Weaning kitten off free-feeding

[BeccaT]

Hi! So I have a few questions regarding feeding my cat in general but the primary one is regarding taking her off free-feeding.

My Annie is currently 7 months old (approx.) and we have free-fed her dry food since we adopted her in late October, along with the odd wet food meal in mornings and evenings to make sure she's getting moisture in her diet. The 2 vets we've taken her to in the past have both said it's a good idea to free-feed her while she's still a kitten as she's still growing and needed access to food whenever she wants it. Since she's getting closer to a year old, I decided to do a bit of research into when I should start weaning her off free-feeding (to make sure she doesn't overeat) and some results came up around the 6-7 month mark. Is this true? If so, what's the best way to do it? Considering I still feed her small wet meals throughout the day. Lately she's been a bit fussy with her wet meals, she'll mostly only eat her wet meal right away at night before bed time but in the mornings, she'll favour her dry food so I'm unsure how to work out meals.

Another food related question I have is regarding mixing wet and dry food/meals when she reaches the point of eating adult food. Kitten wet food has been (or can be) expensive for us, but this should go down once we move her onto wet adult food as they seem to make more adult food than kitten food, and in larger portions. That being said, we're also aware of the cat food shortage going on right now and I'm not sure when it could end. Despite this, we're looking to cut some costs overall for financial reasons, and my husband said a big part of our spending is on wet food for our kitten, but I'm not willing to put her on a 100% dry food diet and would rather have a healthy mix of both so that the wet food lasts longer (and in turn reduce our spending), but she still gets a relatively healthy mix of both. How could I potentially go about doing this? Should we alternate days between wet and dry or just try to mix the two together? I'm conflicted. Thank you!

 

[arr]

We feed our cats wet and dry at every meal, three times a day. They are happy with that routine and are doing good. For wet we have been feeding Friskies, Fancy Feast, Sheba, Tiny Tiger (from chewy.com) and Heart to Tail (from Aldi), all pate versions. These have all been mostly available in our area during the cat food shortage.

Also, we stopped free feeding around five months because one of the kittens would eat all the food in one sitting, so we fed meals of wet and dry four times a day, as much as they wanted. Then I believe around nine months we went down to three because they weren’t very hungry for four anymore.

 

[Tik cat's mum]

I would carry on doing what you are doing and free feed until the kitten until 12 months. If you are looking to cut cost maybe you could switch to a cheaper wet kitten food, or start the change to adult food now. My younger boy was about 8 months when he started the switch because I had a older cat and they ate each others food. I did make sure there was dry kitten food throughout the day for him until he was a year. My two prefer dry so only get one meal of wet in the morning now, anymore than that they just leave. But I still free feed dry now, it's easier for me just to leave the dry food out and the boy's don't over eat so no problems with weight.

 

[BeccaT]

We feed our cats wet and dry at every meal, three times a day. They are happy with that routine and are doing good. For wet we have been feeding Friskies, Fancy Feast, Sheba, Tiny Tiger (from chewy.com) and Heart to Tail (from Aldi), all pate versions. These have all been mostly available in our area during the cat food shortage.

Also, we stopped free feeding around five months because one of the kittens would eat all the food in one sitting, so we fed meals of wet and dry four times a day, as much as they wanted. Then I believe around nine months we went down to three because they weren’t very hungry for four anymore.

We currently feed her kitten Fancy Feast as it was cheaper than the Purina Pro plan and it seems fine, so I'm glad to see this brand on your list! The adult food we have from a previous foster is Friskies and we can buy big packs in bulk for a good price so we planned on sticking with that when she moves onto adult food. Thank you for the info, thankfully our cat doesn't eat a whole lot of the dry food when it's out all of the time, she seems to only eat when she's hungry rather than overeating.

I would carry on doing what you are doing and free feed until the kitten until 12 months. If you are looking to cut cost maybe you could switch to a cheaper wet kitten food, or start the change to adult food now. My younger boy was about 8 months when he started the switch because I had a older cat and they ate each others food. I did make sure there was dry kitten food throughout the day for him until he was a year. My two prefer dry so only get one meal of wet in the morning now, anymore than that they just leave. But I still free feed dry now, it's easier for me just to leave the dry food out and the boy's don't over eat so no problems with weight.

Thank you so much for this! I guess I'll keep free feeding until she's a year old then, I just didn't want to keep free feeding her past an age where she should've been weaned off it. I'm only concerned for her weight and health as she's a fully indoor cat, we try to exercise her regularly but I still worry she may get overweight. We do need to weigh her again as we're unsure how much she actually weighs right now but she's definitely growing and getting bigger. I guess I'll only worry about taking her off free feeding if she starts to overeat.

