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- Jun 24, 2020
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So for the last five years I've been lucky in that my oldest cat, Reggie, has always been fine with free food - I'd give him some wet food once or twice per day, but not enough for his full daily needs, and in between he'd have access to dry food, and it always worked well. Apart from one time when he got sick, he always maintained a healthy weight. He's seven now.
Early this summer, I adopted two kittens (Archie and Copper) who are now getting close to 9 months old. I'd initially had luck with the same feeding strategy, but as they are reaching the twilight of their kittenhood, Archie in particular is starting to get somewhat chubby. I think free feeding isn't going to work for her in the long run.
What are strategies for 1) calculating the right amount to feed each cat, and 2) making sure each cat eats the right amount? For #1, I've always found the "serve X amount per lb of body weight" on cat food labels to seem high compared to how much they're actually eating to maintain their weights, and with #2, Reggie doesn't always finish his wet meal completely and of course Archie scavenges anything Copper or Reggie leave in their bowls; I don't want those two to go underfed because of their sister. I can probably have Reggie get an extra meal while the other cats are closed in a different room.
Early this summer, I adopted two kittens (Archie and Copper) who are now getting close to 9 months old. I'd initially had luck with the same feeding strategy, but as they are reaching the twilight of their kittenhood, Archie in particular is starting to get somewhat chubby. I think free feeding isn't going to work for her in the long run.
What are strategies for 1) calculating the right amount to feed each cat, and 2) making sure each cat eats the right amount? For #1, I've always found the "serve X amount per lb of body weight" on cat food labels to seem high compared to how much they're actually eating to maintain their weights, and with #2, Reggie doesn't always finish his wet meal completely and of course Archie scavenges anything Copper or Reggie leave in their bowls; I don't want those two to go underfed because of their sister. I can probably have Reggie get an extra meal while the other cats are closed in a different room.
