I want to feed my cats twice a day, but I don't know how.

[yoyleflavored]

Hello!! I'm considering feeding my cats twice a day, but I really don't know how. My first cat (Mica) would only free feed at the shelter and doesn't eat her food immediately when its in the bowl. So when she was the only cat in the home, I would just measure her food and leave it out for her all day. Recently, I got a second cat (Minnow) and she's the complete opposite of Mica. She will already be sitting at the bowl, 6:30am sharp anticipating the lovely sound of food hitting the bowl and devours whatever she can. After she's done inhaling most of her food, she decides to go over to Mica's bowl and inhale that too. At first I thought this was a 'haha cutee' thing, but now its just an inconvenience for me and my first cat. It makes me sad to see poor Micas bowl be nearly empty when I come home.
When i'm home, I gently push away Minnow to her food bowl whenever I catch her eating out of Mica's but I can't be at home all the time. I have school and I can't watch her or move her while i'm there. My mom told me not to worry about it, but i've noticed that Minnow is starting to get bigger and heavier. I don't want her to get obese eating all this food so i've decided to schedule feed them but I just don't know how.
For reference, I feed them and take care of their litter right when I wake up before school which is 6:30 or earlier and I leave for school at 7:25. I come home at around 4pm but on Mondays 5pm. I've read cats can't go 12 hours without food, and I would prefer to feed them right as I get home, but that means I would have to wake up at around 4am to feed them. I don't have an automatic feeder, and i'm not sure if I want one, because like I said, Mica doesn't like to eat immediately. So how can I be so sure that Minnow isn't eating her food when the feeder goes off. I can't do a nightly wet food feeding like some peers have suggested because neither of them like wet food or anything wet in general except water. I really need help!!

 

[FeebysOwner]

Feeding twice a day doesn't have to be exactly 12 hours apart, so that isn't as big of an issue. However, you can more or less solve the 12-hour eating issue as well as the problem with Minnow eating Mica's food by using microchip-controlled feeders that are operated by each cat's microchip (that is if they are both microchipped). So, if Mica wants to graze throughout the day she can as each time she goes to her feeder it will open for her. So will Minnow's. You would just have to get them used to the idea that they can open their own feeders just by walking up to them.

The only problem that could present itself is that Minnow 'shoves' Mica out of the way once she learns that Mica's feeder opens when Mica is there. The other potential problem for you might be that these feeders aren't cheap.

 

[maggie101]

I use automatic feeders. If you have more than one room,can you lock one in? Or micro chip feeders $200 so Minnow can't eat hers.
You are correct,cats cannot be without food for so long

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

Many people only feed their cats twice a day. Some feed them as much as 5 or 6 times a day. Whatever you chose to do, your cats will get used to it and their tummies will adapt.

As far as transitioning them to scheduled meals, here is an article about how to do it: Transitioning Free-fed Kibble Kitties To Timed Meals – TheCatSite Articles Just keep an eye on Mica to make sure he doesn't lose weight during the transition. By your doing this transition, you can help Minnow get back to her ideal weight. We had four cats who were free fed and one ballooned out while the others didn't. All four had to move to scheduled meals so the one little piggy could lose weight. We STILL have to keep an eye on him ten years later to keep him out of the other food, so we feed the slow eater in the room where we are and feed our piggy in the kitchen.

 

[arr]

If you are concerned about twice a day being too little, how about three times a day? You could do before school, as soon as you get home, and before bed. Meals don’t have to be perfectly spaced and they also don’t have to all be the same size. Your cats will eventually show you how much they want to eat at each meal.

 

[maggie101]

If you are concerned about twice a day being too little, how about three times a day? You could do before school, as soon as you get home, and before bed. Meals don’t have to be perfectly spaced and they also don’t have to all be the same size. Your cats will eventually show you how much they want to eat at each meal.

Not all! My 7 pd cat now 10 yrs old, loves food any time of day and is an expert at throwing up food from eating to much. Still,excellent idea.worth a try

 

[mysterylover]

For Mica, you could try offering her a meal when you get home from school in a separate room with the door closed. You could sit with her a few minutes and see if she eats a bit extra that way. Some cats do like to have their human around when they eat. At least, that would keep Mica from being shorted for the day if Minnow eats hers. I have three cats, and the female has learned that the boys are less likely to jump on the kitchen counter while she eats up there, so I have started putting her bowl there (because the boys will steal food from her if I am not watching when they are fed in the same room with her on the floor). It takes the boys a while after they finish to realize her bowl is not in the same room as theirs, which gives her a chance to finish. As msgreenjeans mentioned, three or four scheduled meals of different sizes might work, with you monitoring the ones when you are there.

 

[ladytimedramon]

Microchip feeders are your friend. I first got them when I got my second cat. My first cat would eat her bowl and anything left in the 2nd cat's bowl. The microchip feeder, Delilah can scarf her food down in 1 or 2 sittings, while Fancy will graze throughout the day. Now that Fancy has to be on a special diet it's even more important because now she can't get into Delilah's food either. I splurged and got the wifi version and I don't regret it. I can track when each cat eats and how much.