cat, at most she eats 40 grams of wet food at one sitting. But I guess you would see if it doesn’t work for your kitty.

By the way, in the winter I take wet food out of the fridge about 3 hours before the meal time. That’s the time the food warms up on its own to room temperature. If I miss it I heat it up with boiling water. I add a bit extra water to wet food anyway, I make it hot if the food is cold.

What about investing in a timed feeder? If you put the food right out of the fridge it might heat up until the serving time and not go bad.
 

She's a witch

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I feed my cats several times a day. When I have to refrigerate the food, I transfer if from the can to glass container- they don’t like the food that was refrigerated in the can. Then I don’t use microwave but few other methods, they like it the best when I put the jar into the pot with hotish water for few minutes. I also add hot water to their food. They love their food pretty warm.
 

mrsgreenjeens

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Hi! I feed Gracie wet food 3x a day (2/3 of a 3oz. can each feeding) - approx. 8am, 1-2 pm and 7-8 pm, then I give her about 1/4 cup of dry food before I go to bed which she picks at throughout the night when she's hungry. I've been thinking about reducing the feedings to twice a day and feeding an entire 3 oz. can at each feeding. As it is now, for the last feeding of the day I need to heat the leftover food from two cans but she seems to like it better right out of the can rather than reheated. I only heat it for 10 seconds and test it to make sure there aren't any hot spots, but she's still not as enthusiastic about that last meal. Going down to two feedings would eliminate the need to store and reheat it. Just not sure she can eat an entire can at one sitting and I won't let it sit out too long waiting for her to finish it. I guess all I can do is try it, right? Any thoughts?
Just be aware that if a cat eats too much, sometimes they will regurgitate it right back up. :barfgreen: Not saying this will happen, but it could. I have two cats, one 15 pounds and one 9 pounds. The 9 pounder can eat 3 oz in one sitting, but the 15 pounder cannot. If he gets more than 2 ounces per meal, herwill regurgitate within just a few minutes. It's weird, but what can I say.?

Just letting you know not to panic if you increase her food and within 15 minutes or so suddenly you find a pile of food on the flood without even any of the normal throwing up sounds. THAT's regurgitation...different from actual vomiting, but may mean she needs to eat smaller meals.
 

lisahe

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Just be aware that if a cat eats too much, sometimes they will regurgitate it right back up. :barfgreen: Not saying this will happen, but it could. I have two cats, one 15 pounds and one 9 pounds. The 9 pounder can eat 3 oz in one sitting, but the 15 pounder cannot. If he gets more than 2 ounces per meal, herwill regurgitate within just a few minutes. It's weird, but what can I say.?

Just letting you know not to panic if you increase her food and within 15 minutes or so suddenly you find a pile of food on the flood without even any of the normal throwing up sounds. THAT's regurgitation...different from actual vomiting, but may mean she needs to eat smaller meals.
We have one of those cats, too! It can be a little unnerving. She just spews it back up, it's really disgusting.

We feed five meals a day. (Which, yes, I admit is relatively easy for us because we both work at home.)
 

She's a witch

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Just be aware that if a cat eats too much, sometimes they will regurgitate it right back up. :barfgreen:
Oh yeah, my girl does it. Elevated bowl seems to help with this. Usually she wouldn’t even eat more than 1.5oz, but sometimes, when her very favorite food is involved, she looses control and continues from the other cat’s bowl (he prefers to eat in phases so there’s always something in his bowl) - and his bowl is not elevated as he eats in a very relaxed position, like ancient Roman during their feast, so he didn’t accept elevated bowl, you can’t eat from it laying down. My girl usually regurgitate right into the bowl, very classy.

My cats don’t eat during working hours. They get two breakfast and two or three dinners, in 2-3h intervals. They got used to not eating when we’re not there during a day.
 

lisahe

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Oh yeah, my girl does it. Elevated bowl seems to help with this. Usually she wouldn’t even eat more than 1.5oz, but sometimes, when her very favorite food is involved, she looses control and continues from the other cat’s bowl (he prefers to eat in phases so there’s always something in his bowl) - and his bowl is not elevated as he eats in a very relaxed position, like ancient Roman during their feast, so he didn’t accept elevated bowl, you can’t eat from it laying down. My girl usually regurgitate right into the bowl, very classy.

My cats don’t eat during working hours. They get two breakfast and two or three dinners, in 2-3h intervals. They got used to not eating when we’re not there during a day.
That's a very good feeding regimen, She's a witch She's a witch , a lot like what my husband used to do when I was traveling and he had to go to an office.

And 🙀 that your cat regurgitates right into the bowl, that's amazing!! Edwina usually runs as far as she can from her bowl (which isn't usually very far) and then, well, there it goes.
 

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Mine get three meals a day when I am in town but when I travel the sitter comes twice a day and they eat twice a day. I think they prefer three smaller meals but part of that is my being in the house or kitchen and reminding them food is available!
 
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Coolgram

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Thanks everyone for your feedback. I think I'll stick with the 3x a day feedings but I do like the idea of heating the leftover food by putting it in a jar and then putting the jar in some warm water for awhile. When I do it in the microwave it just ends up getting mushy till I get done stirring it around to make sure there are no hot spots, so the consistency is different and I think maybe that's what she doesn't like about it.
 

daftcat75

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Hi! I feed Gracie wet food 3x a day (2/3 of a 3oz. can each feeding) - approx. 8am, 1-2 pm and 7-8 pm, then I give her about 1/4 cup of dry food before I go to bed which she picks at throughout the night when she's hungry. I've been thinking about reducing the feedings to twice a day and feeding an entire 3 oz. can at each feeding. As it is now, for the last feeding of the day I need to heat the leftover food from two cans but she seems to like it better right out of the can rather than reheated. I only heat it for 10 seconds and test it to make sure there aren't any hot spots, but she's still not as enthusiastic about that last meal. Going down to two feedings would eliminate the need to store and reheat it. Just not sure she can eat an entire can at one sitting and I won't let it sit out too long waiting for her to finish it. I guess all I can do is try it, right? Any thoughts?
When you say you reheat it, I'm assuming the microwave? That further cooks the food, changing its taste and texture. A better way to reheat leftover food is to put it in a baggie and run it under warm water, pressing the baggie flat of food as flat as you can to increase the surface in contact with the water and speed up reheating. This kind of reheating only takes a little longer than a microwave but it doesn't cook the food any further. No changes in taste or texture.

Your cat may not have a 3 oz stomach. It may take a long time to stretch her stomach or she may never be able to eat that much in a serving. It would be better to use timed feeders to cover that meal you are no longer able to feed. I use these with great success to cover both daytime and overnight hours with Krista.

 

cataholic07

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Yes, cats need to be fed no less than 3 times a day. It is very easy, and everyone should be able to do it. Morning, after work, and before bed. Unless you work 12-hour shifts lol. But cats who are fed only twice can be prone to throwing up frequently and even getting UTIs as the fewer times they eat, the more alkaline is in their bladder. That's why some cats who are prone to utis, can even get it if being fed with urinary food if only fed twice a day. I mean cats are used to eating birds and mice out in the wild, so at least 20 small meals a day. That's why many can have a major issue being fed only twice. So I am glad you are feeding three times a day :)

You can also add very warm water to the food to heat it up some and give extra moisture. You also want to be feeding different proteins and brands, otherwise, they can get allergies to that food :)
 
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