I also might switch to the adult wet food once her kitten wet food runs out, I wasn't aware I was able to do that yet. We temporarily took in a stray about a month before we adopted Annie so we bought a big pack of adult wet food that's still in date and we planned on using it once she was able to eat it.

 

[Tik cat's mum]

We currently feed her kitten Fancy Feast as it was cheaper than the Purina Pro plan and it seems fine, so I'm glad to see this brand on your list! The adult food we have from a previous foster is Friskies and we can buy big packs in bulk for a good price so we planned on sticking with that when she moves onto adult food. Thank you for the info, thankfully our cat doesn't eat a whole lot of the dry food when it's out all of the time, she seems to only eat when she's hungry rather than overeating.

Thank you so much for this! I guess I'll keep free feeding until she's a year old then, I just didn't want to keep free feeding her past an age where she should've been weaned off it. I'm only concerned for her weight and health as she's a fully indoor cat, we try to exercise her regularly but I still worry she may get overweight. We do need to weigh her again as we're unsure how much she actually weighs right now but she's definitely growing and getting bigger. I guess I'll only worry about taking her off free feeding if she starts to overeat.

I also might switch to the adult wet food once her kitten wet food runs out, I wasn't aware I was able to do that yet. We temporarily took in a stray about a month before we adopted Annie so we bought a big pack of adult wet food that's still in date and we planned on using it once she was able to eat it.

Just remember to introduce her new food gradually maybe over a month or so. Sometimes a change in diet can give them the runs. As long as Annie is still getting her dry kitten food she should be good. My boy's one was 3 and the other 12 weeks when we got him never stuck to eating thier own food. The kitten would eat his then start on the adult food. It didn't do him any harm he's nearly 2 now and has no problem with overeating.

 

[BeccaT]

Just remember to introduce her new food gradually maybe over a month or so. Sometimes a change in diet can give them the runs. As long as Annie is still getting her dry kitten food she should be good. My boy's one was 3 and the other 12 weeks when we got him never stuck to eating thier own food. The kitten would eat his then start on the adult food. It didn't do him any harm he's nearly 2 now and has no problem with overeating.

Sorry if this is delayed, but I may be introducing the new wet adult food to her soon but I'm struggling to find ways on how to gradually introduce it to her, everything I search for is for dry food! How do you recommend I do it? Should I mix the new wet food in with her usual dry food? Or mix the new wet in with her old wet? (this doesn't sound pleasant as the textures are totally different)

 

[Furballsmom]

Or mix the new wet in with her old wet?

Hi - I'd try this. The rule of thumb is to begin with approximately 25% new, then 50 new/50 old etc. If she seems to be doing well (no vomit no runs) then proceed to the next ratio.
Tell your husband that canned cat food will help to keep her weight in check much better than kibble.

 

[Tik cat's mum]

Sorry if this is delayed, but I may be introducing the new wet adult food to her soon but I'm struggling to find ways on how to gradually introduce it to her, everything I search for is for dry food! How do you recommend I do it? Should I mix the new wet food in with her usual dry food? Or mix the new wet in with her old wet? (this doesn't sound pleasant as the textures are totally different)

Hi - I'd try this. The rule of thumb is to begin with approximately 25% new, then 50 new/50 old etc. If she seems to be doing well (no vomit no runs) then proceed to the next ratio.
Tell your husband that canned cat food will help to keep her weight in check much better than kibble.

Furballsmom has got it spot on. mix wet with wet.

 

[BeccaT]

Hi - I'd try this. The rule of thumb is to begin with approximately 25% new, then 50 new/50 old etc. If she seems to be doing well (no vomit no runs) then proceed to the next ratio.
Tell your husband that canned cat food will help to keep her weight in check much better than kibble.

Furballsmom has got it spot on. mix wet with wet.

Thank you to both of you! I just wasn't sure about mixing flavours or textures.

I started this method yesterday, mixing the new wet food in with her old. Sadly, it seems she's not interested in the new adult food as it's more textured (shreds, chunks etc.) but she'll lick the juices. I picked up some new adult food today in pate form so I'm hoping that'll work as it's what she's used to and I'll see how it goes!

I've also started to put her on scheduled meals. Still eating one tin of kitten wet a day, split into morning and night time. In the afternoon, I put a small amount of kitten dry in her bowl which she'll sometimes pick at or eat a lot of, it really depends, but I take it away eventually so that she has room for her bed time meal. Thankfully it doesn't seem like she has a bad habit of overeating, but she's noticeably put on some weight and I'm concerned it's the lack of exercise even though we try our best to keep her exercised. She's very active and playful but we can't always play with her due to work. But I'm hoping that in the next few months, we'll be able to afford a second furry addition to our family which I hope will help with her boredom and keeping her exercised!

