how much/often do you feed your cat

Badger_Lady

People are always accusing me of having a skinny cat

When I got him from his previous owner, she told me he has quarter of a tin per mealtime, two meals a day... but he always seemed hungry, so I upped each meal to a third of a tin.

These days, he gets just under half a tin (plus biscuits and water) - any less and he's visibly hungry. Maybe he exercises more now than where he lived before!

My Aunt has 7 cats and just keeps their 2 bowls topped up with food at all times - they sort themselves out. I'm very jealous - maybe I'd get a moment's peace if I could do that :rolleyes:

Nomad25

Cats are usually grazers, can you leave her dry food down somewhere during the day in a separate bowl - so she can come and go? Would still only fill it with a small handful a.m. and p.m. You are a wise woman to keep her weight under control. I give my [7] cats exactly the same as each other - and I've still got 2 porkies [male oldy and female 5yrs].

alison99_2

We've got two cats, Puss is a normal size and eats half a tin of wet food and dried biscuits are left down by her water bowl.
Her daughter Britney, my avatar, is huge (24 yr old son named her).
She eats the same, but loves to go on feeding frenzies in the field behind our house, plus if the dog takes his eyes off his food, she'll have that too.
We try to watch her food intake, but she will kill more if we feed her less, and usually brings us home a tail, brain or bird leg to prove it.

floyd

I feed my cat the recommended amount according to her body weight so she gets 50g of dry complete food (Hills or something similar) put down in the morning and left for her to pick at all day with a water fountain on permanently. Some days she finishes it, other days she doesn't and there are odd occasions where she wails for more food so I give her a tiny bit more but its not that often.
She is a healthy weight for her age as she is a house cat so more prone to putting on weight.

We have always fed all our cats this way with one meal a day left down all day and they have all lived long and happy lives.

mirrorimage0

thanks guys all been so helpful. x x


so not looking forward to this floyd when she goes out and maybe does this. she is a complete lovable rascal so im sure she is gonna get up to mischief

{quote}We try to watch her food intake, but she will kill more if we feed her less, and usually brings us home a tail, brain or bird leg to prove it.[/quote]

Karensteps

My cat is about 8months old now and can never eat more than a quarter of a sachet at a time, and that fills her up, she's very slender and still dosen't look her age, so she gets some meat in the morning and normally whenever she yowls which is every couple of hours, Im lucky if she eats one sachet a day, but she does love her dried biscuits so thats always out.

My nan has 7cats!! 4 of them are seriously overweight, 2 are okay and the other one is heading down the fatcat route. They are ALL indoor cats and she leaves food out all the time, as it's easier, and for when she is at work, she does love and spoil her cats though, but they are seriously fat, she even buys them fresh fish, meats etc, they rarely get a sachet, which is good because then at least they are getting a decent meal but to get as fat as they are now they must be eating 4tuna steaks a day.

feelgudtime

i normally put 2 bowls of dried foo down for my cat which lasts her a few days but at the moment she is on wet food so i give her four pouches a day to get rid of them and back onto the hassle free dry food

WorklessLivemore

Hi Peepz,

Apologies for hi-jacking this thread, but I noticed that alot of you mentioned how much and what you were feeding your cats, and I thought you would like to read an article that mentions cat feeding.

Feed your cats as nature intended

This article amongst many others mention that cats need meat more than grains, and that really they should only eat grains in small quantities to 'supplement' the meat diet.

There are alot of articles available for free on what cats naturally eat, so obviously don't just rely on this one article.

Be aware of the big companies wanting to sell you their 'complete' cat foods, as it is obviously in these same companies best interests to come across as being an authority on cat food and make the information they offer appear as correct.

Read about what a cat should naturally be eating, and then see what these same companies offer as to what they say a cat should be eating, and then think to yourself if it makes sense.

Also think about, if a cat was to kill a bird or mouse, what is in the animal that the cat is eating? -- protein and nutrients from the flesh, blood and organs, and small amounts of grains/carbohydrates inside the animals stomach - therefore the cat gets a balanced diet, high in protein and nutrients, but also a small amount of grains/carbohydrates.

Something to be aware of, an average cat (3kg in weight) needs about 400grams of food a day, this is best in a wet form (e.g canned meat) over 2-4 meals, but if you can only feed your cat dry food, then ensure the meat content is as high as possible, and at-least 40% +

If it comes down to money, think about the things you spend your money on ... do you watch tv, buy dvds, smoke, drink, drive a car, eat junk food? ..... some of these things could and should be used towards the correct care of the animal you have chosen to look after.

If you say that it is a 'hassle' to feed your cat a certain way, then perhaps you should reconsider your choice of owning a pet -- I don't want to sound condescending, but there are alot of people who own pets and don't seem to take the time or effort to feed them correctly.

Not only is it unfair to the animal, but it can also be classed as neglect.

Do you wonder why a cat gets ill time and again (most likely from these same feeding habits) then you take the cat to a vet who informs you to put the cat on yet another type of food (often incorrect too) and so the circle continues....

The knowledge and information is out there, available freely in most cases, it just takes a little time to find it .... but it's worth it isn't it? ... to see your beloved pet and family member as healthy as possible?

Just something to think about.....

Mike

Badger_Lady

floyd wrote: »

left for her to pick at all day with a water fountain on permanently.

Where did you get the fountain? This sounds like a brilliant idea - my cat always follows me into the bathroom and jumps into the bathtub, waiting for me to turn on the cold tap for him :rotfl: .

He has a bowl of water when I'm away for a few days, but this sounds much better...

WorklessLivemore

Badger_Lady wrote: »

Where did you get the fountain? This sounds like a brilliant idea - my cat always follows me into the bathroom and jumps into the bathtub, waiting for me to turn on the cold tap for him :rotfl: .

He has a bowl of water when I'm away for a few days, but this sounds much better...

heh, that sounds like our cat too BL, this pic
was taken when I had forgotten to turn off the tap in the bathroom, I went into the bedroom for a minute realised what I had done, and low and behold he (Sid or Squizzle as we call him) had jumped up and started drinking the water!

Since then though he hasn't done it again, but we have tried an electric and battery operated fountain for him, but he still prefers his bowl ... strange thing!:D