 

[Tik cat's mum]

Thank you to both of you! I just wasn't sure about mixing flavours or textures.

I started this method yesterday, mixing the new wet food in with her old. Sadly, it seems she's not interested in the new adult food as it's more textured (shreds, chunks etc.) but she'll lick the juices. I picked up some new adult food today in pate form so I'm hoping that'll work as it's what she's used to and I'll see how it goes!

I've also started to put her on scheduled meals. Still eating one tin of kitten wet a day, split into morning and night time. In the afternoon, I put a small amount of kitten dry in her bowl which she'll sometimes pick at or eat a lot of, it really depends, but I take it away eventually so that she has room for her bed time meal. Thankfully it doesn't seem like she has a bad habit of overeating, but she's noticeably put on some weight and I'm concerned it's the lack of exercise even though we try our best to keep her exercised. She's very active and playful but we can't always play with her due to work. But I'm hoping that in the next few months, we'll be able to afford a second furry addition to our family which I hope will help with her boredom and keeping her exercised!

You could try mashing the wet with a fork if she's licking the juice it maybe like you said she's just not used to the bigger pieces. Saves wasting what you already have. Sounds like your on this and at her age overeating really isn't something that you need to worry about. My boy's had dry put out after the morning wet and just like your kitten a nice wet meal before bed to help them sleep. The dry after it was put out stayed out all day, and they even had a small handful out to pick at overnight until they turned a year. Now they get wet in the morning and after that I put out dry because my boy's just prefer dry unfortunately but they drink well and none of them overeat. My oldest is only 6 and a half pounds he is 4 now just a small cat. My youngest is 10 and a half pounds but actually looks slimmer than the older boy because he's a tall long boy. As you can see from the pictures it's really more how a cat looks than thier actual weight. Patches is the older cat and Bandit is the house panther.

 

[BeccaT]

You could try mashing the wet with a fork if she's licking the juice it maybe like you said she's just not used to the bigger pieces. Saves wasting what you already have. Sounds like your on this and at her age overeating really isn't something that you need to worry about. My boy's had dry put out after the morning wet and just like your kitten a nice wet meal before bed to help them sleep. The dry after it was put out stayed out all day, and they even had a small handful out to pick at overnight until they turned a year. Now they get wet in the morning and after that I put out dry because my boy's just prefer dry unfortunately but they drink well and none of them overeat. My oldest is only 6 and a half pounds he is 4 now just a small cat. My youngest is 10 and a half pounds but actually looks slimmer than the older boy because he's a tall long boy. As you can see from the pictures it's really more how a cat looks than thier actual weight. Patches is the older cat and Bandit is the house panther. View attachment 414227View attachment 414228View attachment 414229View attachment 414230

Look at those sweet babies!! Thank you so much for your help and advice.

We bought a luggage scale and tried weighing her with the method of using this and putting her in her carrier. She apparently weighs about 9lbs and google is giving me mixed results whether this is normal or not for a 7 month old. Her weight (if she's on the heavier side) is definitely due to her not getting enough exercise which is something we're working on whenever we have free time away from work. We bought some new adult cat food in pate form and she seems to like it! But I've resulted to feeding her dry in the mornings/afternoons as she doesn't always eat wet right away for some reason, unless it's when we put her to bed so she gets wet at bed time only right now so that it doesn't go bad if left out for too long.

I'll either donate what remaining other wet food we have to a shelter (we also have an abundance of dry food that's hardly touched that I keep meaning to donate) or try the method of mashing it up with a fork like you said, or seeing if the new cat (when we adopt them) likes it.

 

[Tik cat's mum]

Look at those sweet babies!! Thank you so much for your help and advice.

We bought a luggage scale and tried weighing her with the method of using this and putting her in her carrier. She apparently weighs about 9lbs and google is giving me mixed results whether this is normal or not for a 7 month old. Her weight (if she's on the heavier side) is definitely due to her not getting enough exercise which is something we're working on whenever we have free time away from work. We bought some new adult cat food in pate form and she seems to like it! But I've resulted to feeding her dry in the mornings/afternoons as she doesn't always eat wet right away for some reason, unless it's when we put her to bed so she gets wet at bed time only right now so that it doesn't go bad if left out for too long.

I'll either donate what remaining other wet food we have to a shelter (we also have an abundance of dry food that's hardly touched that I keep meaning to donate) or try the method of mashing it up with a fork like you said, or seeing if the new cat (when we adopt them) likes it.

The thing is weight for age varies so much depending on breed of cat and just if you have a big or small cat, that's why alot of people don't bother with how much a cat is in pounds. Those charts vary alot because they average out cat's weight and don't take into account breed and genetics. There are some charts with pictures for cat's body condition that will give you a much better idea of weather you need to be concerned or not.